2019 Mock Draft tracking

[JasonEvans]

The conversation elsewhere wondering about Nassir Little's NBA draft stock got me to thinking about keeping track of what the conventional wisdom is on various college players regarding their NBA prospects. DraftExpress used to have a feature that kept track of where various players had been in previous mock drafts. I really liked that feature but DraftExpress has gone away at this point.

So, every so often I am going to take a snap of the top 20 or so picks in the 2019 NBADraft.net mock and post it here so we can look back on it. I am not saying that NBADraft.net is a perfect gauge of draft stock, but it is not totally worthless either. I just think it could be interesting to see how guys move up and down.

Here is the first. As you can see from the top of the image, this was done prior to the first games on 11/6.


Of note-- Neither Tre nor Marquis are listed anywhere (not just in the top 24, they are not in the first or second rounds).
PJ Washington (not shown but at #30) is the only Kentucky player listed in the first or second rounds. I'm confident that will change in the next update as Keldon Johnson looked really good.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker was getting some draft buzz around this time last year... and then he cooled off a good bit for the Hokies. Will be interesting to see if he can maintain it this year.
Jaylen Hoard of Wake is a lottery pick.
Nassir Little checks in at #5. Over the summer I recall him being #2. Let's see how long he stays in the top 10 as Roy continues to show Carolina is a terrible destination for you if you want to become a pro prospect.

-Jason "Zion was down at #5 a few weeks ago... then NBA scouts attended a Duke practice" Evans

[kAzE]

I know it's against DBR rules to post content from premium sites, but just throwing it out there that ESPN's (formerly DraftExpress') Jonathan Givony's rankings are regularly posted on Reddit by ESPN subscribers. I won't post them here, but they are easily Google-able if you're curious.

Not sure if he's updated his rankings since the game, but he did post this article (for ESPN+ subscribers only): http://www.espn.com/nba/insider/stor...mpions-classic

IMO, Givony is by FAR the most accurate mock drafter.

[brlftz]

Can't spork, so thanks for doing this, sounds like it could be a fascinating thread.

[JasonEvans]

First update... guess who the new #1 pick is.

Dukies are now #1, #2, and #3.



The Nassir Little slide continues. I had seen him at #2 over the summer before he arrived on Carolina's campus. In the pre-season a couple weeks ago, he was #5. Now has has fallen out of the lottery to #15. Going to Carolina is a really, really, really bad move if you want to be a high NBA draft pick.

[UrinalCake]

One of my favorite signs in Cameron, from a few years ago. Looks like Little will be suffering the same fate as James Michael McAdoo (and Harrison Barnes, Jon Henson, Ed Davis, Isaiah Hicks, Reggie Bullock, etc.)

6467646A-4F08-42ED-AC6E-786E07A6AEAF.jpg

[UrinalCake]

Seriously, it is inconceivable what Roy is doing to Little. Over the summer many experts said he was right up their with our big three in terms of talent. Some projected him as the overall #1 pick in 2019 due to his excellent defensive ability. Now Roy has him coming off the bench in favor of Garrison Brooks so that he can run his two-big lineup. Little is averaging something like 20 minutes a game. The way Roy is hiding him, you’d think the FBI was still looking for him.

But turning our attention to players who DIDN’T make the worst mistake of their lives by attending UNC, I see that Zion has overtaken RJ for the #1 spot. I imagine these two will swap places numerous times throughout the year, similar to Bagley/Ayton, Okafor/Towns, and Jabari/Wiggins. It’s just really fun that these guys are both on our team. And oh yeah, Cam too 8-).

[PackMan97]

Seriously, it is inconceivable what Roy is doing to Little.

Why? It's a pretty well established pattern. K coaching equals NBA draft, Roy coaching equals one of the last elite prospects in your class still playing college ball.

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

Seriously, it is inconceivable what Roy is doing to Little. Over the summer many experts said he was right up their with our big three in terms of talent. Some projected him as the overall #1 pick in 2019 due to his excellent defensive ability. Now Roy has him coming off the bench in favor of Garrison Brooks so that he can run his two-big lineup. Little is averaging something like 20 minutes a game. The way Roy is hiding him, you’d think the FBI was still looking for him.

He started last night and and played a few more minutes but had his least productive game of the three he’s played. So, obviously, back to the bench!

Meanwhile, Sideshow Bob... I mean Coby White... has started all three games.

[OldPhiKap]

K to a recruit: “I design an offense each year to highlight the skills of the players. And I want my shooters to shoot.”

Roy to a recruit: “you see, I helped Dean Smith create this secondary break system . . . .”

[MChambers]

The way Roy is hiding him, you’d think the FBI was still looking for him.

Wish I'd written this! Sporks for you!

[crf30]

Haven't seen it mentioned here, Tre Jones is projected as #30 on nbadraft.net now.

[Troublemaker]

He started last night and and played a few more minutes but had his least productive game of the three he’s played. So, obviously, back to the bench!

Meanwhile, Sideshow Bob... I mean Coby White... has started all three games.

To be clear, Little came off the bench but did end up playing more minutes than Brooks, although that could be due to the blowout nature of the game. (It was 52-26 at the half).

