2019 NBA Mock Draft: March is here
player. 211. . F. Virginia. De'Andre Hunter. 6
Someone but us finally said it. The NBA comparison for Hunter that felt increasingly realistic over the course of his sophomore season materialized.
Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo! Sports reported on several NBA Draft prospects who could wow during the tournament and landed on Hunter (whom he puzzlingly described as a shooting guard). He wrote:
"“Virginia doesn’t play an entertaining brand of ball, but Hunter is a pro prospect in a number of ways. An efficient scorer averaging 15.1 points on just 10 shots, he’s developed into a catch-and-shoot option while maintaining defensive intensity for a team that demands it. He can guard everyone from point guards to power forwards. If that sounds like he could be a poor man’s Kawhi Leonard, multiple scouts told Yahoo Sports that’s who he reminds them of, making him a likely mid-lottery pick in June.”"
If you’ve watched Virginia this year, you already know the bit about their deliberate approach to the game. That’s Tony Bennett’s M.O. They aren’t going to lose to a 16-seed this year and you can bet they will appreciate having Hunter back in the fold after he missed last year’s loss to UMBC with a wrist injury.
As games grind to a standstill late in the playoffs, Hunter’s isolation scoring — the skill that most closely resembles Leonard — will become important for the Wahoos. Take a close look at his battle with Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ in the second round. Both teams play extremely slowly and funnel their offense through their power forward.