2015-16 NCAA Season Preview: Best Five NBA Prospects in the Big Ten

With the 2015-16 college basketball season fast approaching, a preview series will be rolling out detailing who I believe the best five prospects in each major conference are with reasoning that hopefully helps back up those assertions. First came the ACC. Now, it’s the Big Ten’s turn.

1) Caris LeVert (PG/SG), Michigan Wolverines

More often than not, I think guys who decide to come back to college to play one more season make the wrong choice. In Caris LeVert’s case, though, he made the right call.

An amazing overall offensive player, LeVert dazzles with his balanced skill both on and off the ball. He’s a deadeye shooter who converted 40.5 percent of his 3s last season, which is significant because one of his primary roles in the NBA will certainly be to spot up on the wing, space the floor and wait for the ball to be kicked out to him for an open shot.

With the ball in his hands, he’s often crafty, but he can also be unimaginative. He sets up teammates well, but he’s not a pure point guard who sees the floor well enough to make more than basic passes most of the time. Where he impresses the most with the ball is in situations where he can change speeds, such as in the pick and roll. He’s able to create space for himself with ease, but he must learn to finish better in order to survive in the NBA. Last season, he made just 29.5 percent of his jumpers inside the arc, and his thin frame makes it tough for him to finish through contact at the rim once he gets there.

LeVert’s length, excellent lateral quickness and instincts give him a lot of upside defensively. However, much like with his offensive game, filling out his frame would go a long way toward helping him realize that potential. LeVert enters the season as a guy with a ton to gain or lose.

If he proves that he can be more consistent as a creator for himself and others, finish stronger at the rim and begin to fill out his frame, thinking about LeVert as a lottery pick is not unreasonable. However, if he continues to act like a sheep more often than he should, disappearing for long stretches in games while not looking particularly strong with the ball in his hands, LeVert could slide down draft boards toward the end of the first round.

2) Diamond Stone (C), Maryland Terrapins

Aside from having one of the coolest names in college hoops, Diamond Stone projects to be one of the most powerful players in the country. He’s an average athlete, but his wide frame allows him to excel around the rim despite him being mostly ground bound.

In the post, Stone is able to utilize his size to seal his man deep, and it’s over for the defense once that happens. There is a lot of skill accompanying Stone’s size, too. His footwork with his back to the basket is impressive for a player his age, and he has the ability to step out and knock down a 3 — although, not yet with much consistency.

He’s capable of running the floor, but NBA scouts will be watching to see if he does so consistently. In high school, he revealed enough of a lack of effort for question marks about conditioning and attitude to remain. One of the knocks on him is that he seems to move to the beat of his own drum in a bad way, but he has the potential to make an impact from the outset of his college career if he chooses to come in and allow himself to be coached.

3) Melo Trimble (PG), Maryland Terrapins

Maryland has enough talent to compete for a Big Ten title, but in order for Mark Turgeon’s squad to realize its potential, point guard sophomore Melo Trimble must take a giant leap forward as a floor general.

The jitterbug can create shots for himself at will, but what will really help his team is getting others involved on a consistent basis to keep defenses off balance. Trimble’s scoring ability is a great asset, but Diamond Stone and Jake Layman should both be getting their fair share of touches this season. To ensure that happens, Trimble will need to fix the tunnel vision that can plague him when he’s attacking the rim and improve upon his clip of 3.6 assists per 40 minutes. That’s not nearly good enough for a starting point guard at a major conference school, much less a point guard with NBA aspirations.

Of course, one must consider the tradeoff when asking Trimble to be more unselfish. Arguably the best scorer on last season’s team, the Terps will need him to fill that role again this season and they don’t want to sacrifice his scoring in order to turn him into a marginally improved distributor.

Trimble can fill it up from all over the court. He possesses a quick, compact release on his jumper and the consistency of his smooth motion allows him to shoot the ball well from beyond the arc, where he made 41.2 percent of his shots last season.

