The NBA Draft will kick off on Thursday from Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, and the top dogs seem set. Karl-Anthony Towns is the consensus No. 1 choice, while Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell, Duke’s Jahlil Okafor, and foreign star Kristaps Porzingis are monopolizing the next few picks in some order.
That doesn’t mean there isn’t talent going later in the draft that will surpass these golden prospects. Here are five players that will most likely be drafted behind the players listed above that could not only outperform their draft slot, but also the players at the top.
Justise Winslow, Duke G
Winslow is projected to go fifth overall to the Orlando Magic, but a case can be made for Winslow to be taken first or second. He is the best perimeter defender in the draft, and his college numbers are solid despite playing with two clear options ahead of him offensively.
Winslow averaged 12.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists as a freshman, often guarded the opposing team’s best player, and recorded a 22.6 PER per DraftExpress.com. His 2.5 defensive win shares were impressive in the loaded ACC, and even though his shooting gets knocked, he connected on 41.8 percent of his 3-pointers.
Winslow is a natural “3 & D” wing player with nowhere to go but up. It’s silly to be concerned about his shooting; he’s already hitting better than 40 percent from deep and he’s just 19 years old. If he’s around at No. 5, the Magic have stolen him.
Willie Cauley-Stein, Kentucky C
Like Winslow, Cauley-Stein has been underrated because his value is primarily on the defensive end of the court. Cauley-Stein is a monster shot-blocker, and he’s altering most of the shots he doesn’t swat clean. He has supreme confidence, recently telling The New York Post that he’s the best prospect in the draft and that he wouldn’t mind going down in New York Knicks history.
He may also have underestimated offensive gifts that stayed under wraps because he played for a Kentucky team loaded with offensive talent. His upside is that of a seven-foot version of Joakim Noah, a scary prospect for anyone attacking the rim.
Tyus Jones, Duke PG
Jones looked like a dwarf sometimes playing among his tree-like teammates at Duke, but in crunch time Jones took over games like he was Jabari Parker. He measured at 6’2 with shoes on at the Combine, so height shouldn’t trouble prospective teams, and his production at Duke was hard to argue against. His 11.8 points per game might not jump off the page, but that’s steady for a freshman with multiple All-American mouths to feed.
Jones can finish at the rim, make opponents pay for leaving him at the 3-point line, and showed leadership skills in running Duke’s team. He stepped up on countless occasions under pressure, and should go much higher than his projected No. 18 slot.
R.J. Hunter, Georgia State G/F
Hunter has tweener size, and some are questioning his ability to hang athletically with the big boys in the NBA. His competitions can’t match that of his ACC, Big 10, etc. big-conference counterparts. It sounds like the knocks on Stephen Curry coming out of Davidson a few years ago, but now they’re saying them about the taller R.J. Hunter.
Naysayers warning to beware of NCAA Tournament breakouts are ignoring his gaudy scoring numbers for the past three years. Hunter’s 3-point percentage dropped to just better than 30 percent as a junior, but he struggled with extra defensive attention. He still put up the same amount of points on just one shot more per game, because he wised up and began getting to the free throw line.
Hunter is a coach’s son, a smart player, and he has unlimited range. He may not become Stephen Curry, but he will become a lights-out shooter in the Association, and he will make a number of teams scratch their heads about how they passed on him.
Andrew Harrison, Kentucky PG
Andrew Harrison and his brother Aaron did not necessarily meet lofty expectations at Kentucky, but they were still highly productive players who made big shots. Andrew Harrison plays a solid point guard, and has a skill that no one can teach—height.
His athleticism isn’t Russell Westbrook’s, but it’s enough to compete at the NBA level. At 6’6, he can defend all three perimeter positions, and despite some knocking his 3-point stroke, he was a 38 percent shooter from deep last season, and he improved it from his freshman campaign. He’s projected to be a second-round pick on DraftExpress.com, and that’s entirely too low for a first-round talent whose college career might be viewed differently if he wasn’t at Kentucky.
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