8. Wendell Carter, PF/C, Duke
Already built like a pro-player (6-foot-10, 260-pounds), Wendell Carter will be looking to dominate college basketball this season for the Duke Blue Devils. In his first preseason game for Duke against Northwest Missouri State Carter was as good as advertised. The big man scored 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds, going 5-7 from the field and 1-1 from behind the arc.
If Carter’s three-point stroke can maintain itself to a good standard this season, Carter will enter the draft seemingly being able to do it all. In today’s NBA, big men have to be able to shoot the ball. Carter, however, excels banging down in the low-post, he has his way down there with other defenders.
Carter isn’t polished defensively, he has moments of brilliance but he also has lapses in concentration. The big man has the tools to be a defensive stopper, it’s just a case of putting it all together. On the boards, Carter is elite, perhaps one of the best rebounders in this draft class. However, Carter sometimes sacrifices his positions on defense in order to grab rebounds, this can be detrimental.