It’s hard to peg Langford in this draft. It seems people are construing his own stock as an NBA prospect with Indiana’s shortcomings in the Big Ten this season. Certainly, Archie Miller did not get the most out of Langford or the Hoosiers in the big picture, but Langford remains a talented player with a pretty high ceiling.
Sure, he’s going to be 20 for his rookie season despite playing in college for just one year, but Langford looks like a guy who could be in the league as a scorer for a long time. That’s somewhat of a median outcome for him — a Morris Peterson-type bench scorer. What team couldn’t use that?
If Langford breaks through defensively or reaches Peterson’s level as a shooter, watch out. The youngster is already comfortable making plays for himself and teammates out of the post and his size will make him a handful to match up with, even in the NBA.
There will be questions about Langford’s defense despite his size and length. While he blocked 2.7 percent of opponent shot attempts when he was on the floor as a freshman, that number appears flukey when compared with his overall feel for the game on that end. His steal numbers don’t bely that same level of impact.
Regardless, a big, two-way guard who limited mistakes as the year went on and created shots in the clutch in his first college season is a typical Celtics pick.