NBA Draft 2020: 5 underrated lottery candidates from 2019 recruiting class

Nearly every year in NCAA basketball, there are underrated four-star recruits who exceed expectations and end up becoming an NBA Draft lottery pick after just one season. Which players could we see fit that bill in the 2019 recruiting class?

College coaches typically recruit four-star players with the expectation that they’ll be in their program for multiple years, while five-star players are largely expected to be one-and-done at the college level. However, there are always lower-rated recruits who exceed expectations and are able to make the jump to the NBA after just one season. This year, Texas big man Jaxson Hayes made the jump to the NBA after his freshman season and was picked in the lottery despite being ranked as a low-end four-star recruit. Two years ago, Texas Tech guard Zhaire Smith was a near-lottery pick (16th overall) after being ranked as a three-star recruit out of high school.

It’s reasonable to expect that we’ll see more of the same occur in next year’s draft. Based on the 247sports composite ratings, which combines rankings from multiple different recruiting services, I’ve identified five four-star recruits who I believe could be lottery picks after just one year on campus. These five players are very talented and, in my opinion, very underrated by recruiting services. In this article, I’ll be outlining what makes them intriguing draft prospects, and how their projected role next season will put them in a good position to get drafted early.

It’s worth noting that Duke pledge Wendell Moore is definitely deserving of a spot on this list, as I view him as a top-10 caliber prospect in next year’s draft. However, given Duke’s reputation as a one-and-done factory, I think that most people already expect Moore to enter next year’s draft.