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Evan Daniels is at it again. The 247 Sports recruiting ace just released his latest NBA Draft Big Board, Version 2.0 and we’re down to only two Wildcats making it out of the first round.
This season we’ve seen a few Cats shuffled in and out of the draft board, but as of today only two are left: Kevin Knox and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Kevin was in at #11 while Shai was at #20.
Before we go in to why both of these guys are deserving, there’s something big we need to point out first. Hamidou Diallo is no longer on the Big Board. This doesn’t come as much of a surprise with his play lately, but it should draw major concern for Hami.
His play as of late has been subpar. Consistently making silly mistakes, turning the ball over, and lack of scoring has really hurt his draft stock.
If Diallo wants to play in the league next year, he’s going to have to prove himself in a big way to end the season. He’s still an extremely talented and athletic prospect, he just needs to cut out the errant plays in his game.
As for Kevin and Shai, both of these guys have done nothing but benefit themselves ever since league play started - Shai especially. He looked like a future NBA star during his 30-point outburst against Vanderbilt.
Before the season started Shai was projected to be a work in progress at best, nowhere near NBA ready. As we’ve seen, he’s played extremely well on a consistent basis, and he’s a great athlete. NBA teams have taken notice, and they want him.
Kevin was great to start the season, but when league play started his game depleted. After having a muck of 5 games in a row, he started to turn up. After seeing the way he played against West Virginia and Vanderbilt, expect his stock to continue rising.
We’ll be sure to keep you up-to-date on the latest NBA mock drafts involving the Cats.
Who do you think deserves to go to the NBA after this year from this team? Let us know in the comments!