Tournament Sparks Draft Stocks
4-8-2010
A few days after the 2010 NCAA tournament came to a close, we review several players whose recent play has improved or hurt their Draft stock. A few players have made a case for themselves to be selected earlier in the 2010 NBA Draft, while others have slowly declined down our Big Board. While a prospect's play in the NCAA Tournament is by no means the only factor in determining their draft position, it can certainly help/hurt them.
Here are a few players whose stock has been affected by their play in the tournament:
Stock Up
Gordon Hayward, Butler
With Butler's rise to the National Championship game, led by forward Gordon Hayward, there has been no hotter draft stock than that of Hayward. The 6'8" sophomore has demonstrated his skill and tremendous versatility during the Bulldogs' run, especially his mid-range shooting. He has hit some key shots for Butler down the stretch, from deep jump shots, to acrobatic alley-oop finishes at the rim. As teams began to key in on Hayward more and more, he gets involved in the offense in different ways. He has brought the ball up quite often, initiating the half-court offense and has shown a great feel for the game in this respect. He has yet to force his shot too much, leading scouts to believe he will be a solid overall contributor at the next level, but not quite the star some analysts are yielding way to.
Durrell Summers, Michigan State
Summers began the 2009-10 season as a potential 1st Round pick and ranked in the top 25 of Big Board, so his inconsistent play over the course of the season was a bit disappointing. However, the NCAA Tournament combined with Kalin Lucas' injury has been somewhat of a "good thing" for Summers. In the three games without Lucas, Summers is the unquestioned of the Spartans- averaging 22 points, shooting an impressive 64.1% from the field and knocking down 14 3s (on 63.6% shooting from behind the arc). In fact, Summers has never more than three 3s in a single game, yet he has done it three games in a row without Lucas on the court.
Elias Harris, Gonzaga
In Gonzaga's two-game stint, Harris looked strong; he competed against the bigger frontline of Florida State and the more athletic Syracuse forwards. He held his own in their opening round win and then had one of his better performances of the season against in a blowout loss to Syracuse. He finished that game with 24 points and 8 rebounds. His motor and aggressiveness were on full display as he got to the foul line 13 times and collected four offensive rebounds. He is likely to return to school for one more year, but this is a good note to end the year on for him.
Jordan Crawford, Xavier
A few weeks ago, Crawford was a relative unknown inside scouting circles except for the fame he claimed for his 2009 dunk over LeBron James. However, a surge in the NCAA tournament has pushed the 6'4" sophomore into 1st Round talks. In three tournament games, Crawford averaged 29 points (on 51% shooting from the field and 12 made 3s) , 5 points and 3 assists. He is a big-time athlete who can flat out score and those abilities were on display late March as he led the Muskateers into the Sweet 16 before losing to Kansas State.
Didn't Help, But Didn't Hurt
Eric Bledsoe, Kentucky
Kentucky's second freshman guard has taken a bit of a backseat to John Wall throughout the course of this season, but the 6'1" Bledsoe was out in full-force in the Wildcats' opening round win over East Tennessee State. He scored a career-high 29 points, knocking down eight shots from behind the arc, finishing 8-of-9 from 3. Wake Forest, Cornell and West Virginia proved to be more formidable opponents for Bledsoe as he was 1-for-10 from 3-point range in these three contests. While his scoring was down and his shooting was certainly not as hot, he did an excellent job defending and distributing the ball.
Jacob Pullen, Kansas State
Pullen was one-half of the dynamic Kansas State backcourt that has led the team all season long with his streaky shooting; needless to say, he made quite a splash in the NCAA tournament with his long-distance bombs, hitting 13 of them in two games against BYU and Butler, and 17 in four games total. As hot as Pullen can be at times, he still stands at about 6'0", undersized for an NBA two-guard, and remains a streaky shooter, disappearing in the biggest game of his career, against Butler in the Elite Eight.
Omar Samhan, Saint Mary's
Samhan was another relative unknown in scouting circles as a marginal prospect at the center position due to his lack of mobility and athleticism. But how do you argue with his 2010 NCAA tournament production? He dropped 29 points and 12 rebounds against Richmond, then followed it up with 32 points and 7 boards against Villanova- two teams that lack size up front. Against Baylor, one of the more athletic frontcourts in the nation, Samhan struggled, shooting 7-for-17 from the field, but he was matched up with a potential lottery pick in Ekpe Udoh and two other solid forwards. If he can slim down a bit and display more quickness and explosiveness, his stock could be on the rise again.
Stock Falling
Da'Sean Butler, West Virginia
It's difficult to look back on Butler's breakout year in retrospect knowing that his career at West Virginia ended in an excruciating knee injury in the Final Four against Duke. After beginning the year outside of our Big Board, Butler has slowly seen his stock on the rise with his barrage of game-winning shots and steady dose of perimeter shooting. However, with the latest news that Butler suffered a torn ACL, Butler's stock can't go anywhere but down. He will likely need 9-12 months of recovery time before he can step on the court again, and it may be some time before he is able to demonstrate his same aggressive nature. He will likely end up overseas next season, but could make his NBA debut after a full recovery.
Ryan Wittman, Cornell
Basketball runs deep in his blood and his shooting touch is just as soft from 25-feet as it is from 10-feet, but scouts were down on Wittman after his 3-for-10 shooting performance against the athletic Kentucky guards. After lighting up Temple and Wisconsin, two of the better perimeter defending teams in the country, Wittman couldn't find his stroke when matched up with Kentucky's lengthy defenders. He failed to contribute much matchup across the board, finishing with 10 points and 4 rebounds in the Sweet 16 matchup. However, Wittman's stock could climb back up as he enters summer camp play and individual workouts. Wittman isn't a great athlete, but his is one of the best pure shooters in the nation.
Jeff Taylor, Vanderbilt
Taylor, the 6'7" guard-forward from Vanderbilt, is one of the best athletes in the draft, yet he has been unable to piece together constant performances down the stretch. To make matters worse, the Commodores were upset in the NCAA tournament's opening round against Murray State. Athleticism and leaping isn't everything; Taylor was just 1-for-11 from 3-point range this season, 9.1% and finished the season on an even worse cold streak, averaging under 8 points and 4 rebounds in the season's final five games.
