Big Ten Basketball: Who will be going to the 2018 NBA Draft Combine?
Invitations to the NBA Draft Combine are being sent out. Which Big Ten Basketball players are likely to receive one?
There are 20 Big Ten Players who have either declared for the NBA draft or are testing the waters. Eight players have hired agents. One guy is a senior who is showing up on big boards. Then there are 11 players who have declared for the NBA Draft but haven’t hired an agent.
The full list of highly likely drafted players can be found here. The top-five guys are more than likely going to be invited to the Draft Combine: Jaren Jackson Jr., Miles Bridges, Keita Bates-Diop, Mo Wagner and Tony Carr. Vincent Edwards and Justin Jackson may end up in Chicago. It’s a good possibility though that Leron Black and Corey Sanders won’t.
11 guys will have a choice to make whether they’re staying in the NBA Draft. It’s a good chance that those who aren’t invited will take their names out and return to college on the spot. Five of those guys show up on the latest Sports Illustrated top-100 Big Board. The remaining six are more than likely going to be back in the Big Ten next season and will not get an invite to the combine.
The best player of those six who aren’t in the top-100 is Nick Ward. Miles Bridges was the far better player of the highly recruited Michigan State Spartans of two years ago. There’s a big gap between him and the next guy when it comes to NBA ready. Personally, I think Cassius Winston would be second. But Ward decided to throw his name into the NBA Draft waters.
He’s a six-foot-eight 250 lb big man forward. Ward has been a great force in the pain for the Spartans in the last two seasons. His scoring and minutes were better during his freshman season. He almost averaged 14 points per game in almost 20 minutes. Ward dropped to 12.4 and under 19 this season. But he shot the ball at a better percentage and his rebounding went up.
Sometimes you have to sacrifice a few stats for others to improve. Ward can easily be a great rebounder in the league someday. He could be a player who averages more boards than points, but now is not the time. Ward needs at least one more season in East Lansing.
There’s no clear-cut way of separating the other five guys. That list includes: Nojel Eastern, James Palmer Jr., Isaac Copeland, Juwan Morgan and Tyler Cook. There’s almost a guarantee that none of those five guys are going to the Combine and they should all be returning to school next season.
Players from the Big Ten that haven’t hired an agent, but may end up at the Combine.
These invites were sent out last Friday and we still haven’t seen anything official. A few guys from around the country are reporting that they received an invite, but nothing yet from Big Ten players.
SI updated their Big Board on April 24. I’m guessing anyone on that list has a chance at getting to the Combine.
There are two Big Ten players who show up right near the bottom. The back-to-back defending Big Ten Tournament Champions have a guy listed at 94. Charles Matthews transferred from Kentucky. He played in 36 games of his freshman season and started three. He then chose to leave, sat out a year and went to Michigan. Matthews found a perfect fit and flourished with the Wolverines.
He’s a six-foot-six wing player. He has the handles to bring the ball up and play the three. Matthews could also create some matchup problems in the backcourt. He’s more of a driver than a jump shooter and he made almost 50 percent of his shots from the field this season. He can be a little turnover prone, but what college kid isn’t?
One more season with Michigan as the head man and he could be a serious contender in the draft. His overall game could be a reason why he’s invited to the combine this year though.
The guy right above him at 93 is also from the Big Ten. Ethan Happ made a huge impact right away in his freshman season. He played and started in all 35 games while averaging 12.4 points per game and 7.9 boards. Happ has been a starter ever since.
He’s becoming one of those players that it seems like has been around forever. Happ does just about everything for Wisconsin. He’s a great scorer, has pretty good ball control, an excellent rebounder and can pass out of the post. He doesn’t have a jumper though which is why he probably isn’t ready. But it would be interesting to see how he performs in front of scouts. For a full explanation on Happ’s chances of landing in Chicago, you can check out my story here.
Moving up near the middle is Carsen Edwards at 68. There’s no doubt he took the Big Ten by storm and was a huge asset for Purdue this season. Can he translate that to the NBA though?
He’s a tweener. Edwards is only six-foot-one. He was never the true point guard for Purdue. Edwards is capable of making some good passes, but he’s more of a lights-out shooter. He may be undersized at the two in the NBA as the position continues to grow. He’s an alright rebounder as he averaged just under four this season. I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if he’s at the combine because of his three-point shooting ability. But he may be told if he flourishes as the Boilermaker’s point guard next season that he’ll shoot up some big boards.
Coming in at number 42 is Kevin Huerter. Here’s a real interesting case. He was a four-star recruit in 2016. Huerter played and started in all 33 games. Melo Trimble left which opened up a spot for a star player at Maryland. It was believed to be Justin Jackson. He got hurt 10 games in. That opened the door for many players to take over. Huerter was one of them.
He once again started every game. He’s a six-foot-seven wing player that can consistently knock down the shot from outside. He almost averaged 15 points per game, grabbed 15 boards and dished 3.4 assists. Since the Terrapins had a disappointing season, Huerter wasn’t talked about as much. This is a great athlete who’s big and can protect the paint. It wouldn’t be surprising at all if he landed at the combine.
Maryland has one more name on the list and this guy is currently listed as a possible first rounder. Bruno Fernando is the highest ranked Big Ten player without an agent at 22. He was a four-star in the 2017 recruiting class of Maryland. The Terrapins weren’t quite sure how they were going to use the big man. Fernando ended up playing in all but two games this season including 20 starts in 30 games.
Next: What does the commitment of Romeo Langford to Indiana mean?
In a season in which they were in constant need of finding an identity, the Angola native was clearly the dominant front court player at College Park. He averaged a little over 10 points per game, 6.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks. Fernando wasn’t much a three-point threat, but he was a decent free throw shooter.
This guy went from being a raw big man, to a consistent force in the paint at the end of the season. He can bag with the best of them, has a pretty solid body and is a consistent rebounder. It’ll be interesting to see him go against fellow frontcourt players in this year’s draft. As he continues to climb, it may be possible that he stays in the draft. I’m not doubting one bit that he’ll be in Chicago for the combine.