2019 NBA Mock Draft: Charlotte moves up thanks to a Tankathon simulation
player. 125. . F. Duke. Cam Reddish. 6
When thinking about the lost season that was Cam Reddish’s freshman year, it’s fascinating to think back on the other schools he was considering out of high school. The Norristown, Penn., native named Villanova, Connecticut, Kentucky and UCLA as finalists for his talents in addition to Duke.
Any of those options except Kentucky probably leave Reddish a more desirable prospect than he is today. He certainly would have made Pac-12 basketball more interesting and we could have seen him as the No. 1 option against fun defensive prospects like Louis King, Matisse Thybulle and Luguentz Dort.
At Connecticut, Reddish could have become the shining star of a new era of Husky basketball under Dan Hurley. The Big East would have been his stomping ground. The same can be said of his home state Villanova Wildcats, a team that could have been in the title conversation with a full-strength Reddish in addition to perhaps a more collected Jahvon Quinerly with another five-star freshman alongside him.
And Kentucky? Maybe playing under a coach who has truly cracked the code of coaching great young players would have made a difference for Reddish. Certainly, the “give it to Zion and switch” approach Coach K installed at Duke this season didn’t help anyone except the presumptive No. 1 pick. Reddish was probably hurt most by the Blue Devils’ lack of structure, and his stock fall tremendously as a result.
At this point, I wouldn’t be shocked if Reddish suffered through a weak predraft process and fell out of the top 10.