Chad Ford used to go back to his old mock drafts and edit them. I don’t think he’s doing mocks anymore for ESPN but I’d say they’re at least improving from that.
Saw Edmond Sumner playing for Pacers last night. He’s belongs on back half of NBA bench. Did Beilein ever offer? Would have been interesting. I think he would have taken X’s spot? Or maybe Jordan Poole’s? Anyway, I always liked his game. Nice to see him still playing.
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Vecenie’s new mock:
13. Franz
28, Henry
29. Christopher
45. Todd
46. Garza
48. Wieskamp
51. Livers
55. Cockburn
Specifically mentioned Hunter as a someone he left off the mock because it’s unclear whether he’ll leave.
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Is that the highest listing for Franz we’ve seen in a mock draft?
I’m super excited to see him play in the NBA next season. I basically don’t pay attention to pro hoops until the playoffs but I will definitely be watching some games when his team is on TV.
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This is an excellent analysis on how good of a player Franz is for Michigan and why his skillsets translate to the NBA. The big question is shooting because he has a low and slow release on set shot but he has everything else you look for in a NBA player. He won’t be a star but he’ll be a valuable role player who can compliment the star players.
It’s still a crime that he wasn’t named B1G All-Defensive team. He’s the best defender in the conference by a wide margin IMO.
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NBA scouts hoping to see him guard Scottie Barnes, I’d bet.
No Ayo? That seems surprising to me
Oops Ayo was 18. Totally missed him
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Ayo is such a rare case. A guy on the draft radar who significantly improved his stock by staying to be an upperclassman. IIRC, he was an early second as a freshman and a low second as a sophomore.
Kispert as well. Although not sure if he had draft stock after 2 years, but he would’ve been drafted last year. It definitely happens, it’s just rare. It has to include a total star turn and player evolution.
I think Chad Ford (formerly of ESPN) has him in his Top 10. Though if he gets that wrong, he’ll probably retroactively change it…
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Garza vs Cockburn in the draft will be interesting. Cockburn can do his thing at any level because he’s a literal monster like Godzilla…but he’s useless outside of 10 feet. Garza theoretically brings three level scoring to an NBA team…but his defense and lack of athleticism doesn’t fit the NBA.
I think someone gambles on Cockburn first.
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I think that’s definitely true, if Garza isn’t an offensive weapon he’s nothing, and he struggled against good defenders at the position head to head (I think). Cockburn can be useful just for defense, and he has defended head to head pretty well.
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Even if he’s not drafted, Kofi will probably stick in the NBA at the very least as a big you keep on the roster for when your rotation bigs have a bad matchup.
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That’s my thinking too…though the reality is that there aren’t a lot of bigs like either of them in the NBA where it is obvious how they will fit on a roster. Garza might end up having a career vaguely like Moe Wagner has so far - bouncing around in both team and role, sometimes looking great on offense, sometimes being totally unplayable. Kofi seems like a guy that will stick around for situational roles, but feels like teams will just chew him up in ball screens. Hopefully both of them at least get a shot to prove their value.
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I don’t think Garza even provides much scoring at the NBA level. He simply cannot score that well against high level defenders. His 3 games against Cockburn and Dickinson this year were quite inefficient (23/57 FGs) in terms of ability to score. In the NBA he will face a good or great defender almost every time on the court and with a shorter shot clock he wouldn’t get much time to use his endless array of fakes to try to get a clean look.
He is a horrible defender and his offense isn’t going to translate to the NBA level like it does at college. I mean maybe he can be a high level 3 point shooter in the NBA that can stretch the D, but he still won’t provide nearly the punch in the post.
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Yeah, no NBA team is going to run their offense through Luka Garza coming off the bench. Doubt he gets any real NBA traction. I can see Kofi developing into a usable, situational big though, similar to what others outlined above. Still, being a complete liability at the free throw line could hurt him.
Tillman shut Garza down too.
Strength and technique can only get you so far.