2019 NBA Mock Draft: Could the Hawks jumpstart their rebuild in 2019?
G. Vanderbilt. Darius Garland. 7. player. 38.
One of the most exciting college players in the country is expected to miss the season. We know this by now. But it can’t stop us from dreaming about an NCAA basketball season with Garland. Vanderbilt is thinking about it a lot these days as well. Their prized recruit’s absence turned a promising season into a dud.
“It’s just a reality. It’s a fact. We didn’t recruit other point guards because he was coming,” said coach Bryce Drew after a weekend loss to Kentucky. “… We had everything rolling one certain way and we really had to hit the brakes and shift things. It’s no excuse, but it’s reality.”
More praise from Drew, a respected college coach, to show not only what the Commodores are dealing with but how promising Garland was early on and what type of talent he will bring to the NBA:
“This team was built for Darius Garland,” Drew told the Tennessean postgame. “Our style (with Garland was developed) all of last offseason, all of summer, all of fall, all of the start of the season. We were 4-0. And we’ve had to shift.
“Everyone’s role has had to shift in a different way, so we’re still finding it. And we’re young and we’re getting a perfect storm with the conference being how great it is.”
Orlando’s reported intrigue in Mavericks guard Dennis Smith Jr. is the latest step in the franchise’s neverending quest for a point guard. Garland is the type of prospect who solves a lot of problems.