NCAA Draft 2020: Biggest rising and falling stocks at end of non-conference

Falling – Precious Achiuwa

The highly recruited freshman has had his chance to shine with no James Wiseman, but so far he’s done little to be convincing. 

James Wiseman’s suspension was a bummer for all college basketball fans, but it also opened a chance for other members of the Memphis roster to shine in his absence.

The logical “next man up” was Precious Achiuwa, the No. 17 ranked prospect in the ESPN Top 100 for the class of 2019. Without Wiseman, Achiuwa could be the guy for the Tiger’s and show off more of his skills.

While Memphis has continued to win games, Achiuwa has underwhelmed during the big man’s absence. The issue for Achiuwa has nothing to do with his physical attributes, he certainly checks those boxes and six-foot-nine and 225 pounds, but rather his skills and feel for the game.

He boasts some dreadful shooting percentages on the year including 16.7 percent from three-point range and 54 percent at the foul stripe.

In seven games without Wiseman, Achiuwa has averaged just a shade under 15 points per game, but he’s struggled to be a creator for the Tigers or to score buckets in isolation.

Right now, Achiuwa is far from finished and that’s okay. He plays extremely hard and he has great physical tools, but with no Wiseman, he had a chance to show his skills were developing at a good rate and he has failed to do that thus far.