Tag: JD Davison

2022 NBA Mock Draft 2.0: Predicting all 59 picks, starting with Paolo Banchero

After a few games, we have a much better idea of how prospects like Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren will be used until the 2022 NBA draft.

After a few games, we have a much better idea of how prospects like Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren will be used until the 2022 NBA draft.

Preseason mock drafts, like the one we published back on Aug. 11, are especially challenging. Predictions are mostly guesswork based on uninformed priors until we’ve seen the usage of how each coach will implement the prospects we are evaluating.

Additionally, several players used the offseason to work on certain skill sets (e.g. Kansas’ Ochai Agbaji is now a much better shooter) in ways we couldn’t have projected.

As such, even though it’s only been a few games, it’s a lot easier to discuss the 2022 NBA draft now than it was even just last month. The season is underway for college basketball — and the G League Ignite, Overtime Elite, and several international leagues —  which means draft boards are shaping up.

After a ton of movement, as of right now, here is how we see the 2022 NBA draft unfolding.

Draft order is pulled from Tankathon. All stats are accurate as of 11/22/21.

2022 NBA draft: Breaking down the best freshmen in college basketball

It’s no secret that in the NBA draft, the first few players selected are almost always one-and-done freshmen. So who will it be next season?

It’s no secret that in the NBA draft, the first few players selected are almost always one-and-done freshmen. So who will it be next season?

Of course, it’s hard to say definitively before the college basketball season begins. But with the Champions Classic tipping off at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 9, another year of collegiate hoops is about to begin. That means another year of prospects are going to make their NCAA debuts and show scouts what they can potentially do as pros.

Below are ten of the best freshmen who are making the transition to the college ranks — as well as another watch-list of some other notable and interesting freshmen to pay attention to as well.

(Note that Memphis’ Emoni Bates was not included because he is not eligible to be drafted until the 2023 NBA draft.)

2022 aggregate NBA mock draft: Debut ranking of all notable prospects

The 2021 NBA draft class finished their first go-around in the summer league, which means evaluators are fully focused on next year’s class.

The 2021 NBA draft class finished their first go-around in the summer league, which means evaluators are fully focused on next year’s class.

In order to help us get a better sense of where all of the projected top prospects in the class stand as of right now, we compiled mock drafts from Bleacher Report, Yahoo, The Athletic, Yahoo, SB Nation, NBADraft.net, CBS Sports, and USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s For The Win.

Please note that these rankings reflect the composite score to get a feel for consensus, not our own opinion.

Collegiate teams who had more than two players appear on a mock were Auburn, Baylor, Duke, Kentucky, Michigan, Tennessee and UCLA. Three players will be on the G League’s Ignite roster and one is on Overtime’s Elite squad.

Additionally, seven players are rostered in Spain and four are playing in Australia’s NBL. There are also three players on Serbia’s KK Mega Basket included.

Freshmen one-and-done candidates who didn’t make the list but could climb on to join during the season: Harrison Ingram (Stanford), Trevor Keels (Duke), Bryce McGowens (Nebraska), Josh Minott (Memphis), Kowacie Reeves (Florida), Bryce Hopkins (Kentucky), Nathan Bittle (Oregon) and Jeremy Sochan (Baylor).

Some of the most notable collegiate returners who were snubbed from these rankings: Marcus Williams (Texas A&M), Jonathan Davis (Wisconsin), Kofi Cockburn (Illinois), Zach Edey (Purdue), Adam Miller (LSU), Colin Castleton (Florida) and Tyson Etienne (Wichita State).

Relevant international prospects to know who were not included below: Fedor Zugic, Lefteris Mantzoukas, Jayson Tchicamboud, Nikita Mikhailovskii, Yoan Makoundou, Tom Digbeu and Makur Maker.

Otherwise, you can learn the latest updates on every single prospect who has been included in recent mock drafts by scrolling below.

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report

Main Image: Coley Cleary / USA TODAY Sports Media Group

2021 NBA Mock Draft: Predicting all 59 picks, starting with Chet Holmgren

Let’s look ahead to next year’s draft.

