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With the NBA Draft scheduled for June 22, mock drafts are at their crescendo.
Sam Vecenie of The Athletic did one on Tuesday after the draft lottery concluded and saw the San Antonio Spurs nab the No. 1 selection.
Vecenie has the Utah Jazz selecting Anthony Black with the ninth overall pick and had this to say about him:
Black is maybe the smartest player in this draft class in terms of basketball IQ. He consistently makes the right play. Black averaged 13 points, five rebounds and four assists while shooting 45 percent from the field and is entirely reliable as a 6-7 point guard. On top of it, he’s a terrific defensive player and one of the best in the class at the point of attack while also being switchable because of his size and strength level. I buy Black making decisions at an exceedingly high level and being able to reliably attack both ends of the court.
Nick Smith Jr. fell to 15th in Vecenie’s mock, and he has the Atlanta Hawks taking him there.
Smith’s tape this year was not particularly impressive. But there is context behind that, as he dealt with a knee injury early in the season and was surrounded by a roster of non-shooters who stopped him from being able to attack the rim. Still, Smith shot just 37 percent from the field, 33 percent from 3 and put out some exceedingly poor defensive tape that actually resulted in him getting benched at times in the NCAA Tournament. Smith was a top-three recruit in the class last season and has real off-ball scoring creativity. His range is a bit wide. But I’m willing to bet that last season is a bit more of an aberration than people think.
Jordan Walsh was 48th in Vecenie’s mock and taken by the Los Angeles Clippers.
Story originally appeared on Razorbacks Wire
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Author : Razorbacks Wire
Publish date : 2023-05-17 18:00:47
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