11
Stanley Johnson
COLLEGE: Arizona
HT: 6-7
WT: 237
POS: SF
2014-15 STATS
PPG 14.4
RPG 6.9
APG 1.7
The board is pretty fluid between Nos. 5 and 12. Johnson could end up just as easily going fifth or sixth as he could 11th. Johnson was replaced by
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson in the starting lineup on Sunday against Arizona State. However, by the start of the second half, Johnson was back with the first team. It appears that there have been some concerns about Johnson's defensive effort as well as a tendency for the ball to stop moving when he's on the floor. Those are minor issues overall and everyone expects Johnson to continue to play the alpha-dog role for Arizona. His shooting has been especially impressive this season; he's making 52 percent of his 2-point jumpers and 45 percent from 3. It's his percentage at the rim (just 48 percent) that has raised some eyebrows.
PREVIOUS RANK: No. 9 | PLAYER CARD
12
D'Angelo Russell
COLLEGE: Ohio State
HT: 6-5
WT: 176
POS: PG
2014-15 STATS
PPG 17.7
RPG 4.5
APG 5.1
Ohio State has come back down to earth, but scouts still are enamored with Russell, a silky smooth combo guard who looks more and more like he'll be able to play both the 1 and the 2 in the NBA someday. He had a career-high nine assists against Miami (Ohio) and has recorded at least four assists in 13 of the 15 games he has played this season.
PREVIOUS RANK: No. 11 | PLAYER CARD
13
R.J. Hunter
COLLEGE: Georgia St
HT: 6-5
WT: 185
POS: SG
2014-15 STATS
PPG 19.5
RPG 4.1
APG 3.6
After the first 12 players are off the board, scouts report a pretty distinct drop in talent. Hunter made a name for himself with a terrific summer performance, but his jump shot has not been falling of late, which is a major disappointment in a draft that desperately needs shooters. In December and early January, Hunter made just 11 of the 57 3-pointers he took. That amounts to an awful 19 percent. Scouts don't doubt he can shoot the basketball. It's his ability to get good shots that's the question right now. Scouts expect Hunter, who last season shot 39.5 percent from 3, to revert to the mean at some point.
PREVIOUS RANK: No. 12 | PLAYER CARD
14
Jakob Poeltl
COLLEGE: Utah
HT: 7-0
WT: 230
POS: C
2014-15 STATS
PPG 9.8
RPG 8.3
BPG 2.1
Poeltl has struggled a bit as well in the past few weeks after a red-hot start. He hasn't scored in double figures since Dec. 3 and he's grabbed double-digit rebounds in just two games in the past month. Foul trouble has had something to do with it. He also is not playing with quite the same energy that he did early on. Still, he posted a nice nine-point, 10-rebound game in 21 minutes against UCLA on Sunday. His offensive game is still very much a work in progress, but his defense could get him drafted in the lottery despite his challenges scoring the basketball.
PREVIOUS RANK: No. 13 | PLAYER CARD
15
Montrezl Harrell
COLLEGE: Louisville
HT: 6-7
WT: 243
POS: PF
2014-15 STATS
PPG 16.7
RPG 9.5
BPG 1.1
Montrezl just keeps doing what Montrezl does. He might be the most consistent player on our board. Yes, Kentucky recently held him to his first single-digit scoring game of the season, but the Wildcats tend to do that to everyone. Harrell fought hard against Kentucky and scouts love that. He had one of his best performances of the season on Sunday against Wake Forest, posting 25 points and 13 rebounds on 9-of-14 shooting. He even went 2-for-3 from beyond the arc. Harrell is still trying to show that the 3-point shot is part of his arsenal; however, he's just 6-for-24 on 3s this season.
PREVIOUS RANK: No. 16 | PLAYER CARD
16
Trey Lyles
COLLEGE: Kentucky
HT: 6-10
WT: 235
POS: PF
2014-15 STATS
PPG 7.8
RPG 5.8
BPG .3
Getting a great read on Lyles' draft stock has proven to be tricky. Some scouts believe he's a lottery pick. Others believe he's more of a late first-round pick. Nothing he's done this season seems to be moving the needle much in either direction. So take this ranking with a grain of salt. He could be five spots higher or lower on draft night. One area that has really stood out is his midrange game. Lyles takes 47.5 percent of his shots in this range, shooting 50 percent. Combine that with his numbers at the rim (81 percent) and Lyles is very efficient. His 3-point shot has been way off this season (14 percent), but at the next level, his ability to shoot that midrange jumper will be big.
PREVIOUS RANK: No. 21 | PLAYER CARD
17
Frank Kaminsky
COLLEGE: Wisconsin
HT: 7-0
WT: 234
POS: C
2014-15 STATS
PPG 16.6
RPG 8.5
BPG 1.9
Kaminsky is Okafor's top challenger for college player of the year. However, he's not considered nearly the NBA prospect that Okafor is. His main calling card in the NBA will be his shooting touch from beyond the arc. He has been a good, but not elite, 3-point shooter this season. While he's shooting 38 percent from 3 overall, in the past month he's just 3-for-10.