When he does put the ball on the floor, good things tend to happen if his quick first step enables him to get all the way to the rim. A maestro at drawing contact, Trimble shot a ridiculous 6.7 free throws per game last season. That special kind of slashing ability will always be coveted by NBA teams.

As electric as Trimble is offensively, he has the capability to be equally exciting on the defensive end when he’s locked in. He’s quick enough to keep most guards from getting north and south, and his quick hands coupled with his natural instinct to jump passing lanes allowed him to average 1.5 steals per 40 minutes last season.

The only thing holding Trimble back from skyrocketing up draft boards is his ability to lead a team in more ways than scoring. If he can truly take the reigns at Maryland this year and lead this team in all phases, every NBA fan planning whom their favorite team should take in next year’s draft will soon know Melo Trimble’s name. And what a name it is.

4) Troy Williams (SF), Indiana Hoosiers

Old school small forwards are become more scarce in an age where the NBA is looking for wing players to be able to space the floor by at least being able to masquerade as a threat to shoot from the perimeter. Troy Williams is certainly old school in that regard.

His range doesn’t extend to the 3-point line quite yet, but that’s not to say it couldn’t in the future. In a small sample size at Indiana (42 career 3s), Williams has made just 28.6 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc. But his form isn’t terrible, and he’s shown some progress in that area. He must continue to do so, because the reality of the modern game is that it’s difficult for a non-shooting wing to stick around for long in the NBA.

An area in which Williams already excels is finishing at the rim, where the combination of his athleticism, strength and explosiveness naturally take over. He’s still a work in progress when it comes to breaking his man down off the dribble and creating his own shot because his handle is still rather loose and his moves limited. Nevertheless, he’s able to get himself a lot of high-percentage looks at the rim because he runs the floor exceptionally well, understands when to move and cut off the ball and he utilizes his bounce to sky for putbacks. In halfcourt offensive situations last season, Williams converted 61.4 percent of his shots at the rim, which is impressive for a wing. His strength allows him to finish strong through contact, and he gets to the free throw line a solid amount (5.4 times per 40 minutes).

Williams possesses average length at best, which limits him overall defensively, but he makes up for that deficiency the same way he does on the offensive end — with his strength, athleticism and exceptional quickness. Williams’ length will likely limit his versatility on the defensive end in the NBA, but his other aforementioned skills could enable him to develop into a tenacious on-ball defender.

To help his draft stock this season, Williams needs to play more under control while continuing to make strong plays on both ends at the same time. He has been a bit of a wild card on any given night at Indiana, and that kind of inconsistency won’t fly in the Association.

5) Nigel Hayes (SF/PF), Wisconsin Badgers

Known by many as the funny guy at press conferences in the middle of the Wisconsin Badgers run to the National Championship game, Hayes’ game is too strong for him to solely be known in that light. He played a huge role on the court during the Badgers’ run, scoring in double digits in five of six of his team’s NCAA Tournament games.

Hayes doesn’t fit the prototypical mold at any position, but he’s skilled in a lot of areas. On the perimeter, doubts that existed when he entered college should now be all but gone after he shot 39.6 percent from beyond the arc as a sophomore. Primarily a spot-up shooter, 97.5 percent of Hayes’ made 3-pointers were assisted last season.

A sturdy frame, 235 pounds and high skill level allow Hayes to play in the post despite his lack of ideal size for a post player. He’s able to overpower a lot of his foes at the college level, which he won’t be able to do at the next level, but his polished footwork and ability to finish with both hands should translate nicely.

At his size, it’s fair to wonder who Hayes will guard at the next level. His 7-3.5 wingspan allows him to contest shots well in the post at the college level, but will he fair the same against longer guys than himself once he makes it to the NBA? He possesses surprising lateral quickness for a thicker player, but that quickness will be tested against elite small forwards every night in the NBA.

Will Hayes’ overall polish allow him to find ways to add value on both ends of the court, or will his inability to fill any one position perfectly shorten his NBA career? With the NBA evolving, it’s more likely that Hayes will be able to find success than ever before, but the questions that remain about his tweener status are fair.