2019 NBA Mock Draft: March Madness is NBA Draft crazy season
. F. Gonzaga. Brandon Clarke. 8. player. 142
Just get Washington some athleticism and versatility, please. We can’t watch another year of players like Jeff Green, Sam Dekker or Ian Mahinmi getting minutes during Bradley Beal’s prime. Since John Wall’s injury, the Wizards have invested in developing future pieces like Troy Brown and Tomas Satoransky, and they could continue to bring the team out of the stone age and help Beal by drafting Clarke.
Brandon Clarke's touch around the basket is one of the best in the country. Yesterday, Clarke finished with 36 points (15-18 FG, 6-8 FT) against Baylor and put his touch on display.
— Zach Milner (@ZachMilner13) March 24, 2019
Here are a few examples of Clarke's soft touch pic.twitter.com/W1A1vH9rJ9
The touch displayed in the clip above shows not only why Clarke is such an intriguing big man but why he can play multiple positions. Someone with that kind of touch around the rim who improved tremendously from the free throw line this year and took 14 3s could one day legitimately be a 4 or 5 at the NBA level. He plays center for Gonzaga but will bring questions about defending in the post and anchoring the defense for 48 minutes against NBA athletes. If he can shoot, his game is even more translatable, and what he did making tough shots in the middle of Baylor’s zone had to make doubters feel even better.
Clarke is clearly the biggest riser over the course of the year on our draft boards. He transferred from San Jose State and joined a Gonzaga team with a ton of talent but quickly became the team’s best player and draft prospect.
The advanced statistics that love Zion Williamson’s overall impact love Clarke nearly as much. He will be second on those leaderboards for a long time, but the NBA will only open up his game more.