NBA Draft 2018: 5 potential candidates to be the next Fred VanVleet
By Logan Butts
Donte DiVincenzo
The jury’s still out on whether the National Championship hero will enter the 2018 draft, but after his performance on the biggest stage, his stock may be as high as it will ever be.
Granted, if he did come back next season, he would be handed to keys to a Villanova team coming off of two titles in four years. But, there is no guarantee the Wildcats would make it back to the title.
The Big East Sixth Man of the Year stepped it up when it mattered most, scoring a career-high 31 points in Villanova’s thrashing of Michigan in the National Championship.
Like Evans, DiVencenzo has the size and athletic ability to play either guard spot. He is also a good shooter, as he proved in the title game.
Jacob Evans
At 6-6, 210, Evans is a little bigger than the rest of the guys on this list. He also projects to be more of a wing than a ball-handler.
But even if his position does not line up exactly with VanVleet’s, the skill set is exactly what NBA teams will be looking for.
Evans is a tough defender who can guard a number of different types of players, a must-have for the modern NBA. Evans could slot right in as a small-ball defensive swiss army knife, especially if he improves on offense.
His offensive is certainly not bad; he led 31-win Cincinnati squad in scoring (13.0) and assists (3.1). It’s just not at the same obvious NBA-level as his defense (4.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals).
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Obviously, finding a strong contributor for a playoff team in the second round or from the undrafted pile is not an easy task or everyone would do it, but finding a diamond in the rough can be what pushes a good team over the top.
There are several candidates in this year’s draft if the right team will give them the chance.