NBA Draft 2022: Final Big Board of top 60 overall prospects

5. Shaedon Sharpe – Kentucky – Wing – 6’6, 200 lbs – May 2003 – Freshman

Seen as somewhat of a “mystery man” after not playing a second for Kentucky, Sharpe has a tremendous amount of upside on his physical tools alone. A big, athletic wing, Sharpe has the potential to be an elite wing-scorer. He flashed some plus pull-up shooting in the 2021 EYBL. Losing a year of game reps hurts, but there’s a clear buzz surrounding Sharpe in NBA circles.

Sharpe’s pathway to immediate playing time could be playing hard and hitting open threes. Per Synergy, Sharpe was only 9/28 on half-court jumpers in EYBL, but a large chunk of them was guarded. We’ve really yet to see him play within a team context, but the tools could allow for him to be a good finisher, cutter, and maybe shooter off the ball.

The runway to immediate success is longer than the other top prospects given the lost year of development, but Sharpe’s tools make him a super-intriguing long-term bet, and I believe he has enough ancillary skills to not totally fail.

6. Johnny Davis – Wisconsin – Guard – 6’6, 196 lbs – February 2002 – Sophomore

Davis seemingly came out of nowhere after a quiet freshman season. He led an objectively mediocre Wisconsin team to a Big Ten title. Davis was the offensive catalyst, carrying a high-usage rate at 31.7, but he showed some promise with the ball. He doesn’t have the best handle, nor is he the burstiest, but he’s an impactful straight-line driver using change of pace moves, strength, and terrific flexibility. The shooting percentages weren’t great, but Davis was asked to take some shots.

With more spacing and less defensive attention, I project Davis will shoot it well at the NBA level. He hit some tough off-the-dribble mid-range shots, helping project his off-the-dribble shooting from longer range. Davis isn’t a great playmaker, but can make open reads and see cutters within his peripheral vision.

I think Davis’ defense is quite underrated as well. The caveat when discussing Davis is an underlying ankle injury that happened towards the latter part of Big Ten play. Davis looked noticeably less explosive on both ends of the floor. Going back and watching his early-season tape, the instincts and ability to be in the passing lanes and in the helpside are noticeably better. Davis is good on the point of attack and uses his unique body flexibility well in screen navigation. I buy Davis as a plus defender at both guard spots.

The raw shooting numbers weren’t great (46/30/79 shooting splits) but again I truly believe he wasn’t 100% for a large chunk of the season, and when scaled back to a lower-usage role, his ability to attack closeouts, cut, and space the floor will make him a valuable role player. He does too well on both ends while showing a tremendous amount of growth over the past few seasons for me not to like him in the front half of the lottery.

7. Dyson Daniels – G-League Ignite – Guard – 6’7.5, 195 lbs – March 2003

I was impressed with Daniels as a wing on the Australian U19 team but was discouraged early when Ignite tried making him the main facilitator. His handle, jumper, and finishing all left me wanting more. But another scout told me to view him in the lens of a Tyrese Haliburton-type lead/connecting guard, and the vision became more clear, especially when Daniels started to play better.

The handle still isn’t great, oftentimes too loose and high, but he’s got a good understanding of angles and stride length to help him get to his spots. Standing just under 6’8, he sees over the defense well to make a variety of awesome passes. The jumper still needs work, but I thought it looked better when I watched him shoot at his pro day. As long as defenses respect it a bit and treat him with some gravity, he will be able to attack downhill and make them pay.

The defense is the day-one skill that should get Daniels on the floor. He is a legitimate three-position defender, with the potential to scale up to four if he can add weight to his frame. He’s good on the point of attack, has a good understanding of where to be in the help, and he uses his long arms to be a disruptor.

Daniels’ projection may have been murky a few years ago, but there’s room for multi-positional defenders that can be connectors on offense. He’s a good athlete, who improved through the course of the G-League season and has the potential to be a lead jumbo initiator down the line.

8. Keegan Murray – Iowa – Forward – 6’8, 215 lbs – September 2000 – Sophomore

There was arguably not a more productive player in the country than Keegan Murray last season. Yes, Iowa spammed the heck out of him (28.1 usage rate), but Murray showed versatility as a scorer (85th percentile in spot-ups, 99th percentile in post-ups, 80th percentile in isolation). The shooting was the most noticeable leap he made. Murray was restricted in his role as a freshman, shooting just 29% on 54 total attempts, but he was given a bigger leash as a sophomore and finished at 39.8% on 4.7 attempts per game. The versatility of the jumpers was noticeable too, hitting shots off the move and dribble.

His handle is still pretty loose and he lacks real shiftiness and burst with the ball, giving me pause on him being an offensive engine. But, he does a lot of little things well to excel on offense. Aside from the shooting, Murray uses his speed and leaping ability well in transition, and he’s elite at duck-ins and finding offensive rebounds.

The defense fell off a bit in year two, but I think the high usage played a role in that. Freshman year Murray excelled as a weak-side rim protector and off-ball roamer. He doesn’t have the tenacity and defensive upside as some other fours in this class, but the movement skills and length should allow him to guard both threes and fours and I think he winds up as a net-positive defender.

Age has some scouts concerned about his upside, and while I do think that’s fair, Murray is also a late-bloomer. Ranked No. 334 out of high school, Murray has taken tremendous leaps the past few years. I don’t think he has the highest outcomes, but he is a safe bet to be a good role player and could wind up being a very good one.