NBA Draft Rankings 2017: ESPN Projects Top 30 Prospects

March is finally here, and with it comes the final chance(s) for this year’s crop of NBA talent to boost their draft stock on the court.

The Kentucky Wildcats will once again enter March Madness with a host of potential first-round NBA Draft picks. That includes Bam Adebayo, who managed to fall out of the first round of Chad Ford’s most recent mock draft at ESPN.

Ford has just now put out his latest big board, and it includes Bam among his top 30 prospects, which means he should sneak into the end of the first round, if not higher.

25. Edrice Adebayo

Bam's strength and explosive leaping ability make him an elite finisher at the rim. He gets 64 percent of his shots near the basket and is shooting a ridiculous 79.7 percent there, according to Hoop-Math.

But his lack of overall shooting ability and his lackluster rebounding numbers (though he has had a string of big rebound games against Tennessee, Missouri and Florida) have him a little lower on our Big Board.

There is no way Bam is falling out of the first round, especially after the way he’s played over the last two weeks. And these mocks/big boards are assuming everyone ranked ahead of him declares for the draft, which probably won’t happen. A few of those guys will return to school, allowing Bam to go even higher by the time the real draft rolls around.

De’Aaron Fox hasn’t looked great over the past month while battling injury and illness, but he’s still in the top 10 of Ford’s latest ranking:

9. De'Aaron Fox

Fox has been hobbled by injuries in February (first a right ankle, then a twisted knee) and hasn't really played at 100 percent. But he was still able to manage 19 points in a win versus Texas A&M on Saturday and seems to be getting back to his old self.

The jump shot has improved a little but still remains the biggest source of concern for scouts.

It’s hard to see Fox falling out of the lottery with as big an emphasis as their is on point guards in the NBA. If nothing else, scouts will look back to how great Fox looked over the first three months of the season as to why they should spend a top-10 pick on him.

As for Malik Monk, he’s still the highest-ranked Wildcat and is just outside the top five prospects.

6. Malik Monk

When Monk is taking and hitting shots, he looks like a sure fire top-5 pick. There isn't a more lethal scorer in college basketball when he gets going (with the possible exception of Central Michigan's Marcus Keene).

Monk's biggest issue right now is consistency. He has frustrated John Calipari this season with the up-and-down nature of his play. He's also strikingly one-dimensional for a player ranked this high. But some scouts feel that Monk is still developing as a player and that we might see more dimensions to his game (creating off the dribble, floor vision) in the NBA than we see from him in college.

It’s very likely Monk is the first Wildcat drafted this year, and he probably can sneak into the top three with a strong finish to this season.

Here’s what ESPN’s entire big board looks like now:

1. Markelle Fultz

2. Lonzo Ball

3. Josh Jackson

4. Dennis Smith

5. Jonathan Isaac

6. Malik Monk

7. Lauri Markkanen

8. Jayson Tatum

9. De'Aaron Fox

10. Miles Bridges

11. Frank Ntilikina

12. Robert Williams

13. Harry Giles

14. Zach Collins

15. Justin Patton

16. Jarrett Allen

17. T.J. Leaf

18. John Collins

19. Ivan Rabb

20. Isaiah Hartenstein

21. OG Anunoby

22. Terrance Ferguson

23. Rodions Kurucs

24. Caleb Swanigan

25. Edrice Adebayo

26. Tyler Lydon

27. Andrew Jones

28. Donovan Mitchell

29. Ike Anigbogu

30. Tony Bradley