2015-16 NCAA Season Preview: Top 5 NBA Draft Prospects in the Big 12

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 and Big Ten. Now, it’s the Big 12’s turn.

1) Cheick Diallo (PF/C), Kansas Jayhawks

If we were playing a game of word association and someone said Cheick Diallo’s name, “motor” would almost certainly be the first word that comes to mind. The Malian big man has energy in spades, and he utilizes it to maximize his raw skill set. He’s not particularly skilled on either end, but he has an exceptionally long wingspan (7-4) and standing reach (9-1).

That elite length coupled with excellent agility for a big man allows him to terrorize opponents.

Defensively, he can patrol around the rim, block shots and step out to the perimeter to stymie pick-and-rolls. He doesn’t have a great feel for the game, particularly on offense, often forcing plays and making bad decisions. If he gets the ball in the open court, though, his natural athletic gifts are breathtaking. Long strides, huge hands and the ability to roll hard to the rim should allow him to make an impact on the offensive end at the college level. However, he needs to develop a semblance of solid shooting mechanics and an arsenal of post moves around the basket, but some of that should come in time.

If he can show some potential that he will eventually develop into more of a basketball player than a raw athlete this season that would provide a boost to his draft stock, which is currently based mostly on his upside and athletic gifts.

Unfortunately for Diallo, ineligible is another word connected to his name: He’s currently waiting for the NCAA to rule one way or another on if he will be allowed to play this season. If he can’t, obviously that won’t help his draft stock.

2) Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (SG), Kansas Jayhawks

Held back by a tough adjustment phase last season due to the stark difference in style and strength between the college game and youth leagues overseas, Mykhailiuk should be much more settled heading into his sophomore season at Kansas. The game should slow down for him, which will enable him to show off his shooting ability that was so highly touted when he arrived on campus. Last season, he knocked down just 33.3 percent of his meager 33 3-point attempts. Once he settles in as many expect and quits rushing his shot, it’s hard to not see him besting that.

While Mykhailiuk struggled to shoot the ball last season, it’s definitely not because he lacks the ability to shoot over the top of defenders. At 6-8, Mykhailiuk has above-average size for a shooting guard, which makes him a really intriguing prospect. His length gives him advantages most other shooting guards simply don’t have, like the ability to distribute the ball over the top of a defense as well as get his shot off over even the lengthiest wing defenders.

He hasn’t had a chance to show it at Kansas yet, but he’s an above-average athlete with the ability to score in bunches all over the court. That’s a valuable combination to possess, because it enables him to create for himself off the bounce as well as work off the ball and knock down set shots. The biggest problem for Mykhailiuk when attempting to create his own offense last season was a lack of strength. He was too often forced to pick up his dribble because he couldn’t muscle his way around his defender, but he apparently put on 20 pounds of muscle this offseason. Who knows if that’s true, but it would help his driving ability tremendously.

Mykhailiuk isn’t necessarily expected to be in the starting lineup at the beginning of the season, but he will have an opportunity to make an impact off the bench and could find his way into the starting lineup depending how head coach Bill Self wants to matchup with opponents. Either way, he projects to be much better than last season, which would set him up well heading into next year’s draft.

3) Taurean Prince (SF), Baylor Bears

Athletic, lengthy and versatile are all words we’ve grown accustomed to using to describe Baylor’s wings over the course of the Scott Drew era, and Taurean Prince is no different in that regard. Perhaps what separates him from wings of Baylor’s past is his ability to make an offensive impact without relying solely on his athleticism. Prince proved he can shoot exceptionally well from beyond the arc last season, sinking 38.9 percent of his 3-pointers on 4.6 attempts per game.

Defensively, Prince has the athleticism and size necessary to guard three positions, which is becoming increasingly attractive to NBA teams trying to deploy multiple variations of lineups as well as teams hoping to be able to switch on picks. His lateral quickness makes it tough for attackers to turn the corner on him and get north and south, and that quickness also helps him disrupt passing lanes.

The biggest knock on Prince is his inability to handle the ball and create offense for himself. To be fair, though, he hasn’t gotten much of a chance to serve as a ball handler in Drew’s point guard-heavy offense. He’s shown the ability to get to the rim and finish at a solid rate (63.2 percent), but he is able to do so by striding past defenders with a quick first step. If his initial drive gets cut off, Prince doesn’t have an arsenal of secondary moves to rely on to help him still get off a shot, which will be necessary if he is to have success as a slasher in the NBA. Again, reps would help — it’s hard to be good at something you never get a chance to do.

Prince is a senior, but he’s young for his class (21) and still has a decent amount of upside as a result of his athletic ability. Three-and-D players are highly valuable assets in today’s pace and space NBA, so assuming Prince doesn’t suffer a significant drop off in production this season, he’s poised to be a first round pick in the upcoming draft.

4) Monte Morris (PG), Iowa State Cyclones

If Monte Morris possessed prototypical size for an NBA point guard, he could very well be a first round pick. There aren’t many, if any, natural distributors as good as him in the college game, and the stats reflect that. As a sophomore, Morris had the best assist/turnover ratio in college basketball at 4.73/1. He’s a steady presence every single night, and if the Cyclones make a deep run in the tournament this season, it will largely be because Morris doesn’t allow opponents to dictate his team’s play.

While his calling card is distributing, he can shoot the rock as well. He sunk 39.4 percent of his 3-point attempts last season, and he’s capable of knocking down shots off the dribble and on the catch.

The problem for Morris aside from lack of size isn’t offense, though. It’s defense. Morris is already too slow to keep up with quicker guards at the college level, and his awareness isn’t where it needs to be either. Lack of quickness and awareness is a combination that could tank his draft stock if he doesn’t show significant improvement as a defender this season. On the bright side, Morris minimizes his size deficiency the best he can by using his leverage to get up under the chest of ball handlers and applying pressure, but he doesn’t do so as often as he should.

As things stand for the 6-3, 175 pound floor general, there’s not much to question about his offensive game. On the other hand, every scout will be watching his defense this season to see if he can cut it at the highest level. It will be hard for him to overcome his physical deficiencies, but it’s not impossible if he simply learns to play smarter and flashes the ability to disrupt the flow of an offense with any sort of consistency.

5) Buddy Hield (SG), Oklahoma Sooners

One of the best players in college basketball, Hield will be a force to be reckoned with once again in his final season at Oklahoma. He’s proven that he can shoot, slash and defend with the best the NCAA has to offer. While the 6-4 shooting guard enters his senior season with nothing left to prove at the college level, he still has work to do to impress NBA scouts.

Hield’s current strengths on the offensive end center around his shooting ability. He moves well without the ball and can shoot in all kinds of situations (catch-and-shoot, off screens, pick-and-roll, etc). Standing at just 6-4, it’s fair to wonder how well Hield’s shooting ability will transfer to the next level because of a low release and inconsistent mechanics. He can catch fire at any moment, but it’s also frustrating to watch him go ice cold at times during game. Developing consistent shot mechanics would go a long way toward fixing his streakiness.

He will need to prove that he can do other things well aside from shooting though in order to give him staying power in the NBA. Offensively, Hield must prove he can finish consistently over length once he gets to the rim, or else he runs the risk of being an incredibly one-dimensional player who isn’t a good enough shooter to justify an NBA team keeping him on the roster. Having some secondary moves to rely on once his initial drive is walled off would help. He’s simply going to have to be a more creative finisher at the rim than he has proven to be in college.

Defensively, Hield has sufficient length (6-8 wingspan) to jump into passing lanes and disrupt shots as well as adequate lateral quickness to guard his position, but he must prove he can do all of these things against guys at his position who are bigger and stronger than him.