1. Marvin Bagley III, PF/C, Duke
Doesn’t it tell you how talented Bagley is that he is a player who was supposed to be a high school senior this year and is the number one ranked player on my big board? Marvin Bagley III spent last year as a high school junior and was destroying all competition, where he averaged 24.6 points per game and 10.1 rebounds per game. Bagley made the choice to forgo his senior year of high school and reclassified to the 2017 class.
Against Northwest Missouri State, Bagley scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds in 23 minutes of action. Bagley didn’t disappoint, he showed his ability to shoot the ball, rebound the ball and pass the ball. More performances like this and Bagley will secure the number one spot in the draft.
In an interview, Bagley revealed that he is modeling his game around Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Perhaps Bagley sees himself as a point forward when he reaches the NBA — that’s a scary sight. Bagley has a long way to go to master his handles and have the passing instincts of Antetokounmpo. However, it’s not hard imagining Bagley pushing the ball up the court and setting up an offense. Anything’s possible in today’s NBA.
Next: Who should be on the Sixers' early 2018 draft board?
To be honest, in my opinion, Bagley doesn’t have any weaknesses to his game. His development will just be a case of fine-tuning his game and adjusting it to the pace of the NBA.