With the NBA draft lottery being completed on Wednesday night and the combine going on this week in Chicago, next month’s draft will be here before we know it.
For LSU fans, all the eyes will be on forward [autotag]Tari Eason[/autotag]. The transfer from Cincinnati had a breakout sophomore season, winning the SEC Sixth Man of the Year award, and he is likely to hear his name called in the first round of the draft.
Originally slated as a mid-to-late round pick, Eason has seen his stock increase quite a bit in the last few weeks. He’s now seeing fairly regular lottery projections and in the most recent draft board from 247Sports’ Travis Branham, he sits at No. 11.
Key attributes: Defensive versatility, NBA-ready body, athleticism, motor
Stats: 16.9 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 1.0 APG, 1.1 BPG, 1.9 SPG (52.1% FGs, 35.9% from three)
Tari Eason has a chance to be one of the best defenders in this entire class and he has found ways to be productive on the offensive end as well. He isn’t the most polished scorer but his size, strength, athleticism and activity level create scoring opportunities and he has developed his jumper.
Eason is certainly a dominant defensive player as he was a semifinalist for national player of the year in that category. He also finished in the top 10 among SEC players in terms of scoring average.
He could boost his stock even more in Chicago this week, but regardless, his wait on June 23 shouldn’t be very long.
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