10 NBA Draft prospects who can rise or fall in Big 12 Tournament
8. Houston's Jamal Shead is going to scrap his way to the NBA
On the surface, Jamal Shead doesn't really look the part of an NBA prospect. He's 6-foot-1, shooting 32.7 percent from deep with non-outlier athleticism. Watching him lead the top-ranked Cougars, however, makes it easy to root for Shead. He has a certain winning quality to his game, which is something NBA teams can appreciate, too.
Shead will look the follow in the footsteps of Jevon Carter, Jose Alvarado, and T.J. McConnell as a small guard whose defensive intensity gets him in the door at the next level. There is no doubting Shead's ability to set up the offense and initiate sets (6.3 assists to 2.0 turnovers) and he's a frequently explosive scorer. That might not translate as cleanly to the NBA, but his ability to suffocate ball-handlers at the point of attack will.
It's tough, because NBA offenses will target Shead relentlessly. There's only so much he can do when faced with bigger, stronger, more athletic NBA players. Heart can only take you so far. But, if the Cougars go on a deep run and Snead is taking a wrecking ball to the best offenses in the country, NBA teams won't have a choice but to buy in.
7. Texas' Dillon Mitchell wants to remind scouts of his five-star resumé
Last season, Dillon Mitchell arrived at Texas as a projected lottery pick. He quickly fell out of favor with scouts, however, and decided to return to school for a sophomore campaign. Smart. This is a weaker class. The expectation was that he would show improvement and rise up draft boards accordingly. Well, that hasn't really happened.
Mitchell is still a skinny 6-foot-8 forward with zero 3-point shot to speak of. He's a nuclear athlete who shines on backdoor cuts, lobs, and transition finishes, but all the same, he's too limited to really win over NBA front offices. He will need a quality playmaking mechanism around him at the next level. He doesn't really dribble or self-create. He requires a feeder.
And yet... he is a truly nutty athlete, and that goes a long way in a class defined by its lack of upside at the top. Mitchell is a boisterous defensive playmaker (1.1 steals, 1.0 blocks). He can cover a lot of ground and operate as a rim deterrent from the weak side. In the right setting, one can envision his combination of cuts, dunks, and high-feel role player traits blending in. Even without a jumper. So maybe, just maybe, this March serves as the launching pad Mitchell desperately needs.