29. Rui Hachimura, SF/PF, Gonzaga
The second-year forward has disappointed so far this season. Given the fact that Rui Hachimura has a much bigger role in the Bulldogs’ offense, his production was supposed to skyrocket, this, however, hasn’t really happened for the Japanese international. Hachimura is averaging 9.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 18.9 minutes per game.
I’d expect Hachimura to get more minutes as the season progresses, he’s just too good to be sitting on the bench. Gonzaga is known for giving underclassmen fewer minutes than what they deserve, it happened to Zach Collins last season. Collins, however, played a bigger role as each week passed by, I think the same will happen with Hachimura.
To earn for playing time, Hachimura must limit his personal fouls — he’s averaging 7.7 fouls per-40 minutes. Fouling was an issue that Hachimura suffered with last year. Here’s hoping Hachimura can rediscover his form from the FIBA U19 Championships. The 6-foot-10 forward has the potential to be a lottery pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.