January 04, 2016
Now that we are in the conference portion of the college basketball season, it’s time to zero in on the top prospects in hopes of putting up a draft post every week. Here are three games that I will definitely have my eye on this week:
This might be the game of the year for NBA talent evaluators with Ben Simmons going up against Kentucky’s roster full of talented freshmen (and talented non-freshmen). Speaking of Simmons, it’s safe to say that he finally got his team a quality win in Nashville over the weekend.
With Simmons, there has been a little bit of pushback to all of the hype ESPN is throwing his way. His numbers have been eye-popping, but LSU has struggled against an extremely weak nonconference slate. Still, it’s impossible to argue with 36 points (10-15 FG, 16-19 FT), 14 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 turnovers on the road:
LSU still has a ton of work to do to get back into the NCAA Tournament conversation. A win over Kentucky (Skal Labissiere showed some life over the weekend!) is something Simmons and the Tigers badly need. Regardless, it will be interesting to see to how the young Aussie tries to get to the rim against NBA size.
Even though they play different positions, a couple of potential Top-10 prospects will go head-to-head in this one: Kris Dunn and Henry Ellenson. Dunn, a junior point guard who is always at the controls of Ed Cooley’s Friars, leads the nation is assist rate (49.7) per Ken Pomeroy.
Dunn is certainly a player to watch if the Lakers pick manages to fall outside the top three. An excellent athlete, he played very well in Hinkle Fieldhouse last week:
The Blue Devils offense is humming (second in the country, per Pomeroy), and Brandon Ingram is starting to figure some stuff out, albeit against bad competition. Of the players I have seen, he would be in the top tier along with Simmons. When Ingram is at his best, he makes the game look effortless:
Wake Forest aren’t giant killers by any means, but they beat Simmons and LSU last week. This isn’t an easy game for Ingram and the Dukies on the road.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
