2017 NBA Draft: Which players should have stayed in school?

Antonio Blakeney, LSU Tigers

Antonio Blakeney definitely would have been best served by returning to LSU. Blakeney is ranked as the 85th best prospect by Draft Express and the 88th by ESPN, meaning he will likely go undrafted.

The 6’4″ shooting guard can score the basketball. His best attribute is penetrating, though he is also a good shooter. He is a little undersized as a two, as well as a little scrawny. However, what is perhaps the most problematic, is the fact that he had more turnovers than assists this past season. Additionally, he is not a strong defender.

On the positive side, Blakeney improved his offensive production dramatically as a sophomore. Blakeney increased his scoring from 12.6 points as a freshman to 17.2. He also improved his shooting percentage by three points (42.5% to 45.8%) while shooting nearly 36% from beyond the arc.

If Blakeney did return to LSU for his junior campaign, he likely could have worked his way to a guaranteed second round selection. The caveat is that he averaged 20 points a game while continuing to shoot the ball well. As well as improving his assist-to-turnover ratio, both which would have been real possibilities. The second team All-SEC selection posted an 18.1 PER in 2016-17.