NBA Mock Draft 2017, Week 19: March Madness edition

The Kansas Jayhawks are the No. 1 seed in the Midwest and whomever they play in the second round will provide some fun potential matchups for freshman Josh Jackson. If the Michigan State Spartans knock off the Miami (FL) Hurricanes, then we’ll get to watch Jackson go head-to-head with another lottery prospect in Miles Bridges. If the reverse happens, we could get to see Jackson spend some time defending potential first rounder Bruce Brown or another one of Miami’s long athletic wings. In either instance, our eyes will be rewarded.

Jackson needs to show NBA teams that his recent streak of hot shooting is more reality than fiction. He’s made some changes to his shooting mechanics that have smoothed out his shot, but there’s still a long way to go. More tape that suggests he’s going to be a capable shooter would be valuable because the rest of Jackson’s game is more complete. He’s a very good passer who projects to be a high-level secondary ball-handler in the NBA even if he likely won’t handle duties as a primary initiator.

Jackson is also a good defender with the potential to guard multiple positions, provide some weak side rim protection and get into passing lanes. He has some tendency to fall asleep off the ball, but his on-ball defense is quite good. Two-way wings are tough to find and Jackson is the best one in this class.

Learn more about Josh Jackson at The Step Back.