NBA Rookie Ladder: Ranking draft and stash heroes

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JUNE 23: The Philadelphia 76ers host a post draft press conference announcing new players Anzejs Pasecniks, Markelle Fultz, Jonah Bolden and Mathias Lessort at the Sixers Training Complex on June 23, 2017 in Camden, New Jersey. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant /NBAE via Getty Images) /

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4. Nigel Williams-Goss

Another player that made a name for himself at American colleges before venturing overseas is point guard Nigel Williams-Goss. Williams-Goss was a 2013 McDonald’s All-American and helped lead the 2013 USA u19 team to gold in the summer before enrolling at Washington. In his lone season with the Huskies, Williams-Goss brought home Pac-12 All-Freshman Team honors in 2014.

Unhappy with the team’s direction, Williams-Goss made the trip East to Gonzaga where as a junior he was named a consensus second team All-American, West Coast Conference Newcomer and Player of the Year, and received first-team all conference honors in 2017. Williams-Goss also was the driving force behind the Bulldogs run to the NCAA Final Four that ended with them finishing as runner up to North Carolina.

Williams-Goss entered his name into the draft early and was selected by the Utah Jazz with the 55th pick. After a decent showing during the Las Vegas Summer League, Williams-Goss parlayed that into a starting role with Partizan in Serbia.

There, the floor general is routinely cracking 30 minutes a game in the team’s EuroCup competitions. He’s knocking down 50 percent of his 3-pointers and averaging 17 points per game and 6.7 assists per game during those nine EuroCup games as well. Partizan isn’t the creme de la creme of European basketball, but Williams-Goss has been able to get more exposure and more playing time in Serbia then he would’ve gotten with the Jazz or the Salt Lake City Stars.

If the outside shot is for real, Williams-Goss could find himself back stateside quickly. Donovan Mitchell’s explosion has turned Ricky Rubio into an afterthought and Rubio is not going to be long for Utah if he’s relegated to a backup role. Williams-Goss can be brought in to bring some of what Rubio does, but at a much cheaper price.

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