For these NBA Draft prospects, a great collegiate career didn’t lead to a great selection – or any selection – in Thursday’s draft.
The 2018 NBA Draft didn’t feature very many surprises. The top pick was Deandre Ayton, to the shock of nobody. Most of the projected lottery picks went in the lottery. Frankly, the exchange of Trae Young for Luka Doncic and the slide of Michael Porter Jr. were telegraphed by the time the Phoenix Suns were on the clock.
Despite meeting expectations, there are still prospects who have the right to be beside themselves after everything that went down.
Body of work is an important factor for NBA scouts and general managers leading into the draft. So is the literal body and the potential it brings, along with a myriad of other factors.
There are many college players who proved themselves to be elite at the college level, only to be passed over in one way or another by the next level on Thursday night.
Being an All-American doesn’t translate to being a lottery pick, apparently.
This is not to say the top picks in the draft won’t become great NBA players. Ayton was a consensus First Team All-American last year. So was Marvin Bagley III, the second pick who went to the Sacramento Kings. Doncic won EuroLeague MVP before being drafted by the Atlanta Hawks third overall, before being traded to the Dallas Mavericks.
This isn’t about them, though. This is about the college players we loved who didn’t get a fair shake upon entry into the NBA.
Here are five college stars who deserved better.
PG Devonte’ Graham, Kansas
The senior point guard had big shoes to fill at Kansas after the departure of stalwart Frank Mason III last summer. Nobody can argue with Devonte’ Graham’s results.
Graham averaged 17.6 points and 7.2 assists per game during his final season. He validated his Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year honor by winning the award for the regular season as well.
He was also named a First Team All-American.
Some NBA teams were always destined to shy away from him due to his age – he’s already 23 years old and will turn 24 during the 2018-19 season.
Nevertheless, he slipped all the way to the second round, where the Atlanta Hawks selected him with the 34th pick. Atlanta then quickly shipped his rights to the Charlotte Hornets, enabling the Raleigh, North Carolina native to start his career close to home.
This could wind up being a great situation for Graham. He can learn behind Kemba Walker, a great college guard who has developed into an NBA All-Star. If Walker leaves in free agency down the road, Graham may even be able to step in as the starter.
His college career suggests he should’ve been a first-round pick, though, not a second-round afterthought.
SF Keita Bates-Diop, Ohio State
Coming into the year, Keita Bates-Diop wasn’t on the national radar. He was beginning to make a name for himself in Columbus, but he had yet to be unleashed in a major way.
His junior season changed that. Following a medical redshirt year, Bates-Diop quickly became the best player in new coach Chris Holtmann’s rotation. He scored a then-career-high 27 points against William & Mary in early December and never looked back.
Bates-Diop went on to average 19.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, in addition to 1.6 blocks per game. He was named Big Ten Player of the Year after the season, then chose to forego his senior year for a chance at NBA glory.
Despite being projected by some to go as high as the lottery on Thursday, he didn’t even crack the first round. In fact, he had to wait until over halfway through the second round before the Minnesota Timberwolves finally scooped him up with pick 48.
Bates-Diop was one of eight Big Ten players drafted. Five heard their names called before the Buckeyes star, including Jaren Jackson Jr., Miles Bridges, and Kevin Huerter.
None of those players won the Big Ten Player of the Year award.
SG Trevon Bluiett, Xavier
Trevon Bluiett knew he was a star within one year of arriving at Xavier. He averaged 11.0 points per game during his freshman season with the Musketeers. Bluiett only got better form there.
In every succeeding year, Bluiett found himself on the All-Big East First Team. Last season, he even made his way on to the All-American Second Team. He scored over 2,000 points during his collegiate career, averaging 19.3 points on .417 three-point shooting during his senior season.
Despite his nose for scoring in college, no NBA team had a nose for him on Thursday. Sixty picks came and went, yet nobody watching the NBA Draft heard Bluiett’s name called.
Again, age might have played a factor in this: Bluiett will turn 24 years old at the start of the 2018-19 season. But he deserved better than going undrafted.
Shortly after the draft ended, Bluiett caught on with the New Orleans Pelicans’ Summer League team. Interestingly enough, the Pelicans had an opportunity to draft Bluiett towards the end of the night, but went with Penn State guard Tony Carr instead.
Perhaps Bluiett will earn his way towards a spot on the roster alongside Xavier great Jordan Crawford. He’s had no problem earning his keep int he past.
C Jock Landale, Saint Mary’s
Jock Landale is trying to follow in path former Saint Mary’s star Patty Mills paved from Australia to the Gaels to the NBA. He’s going to have to take the long way to get there.
Once again, a consensus Second Team All-American waited through 60 picks to hear his name called on Thursday night. He never did.
Landale was named WCC Player of the Year, with good reason. The big man averaged a double-double during his senior season, registering 21.5 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. He became the first Gael to win conference player of the year honors since Matthew Dellavedova in 2012.
Thursday was a tough night for the WCC as a whole. The conference didn’t see any players drafted for the first time since 2015. In fact, no Gael has been taken in the even since Mills went to the San Antonio Spurs in 2009.
Dellavedova proved that a Saint Mary’s alum can prove their worth in the Summer League and make a career, though. Londale will therefore try to do the same. Before the night was even over, there were reports of him headed to the Atlanta Hawks for the summer.
Now he’ll have to either evolve or prove his traditional big man skills have a place in the NBA.
PG Keenan Evans, Texas Tech
There’s a theme behind the players on this list. Four of the five graduated from school, which may have hindered their stock in a league skewing younger every year (despite the one-and-done rule).
Keenan Evans is another victim of that attitude. This season, he became the unquestioned leader of the best Texas Tech squad ever – sorry Zhaire Smith.
After a Third Team All-Big 12 appearance as a junior, Evans took his game to the next level, earning a spot on the First Team. He was also a consensus Second Team All-American. Evans averaged 17.6 points per game as a senior and was responsible for 6.2 win shares, according to Sports-Reference.
Unlike the precocious freshman who went outside the lottery and was quickly traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, Evans went the whole draft without being called. He may get the last laugh, though – after the draft, he joined the Golden State Warriors’ Summer League team, along with teammate Zach Smith.
Evans wasn’t a champion of the NBA Draft, but with a good performance this summer, he may find himself competing for an NBA title within the next year.
Next: 10 Undrafted Players with Pro Potential
Hopefully all five of these players will prove themselves to be worth more than their NBA Draft selection or lack thereof.