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

Romeo Weems, DePaul

Power Forward | 6’7 | 215 lbs | No. 60 overall recruit

A lot of the time, players end up being underrated by major recruiting services because they haven’t demonstrated their abilities against high-level competition. This isn’t the case with Romeo Weems, who participated in the 2018 FIBA U17 World Cup for Team USA, started all seven games, and played very well. Quite simply, his low recruiting ranking is inexplicable, and there’s a reasonable chance that he ends up as a lottery pick in next year’s draft.

In the aforementioned World Cup, Weems put up an average of 8.6 points and 8.1 rebounds in 21.6 minutes per game. He also racked up 18 assists (to just seven turnovers), 10 blocks, and 20 steals over the seven games. When looking at these statistics, Weems’ versatility definitely jumps off of the page, as he fills up every facet of the box score. His numbers aren’t inflated, either, as his impact on both ends of the court is obvious whenever you watch him.

Weems is a very advanced team defender for his age, and his numbers back up that claim. He averaged an absurd 4.1 steals and 2.2 blocks per game during the high school season, and against better competition on the AAU circuit, he still averaged 2.0 steals and 1.9 blocks over eight contests. He has an exceptional basketball IQ and knows how and when to play help defense, allowing him to wreak havoc on opposing offenses. Weems is also one of the best rebounders in this class; while he stands at just 6’7, his athleticism, strength, motor, and positioning allow him to get rebounds over players who are much bigger than him.

His offensive numbers are just as impressive. Weems averaged 27.5 points per game during the high school season, and while he hasn’t been quite as dynamic of a scorer at other levels, he still makes his impact felt. He often handles some of the ball-handling duties for his team, and he manages to get a fair number of assists (3.7 per game in high school, 2.1 per game on the AAU circuit, 2.6 per game in FIBA). He did turn the ball over quite often on the AAU circuit, but it wasn’t nearly as much of a problem for Team USA, which is encouraging.

As far as shooting goes, Weems has improved significantly over the past year or so. After making just one of his five three-point attempts during the World Cup, he made 11 of his 27 outside shots on the AAU circuit, good for 40.7%. He shoots free throws at an above-70% clip, which points to solid touch and good form. The significant improvement that he’s seen over such a short time period is encouraging, and there’s no reason to expect his shooting to stagnate at this point.

On a DePaul team that has, in recent history, been barren of talent, Weems will be a welcome addition. He should start from day one, and he’ll have an opportunity to put up gaudy statistics and put the country on notice. He also gets to play next to fellow NBA prospect Paul Reed in the frontcourt, another defensive whiz who should accentuate Weems’ strengths on both ends of the court. In his size and versatility, Weems has been reminiscent of Draymond Green in the high school scene over the past couple of years, and given the desire that NBA teams have for that archetype nowadays, it’s very much within the realm of possibility for Weems to be a lottery pick a year from now.

These five players are severely underrated by recruiting services and, despite being four-star recruits, have a fair chance to go in the lottery of next year’s draft. There are quite a few other four-stars who I believe could end up as one-and-done players: Jahmius Ramsey, DJ Carton, Rocket Watts, Zeke Nnaji, De’Vion Harmon, Alonzo Gaffney, Harlond Beverly, James Bouknight, Makhi Mitchell, and Terrence Shannon, off of the top of my head. However, I don’t think that any of those names have the lottery potential of the five that I listed in this article.