PREVIOUS RANK: No. 20 | PLAYER CARD
18
Delon Wright
COLLEGE: Utah
HT: 6-5
WT: 178
POS: PG
2014-15 STATS
PPG 15.1
RPG 4.9
APG 5.6
Wright continues to play like one of the top point guards in the country. However, he's putting up virtually identical numbers to the ones he posted last season. The only real difference is that his rebounding is slightly down and his 3-point shooting is slightly up. His performance against Kansas a few weeks ago got a lot of scouts on his bandwagon. Utah hasn't been challenged much since, and Wright has cruised with two 10-assist games against South Dakota State and USC. A big season in Pac-12 play should guarantee him a spot in the mid- to late first round.
PREVIOUS RANK: No. 17 | PLAYER CARD
19
Jerian Grant
COLLEGE: Notre Dame
HT: 6-5
WT: 185
POS: PG
2014-15 STATS
PPG 17.3
RPG 3.2
APG 6.3
Grant continues to make the case that he's the best point guard in college basketball. He can do everything. He's got great size, can score the basketball from anywhere on the floor and is sporting a ridiculous 3.9-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. There are some questions about his jump shot (40.5 percent from 2 and 35.1 percent from 3) but his numbers have been solid. When he gets to the rim, however, he's shooting an astonishing 85 percent. His explosive dunk against Georgia Tech on Saturday was one of the highlights of the season. Even when he's not scoring the basketball, like in Monday's win over North Carolina, he's making his presence felt in other ways (he had eight assists and just two turnovers against UNC). Age is really the only argument that you can make against Grant right now. He'll turn 23 before the start of the 2015-16 NBA season. In my mind, he's right there with Okafor and Kaminsky for college player of the year.
PREVIOUS RANK: No. 27 | PLAYER CARD
20
Tyrone Wallace
COLLEGE: California
HT: 6-5
WT: 200
POS: PG
2014-15 STATS
PPG 18.9
RPG 8.6
APG 4.2
Wallace was on fire in nonconference play, leading his team in scoring, rebounding and assists while shooting the lights out from deep. However, his shooting touch seems to have left him as the Bears have moved into Pac-12 play. He's gone just 8-for-34 from the field and 1-for-8 from 3-point range in his past two games (against Washington and Washington State). He doesn't have a lot offensive help right now outside of Jordan Matthews. Getting Jabari Bird back is a godsend. The good news is that Wallace continues to get to the line and essentially won the game for Cal against the Huskies on the free throw line on Friday. Scouts are mixed on Wallace's NBA potential. Some are skeptical that he's improved as dramatically as the numbers suggest and expect him to regress as the season progresses. Others think that his combination of size, athleticism, shooting touch and court vision make him an ideal point guard prospect at the next level. Wallace will have plenty of chances to prove himself against some top guards in the Pac-12. It will be interesting to see where his stock lands.
PREVIOUS RANK: No. NR | PLAYER CARD
21
Justin Anderson
COLLEGE: Virginia
HT: 6-6
WT: 222
POS: SF
2014-15 STATS
PPG 15.1
RPG 4.5
APG 1.8
Someone tell Anderson that he's supposed to regress to the mean! He shot 30 percent from 3-point range as a freshman and 29 percent as a sophomore, but is hitting a crazy 59 percent of his 3s this season. He's 30-for-51 from beyond the arc and shows no signs of cooling off. Add in that he's a terrific athlete, has an NBA body and length and can be a lockdown defender, and he could be the real sleeper of this draft if he can keep knocking down shots at this rate.
PREVIOUS RANK: No. 30 | PLAYER CARD
22
Sam Dekker
COLLEGE: Wisconsin
HT: 6-9
WT: 230
POS: SF
2014-15 STATS
PPG 12.7
RPG 4.5
APG 1.3
Dekker seems to have recovered from the ankle injury that plagued him early in the season; he has been stronger the past few weeks. Shooting always has been the big indicator of his NBA worth from scouts. He shot 39 percent from 3 as a freshman, 33 percent as a sophomore and is back up to 39 percent this season. If he can keep knocking down shots, he has all of the other tools -- namely toughness, athleticism -- to make a terrific NBA small forward.
PREVIOUS RANK: No. 23 | PLAYER CARD
23
Tyus Jones
COLLEGE: Duke
HT: 6-1
WT: 170
POS: PG
2014-15 STATS
PPG 10.2
RPG 3.6
APG 5.3
You can make the argument that Jones has been the best "pure" point guard in the country this season. Sporting a terrific 3.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, the freshman has been highly efficient running Duke's offense. He's having a crazy good season. He's also come up big in the scoring department on nights when Duke needs him, and has been content to let others do the work on nights when they don't -- a hallmark of a terrific floor leader. It's really Jones' lack of ideal size or explosive athleticism that holds him this far down the board.
