2018 NBA mock draft: The NCAA season is here

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BUIES CREEK, NC – MARCH 06: A Spalding basketball is seen on the court during the game between the North Carolina-Asheville Bulldogs and the Winthrop Eagles during the championship game of the 2016 Big South Basketball Tournament at Pope Convocation Center on March 6, 2016 in Buies Creek, North Carolina. UNC Asheville defeated Winthrop 77-68. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /

Nickeil Alexander-Walker

PG, Virginia Tech

Watching the precise footwork and slick handle that Alexander-Walker turns into buckets on offense makes me consider the career trajectory of Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan.

This season, DeRozan was supposedly going to take on a bigger playmaking load offensively, to maximize the space provided by Kyle Lowry as a shooter and make better use of his own skills with the ball in his hands. However in the early part of the season, DeRozan’s assist rate is actually down and so are his assists per 36 minutes. The experiment has been so far unsuccessful, with Lowry also in an extended cold streak.

Perhaps this is because DeRozan is an ill fit for the point guard position, which demands a patience and consistency that scoring pressure or prior habits can sometimes overrule. He is a good passer once the defense has broken down, and can make read the rotations of a defense, but he is not best as a 70 possession per game ball-handler.

In a perfect world, Alexander-Walker projects to fill that type of role at the NBA level. He has footwork on pace to be at the elite level of DeRozan’s by the time he finds his footing in the league, plus the requisite passing to actually have the craftiness pay off.

He’s also about as big as Lonzo Ball, and more athletic. There’s a matchup crusher somewhere not too deep inside this Virginia Tech freshman, and I have a feeling he’s getting ready to show us more at the NCAA level.