2019 NBA Mock Draft: March is here
69. . F. North Carolina. Nassir Little. 9. player
There are very few draft prospects who lose a lot in the tournament. Mostly, exceeding expectations against top competition is helpful for question marks, mid-major unknowns and role players. It’s hard to find someone who went into March a favorite for the lottery and fell severely.
Little is somewhere in the middle. If he falls out of the lottery, come draft night, it won’t be solely because he underperforms in the NCAAs. Rather, it will be a continuation of a fall from the apple of scouts’ eyes as a five-star recruit to Blue Blood role player. The hope all year has been that Little would do enough to make it impossible for North Carolina coach to continue bringing him off the bench. Instead, Little has proved Williams right.
The wing can’t do much with the ball in his hands and there is only so much he can do to impact the game defensively on the perimeter. With nearly twice as many turnovers as assists and a 27 percent 3-point rate, you can’t blame Williams for leaving Little on the bench or NBA scouts for falling out of love with the freshman.
If Little continues to struggle with moment-to-moment energy and makes key mistakes, it could cement his fall from surefire top-five prospect to outside the lottery. The Tar Heels could face a solid slate of versatile teams in Washington, Auburn, Iowa State and Kentucky on its way to a potential Final Four.
Little has the most to lose of the lottery candidates in the tourney if he can’t make an impact during UNC’s March march.