Everybody agrees that Joel Embiid, Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker will be the top three picks in some order. After that it gets interesting.
Kentucky’s Julius Randle has been the most polarizing figure out of the big name freshmen. It has nothing to do with his numbers (16.7 PPG and 10.6 RPG), but it has more to do with how his game will translate to the next level. Scouts are steadily dropping him on their big boards.
Who is the latest to jump Randle? None other than Indiana’s Noah Vonleh.
Why? He’s bigger and longer, which are two factors that scouts obsess about. He also has, in the past few weeks, stretched his game out into the perimeter. In his past four games, Vonleh is 7-for-9 from behind the arc. His stroke looks really pure and he’s beginning to look comfortable on the perimeter.
He also has a higher rebounding rate than Randle on the defensive boards. Plus, he shoots nearly 20 percent better from the field at the rim (70.1 percent to Randle’s 50.2), he’s more accurate on his 2-point jumpers (40.9 percent to 36.6) and much more accurate in his 3-point shooting (55.6 percent to Randle’s 11).
Don’t be surprised if Aaron Gordon passes Julius Randle as well.