NBA Mock Draft 2017, Week 20: The Sweet Sixteen edition
By Chris Stone
Josh Jackson
SF, Kansas
Jackson’s upside on offense is as a primary creator, but he needs to tighten up his handle in order to reach that potential. At worst, he can be a secondary guy who can operate off the ball and work in pick-and-pops. Jackson has great vision, finishes well at the rim and has a floater to help him in the mid-range. Lately, Jackson has also been shooting it well from behind the arc, which will greatly increase his offensive value if it sticks.
Defensively, Jackson is a multi-positional defender who uses his athleticism to challenge shots at the rim and move around the floor quickly. He’s had a few stretches this season where his off-ball attention has lagged behind, but he’s really good on the ball and should improve his awareness over time.
Jackson and Kansas will play Purdue in the Sweet Sixteen on Thursday night. For much of the contest, Jackson should be matched up against Vince Edwards, a really talented small ball power forward for the Boilermakers, but there could be minutes where he has to square off against Caleb Swanigan, which could give us a look at how he would handle guarding much bigger players at the NBA level.