2018 NBA Mock Draft: What’s in store for the second round?

What’s better than one Robert Covington? Two.

If you’re trying to emulate the teams that are currently having success in the NBA, you can’t go wrong trying to find the next Covington — a guy with impenetrable length and a knock-down, versatile jumper. Physically, Okogie is the guy who reminds me most of Covington in this year’s draft class, and any team would be made better by a fully developed Okogie anchoring their wing defense. He is big, strong and quick, with those Covingtonian long arms swallowing up plays before they unravel.

I went back and watched Georgia Tech play Duke in conference play (in a game Marvin Bagley III missed), and came away impressed with the way Okogie makes use of his physical gifts. The 6-4 freshman plays bigger than his size, and could likely guard at least the 1-3 positions in the NBA.

However, he was unable to gain separation against Gary Trent Jr. for much of the first half. He doesn’t have the change-of-speed or change-of-direction burst to be an NBA ball-handler at this point, and nothing he did as a passer in that game was indicative of above-average playmaking ability, either.

Okogie is a physical marvel who will wow scouts at the combine this week and likely be an instant impact defender for an NBA team.