This season for the Gonzaga Bulldogs, Rui Hachimura is still yet to show his full ability. The Japanese star has only played an average of 18.4 minutes a night for the Bulldogs. As Hachimura gets more minutes to showcase his talents, his draft stock should take a jump.
So far this season, Hachimura is averaging 9.4 points per game to go along with 4.6 rebounds per game. An impressive development for Hachimura has been the significant improvement of his free-throw percentage — from 54.2 percent last season to 90.5 percent this season.
Hachimura has a very high ceiling, but he is still very raw. I see this as a great pick for the Miami Heat as they are a team who are regularly in the playoff picture, they therefore don’t need the most polished prospect from the get-go. I’m sure the team will take a risk on a player with a high upside like Hachimura.