PREVIOUS RANK: No. 25 | PLAYER CARD
24
Chris McCullough
COLLEGE: Syracuse
HT: 6-9
WT: 200
POS: PF
2014-15 STATS
PPG 10.1
RPG 7.5
BPG 2.3
McCullough's production plummeted in the second half of December. Maybe Jim Boeheim was right to be so incredulous at his soaring draft stock a month ago. After scoring in double figures in his first eight games (including three double-doubles), McCullough's offense has completely disappeared. In his past six games, he is averaging 4.5 PPG and shooting just 28 percent from the field. The only number that really hasn't dipped for McCullough is his shot-blocking. Scouts still insist that McCullough's defensive potential and ability to hit jumpers make him a great prospect, but if he can't figure out how to start putting the ball in the basket, his stock obviously is going to take a big hit.
PREVIOUS RANK: No. 15 | PLAYER CARD
25
Cliff Alexander
COLLEGE: Kansas
HT: 6-8
WT: 251
POS: PF
2014-15 STATS
PPG 8.3
RPG 5.8
BPG 1.3
Alexander continues to be an effective energy guy coming off the bench. He took the most shots of his career on Sunday against UNLV and went 5-for-12 from the field for 10 points and five rebounds in 21 minutes. Alexander clearly has an NBA body and terrific athleticism and motor, but his basketball skills are lagging, and once again we saw him struggle a bit against the length of Goodluck Okonoboh and Christian Wood in the UNLV game. At this point, he's moving out of the lottery conversation and looks like he might be better off playing at least one more season at Kansas to polish his skills. Nevertheless, it's a long season and as Oubre proved, things can turn around quickly when the right opportunities come along.
PREVIOUS RANK: No. 18 | PLAYER CARD
26
Terry Rozier
COLLEGE: Louisville
HT: 6-2
WT: 190
POS: PG
2014-15 STATS
PPG 17.1
RPG 5.6
APG 2.1
Rozier has dramatically improved as a scorer. He has gone from averaging 7.0 PPG as a freshman to 17.1 PPG this season, and he's doing it while shooting a more efficient percentage from the field. However, questions remain about his point guard skills. He had a 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio as a freshman, and that's dropped to 2.3-to-2.1. If Rozier is just an undersized scoring guard, his draft stock plummets. With Chris Jones taking the lead as a point guard, Rozier isn't getting a lot of chances to show what he can do as a playmaker.
PREVIOUS RANK: No. 22 | PLAYER CARD
27
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
COLLEGE: Arizona
HT: 6-7
WT: 220
POS: SF
2014-15 STATS
PPG 11.4
RPG 6.4
APG 1.8
Hollis-Jefferson volunteered to come off the bench at the start of the season to give Arizona some scoring punch. He got his first start Sunday against Arizona State and responded with 13 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block and 1 steal in 27 minutes. While his defense has been spectacular at times (Hollis-Jefferson can guard three, maybe four positions), his offense has been inconsistent due in large part to a shaky jump shot. His ability to find more consistent ways to score will largely determine whether he's considered a fringe lottery pick or a defensive specialist more suited to the late first round.
PREVIOUS RANK: No. 24 | PLAYER CARD
28
Bobby Portis
COLLEGE: Arkansas
HT: 6-11
WT: 231
POS: PF
2014-15 STATS
PPG 16.8
RPG 7.8
BPG 1
I feel like Portis might be trying to get into the wrong draft. He has been good for Arkansas this season. Very good. It's just that there's such a glut of elite power forwards ahead of him on the board that he has struggled to stand out. Portis is one of those guys who does lots of things well, but doesn't necessarily excel at any one. Having a big game against Kentucky in late February might be his only real shot, given the weakness of the SEC, to show scouts he is better than they perceive.
PREVIOUS RANK: No. 28 | PLAYER CARD
29
Caris LeVert
COLLEGE: Michigan
HT: 6-6
WT: 185
POS: SF
2014-15 STATS
PPG 14.6
RPG 5.2
APG 3.9
Michigan is a mess, and after a fast start for LeVert, he seems to be enmeshed in it as well. Although his numbers for the season are strong, he has struggled the past few weeks, putting up poor performances against Eastern Michigan, Arizona, SMU and Purdue, all Wolverines losses. Scouts note that he has especially struggled this season against better teams such as Oregon, Syracuse, Arizona, SMU and Purdue. His only strong performance against a top team was a 16-point night against Villanova in late November. Some of that can be blamed on the lack of talent on this Michigan squad. But LeVert's ascension to being "the man" in Michigan just doesn't look that impressive right now.
PREVIOUS RANK: No. 19 | PLAYER CARD
30
Robert Upshaw
COLLEGE: Washington
HT: 6-11
WT: 255
POS: C
2014-15 STATS
PPG 11.1
RPG 7.6
BPG 4.6
Upshaw leads the NCAA in blocked shots despite averaging just 23 minutes per game for Washington. That's a remarkable stat. So, too, is the data that shows he blocks one out of every six shots an opponent takes when he's on the floor. Yes, there are off-the-court concerns. Yes, he lacks much in the way of polish on the offensive end. But he's got NBA size and length (a reported 7-5½ wingspan) and projects as an elite rim-protector. Teams are paying very close attention.
PREVIOUS RANK: No. NR | PLAYER CARD
Next five in:
Dakari Johnson, C, Kentucky;
Christian Wood, PF, UNLV;
Chris Walker, PF, Florida;
Egemen Guven, F, Turkey;
Devin Booker, SG, Kentucky