Mark Schanowski's NBA Draft Big Board 5.0

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After falling far short of expectations for the opening two and a half months of the college basketball season, Duke forward Cam Reddish is starting to live up to the hype that had him projected as a top 3 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.

Reddish poured in 24 points in Duke’s win over Boston College back on Feb. 5, then hit a pair of clutch 3-pointers to close out the Blue Devils’ amazing comeback win at Louisville earlier this week.

For the season, the 6-foot-8 forward is still shooting an underwhelming 37 percent from the field and 35 percent from the college 3-point line, but scouts are starting to see more of the smooth athleticism that originally made him such a coveted prospect. Reddish has been more willing to put the ball on the floor and attack the rim than we saw earlier in the season, and he looks much more comfortable in catch-and-shoot opportunities from beyond the arc. Even though the Bulls appear to be set for the next couple years at the small forward position with Otto Porter Jr. and Chandler Hutchison, it will be hard to pass on Reddish if they wind up with the fourth overall pick.

If the worst possible scenario strikes, and the Bulls fall to five, six or seven after the lottery on May 14, the front office will probably be forced to go with the best available athlete option, regardless of position. They could take a chance on Vanderbilt point guard Darius Garland, whose freshman season was cut short by a meniscus injury, or look for a potential Bobby Portis replacement in Gonzaga’s Rui Hachimura, Texas center Jaxson Hayes or Oregon’s Bol Bol.

The Bulls could also consider drafting a wing scorer to bolster their second unit like Texas Tech’s Jarrett Culver, Indiana’s Romeo Langford, USC’s Kevin Porter Jr. or Kentucky’s Keldon Johnson.

So, as we get close to conference tournament time in the college season, you might want to check out some of the prospects projected to go in the four to 14 range. Because after the top 3 in the 2019 draft, opinions on which players will be most successful in the NBA are all over the map.

 

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