Mar 27, 2015; Syracuse, NY, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Buddy Hield (24) looks to get past Michigan State Spartans guard Lourawls Nairn Jr. (11) during the first half in the semifinals of the east regional of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at the Carrier Dome. Michigan State won 62-58. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports
Best of the Rest: Buddy Hield (Oklahoma), Ron Baker (Wichita State), Daniel Hamilton (UConn), and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (Kansas)
Buddy Hield may have been able to sneak into the first round this year had he stayed in the draft. Good athlete with length. Has been a terrific scorer at Oklahoma, and has improved his jump shot by leaps and bounds in his years as a Sooner. He needs to learn to not settle for so many jumpers, and get into the paint more. Doesn’t really have a ton of upside left, but could be an immediate impact guy toward the end of the first round.
Not only is Ron Baker my favorite basketball player, but he’s also my favorite person too. As a basketball player, Baker is pretty similar to Allen — good shooter, high basketball I.Q., better defender than given credit for, etc. He’ not quite the athlete, but better length with his 6-foot-8 wingspan. Like Hield, he doesn’t really have much upside since he hasn’t been able to transition to point guard like many had hoped, but I’m not betting against Baker being successful at anything he does in life. Future Sixer.
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Coming into UConn as a highly regarded recruit, Daniel Hamilton — for the most part — lived up to his high billing. He’s got good size at 6-foot-8 for a guard, and he’s a good rebounder and a better passer than given credit for. He’s a big time scorer, but an inconsistent one. Because he’s not a great athlete he’ll need to sure up his streaky shooting, and learn not to force as many contested jumpers. If he can do that, and maybe start to play even an ounce of defense, he’s a mid-round talent.
I admittedly don’t know a ton of about Kansas sophomore Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, but he’s a consensus first round prospect with a bit of a different backstory. The Ukrainian guard spent his first season with Kansas as a 17 year old freshman, being one of the youngest NCAA players of all-time. He just turned 18 in June, and with another year under his belt in the college game, should see an increase in minutes this coming season.
Next: The Freshmen