NBA Draft 2018 Big Board 1.0: Ranking the top 60 prospects
By John Ryan
The college basketball season is now complete. As the offseason gets started, where do former college stars stand in their preparation for the NBA Draft?
College basketball’s best time of the year, March Madness, has come to a close. The NBA Playoffs are on the horizon, and most importantly, lottery-bound NBA teams are battling for the rights to the highest lottery odds. It is finally NBA Draft season.
While the 2018 NBA Draft still may be just over two months away (June 21st), there is no time like the present to start gathering information. In the first edition of my draft Big Board, we will break down and rank each prospect, placing them in a tier matching their potential.
This year’s draft is incredibly deep inside of the lottery, with potentially 8 franchise-altering talents up for grabs. However, unlike last year, there is a steep decline in talent that should make things more unpredictable after the lottery. March Madness helped boost a ton of prospects’ draft stock and the quickly approaching draft combine should do the same.
This list does remain fluid as prospects continue to decide on whether they will officially enter the NBA Draft. Top-tier prospects have still yet to decide and their decisions can obviously impact this list.
As the calendar shifts closer to the draft, I will release updated editions of the Big Board, becoming much more in-depth on possible second-round prospects as the latter half of the draft pool gains clarity. These will also become increasingly concise in evaluating international prospects.
Leading us off is Tier 8, a group that largely consists of prospects who will serve rotational roles throughout their NBA careers. There are two different types of prospects making up this tier. Prospects like Jalen Brunson, who have refined skill-sets but lack the physical attributes that lead to a higher upside, and prospects like Hamidou Diallo who lack a refined skill-set but have physical qualities that make them impossible to overlook.
This part of the Big Board remains the biggest unknown with the potential for some of these players to still return to school. To reiterate, future editions will become much more in-depth with this tier as these prospects make their official decisions.
Tier 8: Second-round bench options
60. Kris Wilkes (SF, UCLA)
59. Jerome Robinson (PG, Boston College)
58. Shamorie Ponds (PG, St. Johns)
57. Jalen Hudson (SG, Florida)
56. Sagba Konate (C, West Virginia)
55. Goga Bitadze (Republic of Georgia)
54. Malik Newman (G, Kansas)
53. Allonzo Trier (SG, Arizona)
52. Alize Johnson (PF, Missouri State)
51. Cody Martin (SF, Nevada)
50. Tony Carr (PG, Penn State)
49. Ellie Okobo (PG, France
48. Austin Wiley (C, Auburn)
47. Jevon Carter (PG, West Virginia)
46. Keenan Evans (PG, Texas Tech)
45. Jalen Brunson (PG, Villanova)
44. Hamidou Diallo (SG, Kentucky)
43. Jacob Evans (PF, Cincinnati)
42. Isaac Bonga (PG, Germany)
41. Kenrich Williams (SF, TCU)