2018 NBA Mock Draft: Time for the Final Four
Arizona. Rawle Alkins. 25. player. 93. . G/F
After saying all season that his sophomore season would be his final in Tucson, Alkins on Tuesday tweeted that he would leave Arizona, hire an agent, and officially declare for the 2018 draft.
“I got the information I needed to get and learned everything I needed to do,” Alkins said in March during the Pac-12 Tournament to SB Nation’s Arizona Desert Swarm. After returning from injury in December, Alkins made his mark on the Wildcats’ season, helping them return to form and earn a 4-seed in the NCAA tournament.
Alkins was able to maintain his 3-point efficiency at 36 percent on a higher volume of deep shots, and took on an even larger role in the offense when Wildcats guard Allonzo Trier missed a game late in the season while he contested a drug-related suspension. Ball-handling is still a question for him, and one that potentially caps his offensive potential, but Alkins projects as an energetic 3-and-D wing as a floor outcome.
Philadelphia needs more players like Alkins to keep up the team’s defensive intensity when the bench plays, especially as the rest of the roster becomes more expensive. The Sixers don’t have a great wing stopper option when Robert Covington sits, and Alkins would give them one.