Meet The Names Of Guys Rising Up The NBA Draft Chart
It’s NBA Draft week and I’ll be pumping out a bunch of different blogs getting everyone ready for the Draft on Thursday. Today we’ll take a look at names that have been making a jump up the Draft charts over the last few days. Find out why NBA front offices like these guys and who they are – some are names you know, some might be surprising, either way you’ve read this far, what’s a few more hundred words?
Kevin Knox (Wing, Freshman, Kentucky) – Kevin Knox is a name that a lot of people have been talking about the last 4-5 days. The main reason why? He’s the second youngest player in the Draft and fits the mold of the modern day NBA from an offensive side. He’s got nice size at 6’9″ and can really shoot the ball, especially with a quick release coming off of screens. One of the more underrated parts of his game is his rebounding. He had a 14.5 defensive rebounding percentage despite playing on a crowded Kentucky roster. He’s starting to get looked at as a top-10 guy, especially after getting a second workout with the Sixers.
Jerome Robinson (Combo Guard, Junior, Boston College) – Robinson was one of the best scorers in the country this season and was wildly effective. He ranked in the top-400 nationally in ORtg, true shooting percentage, 3-point percentage and effective field goal percentage. He was being mocked as a guy in the 25-35 range, but is now starting to get talked about as possibly going to the Hawks at No. 19. He just received an invite to the green room, which means someone expects him to go in the top-20 range. He does need to improve defensively, but he’s a guy that can just go get buckets right away.
Elie Okobo (Point Guard, France) – Elie Okobo is a guy who really made a name for himself after scoring 44 points in the first game of the French league playoffs against the league’s Defensive Player of the Year. Want to take a guess at who that is? Aaron Craft. He’s got good athleticism at 6’2″ as well as a 6’8″ wingspan that can step in and defend right away. He was initially viewed as a second round prospect as we entered draft season, but is now expected to go in the 20s. Don’t be surprised to see him be the second international player called after Luka Doncic.
Advertisement
Gary Trent Jr. (Wing, Freshman, Duke) – This is more of a guy climbing up in the second round. Gary Trent wasn’t on mock drafts for the majority of the year and even to start the draft season was projected to be picked somewhere with the last 5 picks. He’s now expected to go in the 40 range thanks to his shooting. Trent is one of the best shooters in the class as he shot 40% from three and 88% from the free throw line. He’s one dimensional in the aspect of he’s not expected to do much else besides shooting, but he does it extremely well. He can have a role in the NBA due to that and a team like the Magic who desperately need help shooting can take him earlier in the second round now.
Josh Okogie (Combo, Sophomore, Georgia Tech) – Okogie tested really well at the Combine as 6’4″ with a 7’0″ wingspan. After that he immediately started rising up the charts as he had a really strong performance in Chicago. He went from a second round pick to now expected to go first round and even top-45. He shoots the ball well and is someone that can step in and defend from day one.