Brooks really has played well this season thus far, so I can understand (even if I disagree) why a two-big coach like Roy would start him over Little. And if Little receives 6th-man's minutes (20-25 mpg), that by itself shouldn't be enough to keep him out of the draft.

What would be really damning though is if, in the minutes he plays, Little looks not nearly as good as Duke's 3 wing studs despite Little having being ranked right there with those guys coming out of high school and Little racking up lots of highlights against our 3 guys in All-Star games.

Seriously, Offseason-UNC-Fan has all the prepared GIFs/videos of Little shutting down Barrett and Reddish, hitting a stepback on Zion, and breaking Zion's thumb with his masculinity. But will In-Season-UNC-Fan have to sheepishly make excuses for why Little isn't performing as well as the 3 Dukies? I think so.

[elvis14]

After the Ky win, I wandered over to IC to soak in the tears. A few things I learned:

1. They are obsessed with us. Literally 10 threads on the front page.
2. Like everyone else, they are obsessed with Zion. Oh and it's just a given that we paid him more than Kansas, otherwise he'd be playing for them.
3. UNCheat can beat Duke because Little can guard any of our 3 best freshman. Not sure how that logic plays out, it's almost like they don't understand that we are going to play all 3 at once and they only have one version of Little.
4. UNCheat fans are not happy that Little isn't starting and playing more (they aren't all dumb).

I hope that Little continues to be held back and serves as a warning to other top players of what not to do.

[JasonEvans]

Haven't seen it mentioned here, Tre Jones is projected as #30 on nbadraft.net now.

Yeah, I noticed that this morning. My "snip" image didn't get all the way down to pick #30. We should continues to track this. I believe this makes NBADraft.net the first of the major draft sites to project Tre as a OAD player.

-Jason "it is really too early to know much of anything about Tre... his play over the course of the season will go a long way to determining whether he will be back for his soph season" Evans

[UrinalCake]

But will In-Season-UNC-Fan have to sheepishly make excuses for why Little isn't performing as well as the 3 Dukies? I think so.

Their explanation is that Roy cares more about winning than about showcasing players for the NBA, and that Little has much more honor than our players because he is willing to go to a program where he has to earn it rather than having a starting job handed to him.

They also conveniently forget that Little was choosing between two other schools that were both mentioned in the FBI indictments, and only came to UNC because he had no other choice. Of course, when he chooses to stay for another year (and I win my pie!) it will be because he loves Carolina so much.

[SavDukeGrad]

After the Ky win, I wandered over to IC to soak in the tears. A few things I learned:

1. They are obsessed with us. Literally 10 threads on the front page.
2. Like everyone else, they are obsessed with Zion. Oh and it's just a given that we paid him more than Kansas, otherwise he'd be playing for them.
3. UNCheat can beat Duke because Little can guard any of our 3 best freshman. Not sure how that logic plays out, it's almost like they don't understand that we are going to play all 3 at once and they only have one version of Little.
4. UNCheat fans are not happy that Little isn't starting and playing more (they aren't all dumb).

I hope that Little continues to be held back and serves as a warning to other top players of what not to do.

You are absolutely right about their obsession with us!

I checked IC out for myself last night, and they had a thread titled “Would Zion start here”.

Paraphrasing, but my favorite from one poster - since Little is more skilled than Zion, and Little doesn’t even start, there’s no way Zion would start. Roy knows best; Trust in Roy!

Truly entertaining - I just hope the 5* recruits are paying attention.

[ChillinDuke]

Haven't seen it mentioned here, Tre Jones is projected as #30 on nbadraft.net now.

Shocking! Shocking, I say!

- Chillin

PS - Pie.

[Devils Librarian]

After the Ky win, I wandered over to IC to soak in the tears. A few things I learned:

1. They are obsessed with us. Literally 10 threads on the front page.
2. Like everyone else, they are obsessed with Zion. Oh and it's just a given that we paid him more than Kansas, otherwise he'd be playing for them.
3. UNCheat can beat Duke because Little can guard any of our 3 best freshman. Not sure how that logic plays out, it's almost like they don't understand that we are going to play all 3 at once and they only have one version of Little.
4. UNCheat fans are not happy that Little isn't starting and playing more (they aren't all dumb).

I hope that Little continues to be held back and serves as a warning to other top players of what not to do.

A small part of me truly expected UNC-CH people to forgo throwing around accusations of cheating after learning that their program was involved in two decades of fraud. I was wrong.

[JasonEvans]

I checked IC out for myself last night, and they had a thread titled “Would Zion start here”.

Perhaps the poster in question was posting from Charlotte and was wondering whether Zion would start for the Hornets ahead of the personification of NBA mediocrity, Marvin Williams.

[elvis14]

A small part of me truly expected UNC-CH people to forgo throwing around accusations of cheating after learning that their program was involved in two decades of fraud. I was wrong.

They truly believe that they did nothing wrong and that the NCAA cleared them of all wrongdoing. One post said something about how we pay Zion and nothing is said but they go through so much for 'two crib courses'. The NCAA said they wouldn't punish them because they wouldn't rule on the validity of a course (Wainstein report be damned), they did not 'clear' them. But I don't take IC seriously. I like to visit there after games like Ky to bathe in their tears. It can be tough reading though because everything comes back to us and it's all negative hyperbole.