PROJECTED AREA OF SELECTION- Late lottery
Ennis is a Canadian born player, like Andrew Wiggins, and similarly to the Kansas guard he has thrust himself into one of the most competitive conferences in the country, the ACC. Unlike Wiggins, there hasn't been any growing pains for Ennis running the offense of the number one team in the country (as of article release time). Ennis has shown poise beyond his years and even at 6'2" has shown court awareness and vision reminiscent of Jason Kidd. The rest of his game is very un-Kiddlike as he relies more on taking good angles and Syracuse's zone defense to get his turnovers since he isn't the greatest athlete. That being said, he does everything you want of a point guard late in games. He doesn't turn the ball over and he makes his free throws. Most teams would have crumbled after what transpired at the end of the Duke/Syracuse game on Saturday. The 'Cuse held it together because of their point guard. Oh yeah, he also leads the conference in assists and steals.
PROJECTED AREA OF SELECTION- Mid lottery
Miss out on the big guns? Here is your consolation prize: The Big Ten's leading scorer (18.4 PPG), Michigan State's Gary Harris. Harris may be smaller for a shooting guard at 6'4" but he can fill it up from anywhere and is fearless. He has ridiculous range as a catch and shoot guy but can also make his own shot off the dribble and take it to the basket. He isn't just an offensive force either. He is a terrific perimeter defender who is regularly asked to defend players as much as four to five inches taller than him. He is second in the Big Ten in steals all the while frustrating opposing guards by taking charges and blanketing them with his man to man defense. That's a pretty good consolation prize if you ask me.
PROJECTED AREA OF SELECTION- Mid to late first round
Anderson may not be the most highly touted Bruin entering this draft (that would be Zach LaVine) but he is surely the most well rounded. He has Lance Stephenson potential as he is a triple double just waiting to happen. He leads the Pac-12 in assists as a 6'9" forward, is 4th in rebounding at 8.7 per game, whilst averaging just over 15 points on 50% shooting from both inside and outside the arc. His ability to cut down on turnovers has drastically improved his game but the fatal flaw in Anderson's game is that even though he averages nearly two steals per contest, he lacks the quickness and overall speed that most NBA teams salivate over these days.
PROJECTED AREA OF SELECTION- Early to mid second round
Does your team need a guy that just rebounds? He doesn't need to shoot but he can. He doesn't need the ball every time down the floor but there is a good chance if you miss he's going to get the put back. Do you want this guy for pennies in terms of NBA money? Look no further than UNLV's Roscoe Smith. Currently averaging a double-double as the nation's leading rebounder, Smith doesn't do anything particularly great but the UCONN transfer seems to always be in the right place at the right time. He works hard and I wouldn't be surprised if he had Reggie Evans' career in the pros, a guy who grabs 9-10 boards a night and does all the dirty work. If somehow he develops even a remotely reliable mid range jumper, he could be an NBA starter. There are always diamonds in the rough.
PROJECTED AREA OF SELECTION- Mid to late first round
Miss out on Joel Embiid? Of course you did, your team made the playoffs or you root for the Knicks. (Sigh) Here is the next best thing. Kentucky may be scuffling a bit right now but like always they'll probably have three or four of their players go in the draft's first round. After Julius Randle, the next Wildcat off the board will most likely be Willie Cauley-Stein. WCS can run the floor with the best of them and already is quite the polished shot blocker. What separates Embiid and other lottery centers from yesteryear is his near lack of an offensive game. He shoots 58% from the field but rarely does he venture out past five feet from the cylinder. Not that you need a shot blocker (he's second in the SEC at 3.1 per game) to be launching threes or anything, but a 10 to 12 foot jumper should be a part of any big man's arsenal that wants to dominate on the professional level. Tim Duncan has made a living off it. I am not saying Willie will ever resemble the Spurs great but if he can improve his jumper moderately, he could be a DeAndre Jordan type player. I've seen Cauley-Stein projected as high as the late lottery but most pundits have him in the lower part of the first round where he could have great value.
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