We are only a couple of weeks removed from the 2021 NBA draft and it’s silly to publish a mock draft for next year. But let’s do it anyway.

Because frankly, far away as though it may seem, ten months can go by fast. Although a lot is going to change, some things stay the same. For example, I published my first mock draft of the 2020 cycle in May 2019 and all three of the first projected picks heard their names called within the first three picks nearly fifteen months later. Much of the rest, of course, is utterly wrong and embarrassing. But it is still helpful to track progression and regression.

Before we discuss the next crop of future NBA talent, however, let’s address the elephant in the room. You have probably noticed that the headline said this mock draft highlights 59 picks. No, that isn’t a typo.

Allow me to explain. The Milwaukee Bucks have forfeited the rights to their second-round pick in the 2022 NBA draft due to violating league rules regarding an attempted transaction made back in Nov. 2020. While it sucks for the additional person who is going to go undrafted, undrafted free agency isn’t the worst thing.

Otherwise, the order of this draft was determined by reversing the NBA futures odds courtesy of Tipico SportsBook. The teams whose odds fell outside the eight best in each conference composed the projected lottery. Meanwhile, all picks involved with previous trades were included in the order as well.

Another quick housekeeping note: My mock drafts tend to be fairly data-driven. But that can sometimes lead to some blind spots for evaluating prospects playing outside the NCAA (e.g. high school, AAU, FIBA, etc.), which made pre-season mock drafts particularly difficult.

That’s no longer the case thanks to the help from our fantastic new partners over at Cerebro Sports, a stats and analytics resource that scrapes box scores to determine how top basketball prospects have stacked up against all their previous competition.

With all that in mind, far away as we may be from draft night on June 22, here is how I see everything shaking out just based on what we know so far:

Five-star 2021 PG JD Davison commits to Alabama

JD Davison, the No. 1 point guard in the class of 2021 according to 247Sports, committed to Alabama on Saturday night.

Nate Oats has experienced multiple recruiting victories since arriving at Alabama last March, but none compare to the commitment he secured on Saturday night.

JD Davison, the No. 1 point guard and No. 10 recruit in the class of 2021 according to 247Sports, has committed to Alabama. He is the Crimson Tide’s third-highest rated recruit since 2002, the program’s highest-rated recruit since Collin Sexton in 2017 and its second 2021 commitment, joining four-star St. Francis Day School (Ga.) small forward Jusaun Holt. Davison picked Alabama over Auburn, Kansas, Kentucky, LSU, Memphis and Michigan. His primary recruiter was assistant coach Antoine Pettaway.

Davison is the reigning Gatorade Player of the Year in Alabama after averaging 33.4 points and 12 rebounds per game as a junior in 2019-20. The 6-foot-3 lead guard shined in Calhoun High School’s state championship victory over Barbour County earlier this year, scoring 34 points, hauling in 10 rebounds and hitting the game-winning three-pointer as time expired.

“Has a good physical build for a point guard,” 247Sports’ Jerry Meyer said in Davison’s scouting report. Extremely athletic. Explosive leaper who specializes in getting to the rim and finishing. Also has great body control and is a creative and adept finisher. Has a reliable jump shot to keep the defense honest. Sees the court well. Finds the diagonal pass. Can make the high degree of difficulty pass. Has the tools to be a high-level perimeter defender and rebounder.”

Top basketball target JD Davison moves up commitment date

JD Davison, the No. 1 point guard in 2021 according to the 247Sports Composite, has moved his commitment date up yo Oct. 3, according to 247Sports.

JD Davison, the No. 1 point guard in 2021 according to the 247Sports Composite, has moved his commitment date up to Oct. 3, according to 247Sports.

The 6-foot-3 and 175-pound Davison is the No. 9 overall recruit and has a final six of Auburn. Alabama, Kansas, LSU, Memphis and Michigan.

He spoke earlier with 247Sports about his top schools and his fit with Auburn.

“They fit my play-style, they got coach [Bruce] Pearl and coach [Wes] Flanigan, some great coaches and they have great point guards come through there.”