Jonathan Wasserman over at Bleacher Report has a
Top 5 players at every position preview. I like this format as it gives you a sense of the other players in competition for the NBA draft. There are a few listings here that stick out to me, such as Nolan Hickman at #2 among lead ball handlers. First off, he's going to get like the 3rd most touches on the team as lead ball handler behind Andrew Nembhard and Hunter Sallis. Saying that he's the 2nd best prospect at his position in all of college basketball seems pretty wild to me. Also, at 6'2" and 185, he's not particularly big for his position, either. A very optimistic ranking in my view.
Wasserman has AJ Griffin listed #1 among the category of "interchangeable forwards" (Caleb Houstan is #1 at "traditional small forwards" while Patrick Baldwin, Jr., is #2 in the interchangeable forward category, if that sheds any light on the categorization). Here's the brief scouting report:
Among Hybrid Bigs, Paolo Banchero edges out Chet Holmgren for the top spot and has this write-up:
Meanwhile, Mark Williams checked in at #3 in the "traditional bigs" behind Memphis freshman Jalen Duren and Congolese 7-footer (playing in Spain this year) Yannick Nzosa. Williams appears two spots ahead of Walker Kessler, in case you were wondering.
For Williams, I wonder if added lower-body strength this offseason will help him unlock a little more offensive skills. The other exciting thing reading this is seeing how high people are outside of the program on Duke's frontcourt. It has as much potential as any in the country.