Nico Mannion will most likely be one of the most debated prospects of the 2020 NBA Draft. After a terrific high school career, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound point guard struggled at times his freshman year at the University of Arizona.
Nico Mannion will be one of the more interesting prospects in the 2020 NBA Draft.
After a spectacular career at Pinnicle High School in Phoenix, Arizona, culminating in being named the National High School Coaches Association Senior Athlete of the Year, Mannion had a good but not great freshman season at the University of Arizona.
Mannion comes from good basketball bloodlines. His father, Pace Mannion, was a 6-foot-7 guard and a standout in college at Utah who played six years in the NBA. He later played in Italy, married an Italian citizen, and Nico was born there.
Because of those ties, Mannion had dual citizenship and has played for Italy in international competitions, including the national team when he was just 17.
One thing to consider is that Mannion should be completing his high school career this year. He was projected to be the No. 1 recruit in the country for the Class of 2020 by both ESPN, Scout and Rivals, but reclassified to the Class of 2019 by taking summer classes.
Only turning 19 years old in March, Mannion will be an intriguing player for NBA personnel offices to evaluate.
Strengths
While his father (who was four inches taller) was not much of an offensive threat, Mannion has shown the ability to score — and score big — in his career.
He scored 42 points against Russia at the FIBA European Under-16 championships in 2017. He averaged almost 20 points a game in that tournament.
Mannion has also shown a knack for rising to the occasion. He had 37 points for Pinnicle in the Arizona Class 6A championship game and earlier had 33 points and 12 assists in a nationally televised contest against San Joaquin Valley.
Besides the usual assortment of jump shots and driving to the hoop, Mannion has also developed a floater in the lane that was effective in college. He is working even more to perfect it for the pros.
Mannion also is a slick passer who can find the seams in a defense to hit a teammate with a dime.
Although he has been in the spotlight since he entered high school, Mannion is praised by coach Sean Miller as a “very coachable kid“.
Having literally grown up around basketball, one of Mannion’s best attributes is having a high basketball I.Q.
Weaknesses
Compared to the standout high school and international career he had beforehand, Mannion’s one year at Arizona could be seen as slightly disappointing.
He was voted a preseason first team All-PAC 12 selection and was on the John Wooden and Naismith Player of the Year Awards list as a player to watch. After averaging 14.0 points and 5.3 assists, he was voted second team All-PAC 12 and made the conference All-Freshman team.
The Wildcats went 21-11 with Mannion, most likely good enough to make the NCAA Tournament, if there had been one, but not seen as a title contender.
The biggest problem Mannion had in college was his shooting.
He made only 39.3 percent of his shots at Arizona and was even worse from the 3-point line, nailing just 32.7 percent of his attempts from outside the line. The numbers were surprising considering his success offensively previous to Arizona.
Defensively, Mannion might have some problems in the NBA as he is not that tall, and only weighs 190 pounds, and will have to go against some of the more burly point guards.
Fit with the Sixers
Could the Philadelphia 76ers use the high school and international play version of Mannion? Absolutely!
The guy who played at Arizona? Uh… not so fast.
Draft experts are just as puzzled on what kind of player Mannion will become. ESPN has him No. 20 in their Top 100, our big board has him at No. 25, but NBA Draft Room drops him to the second round at No. 39.
If high school players could go straight to the draft, Mannion would have been a lock to be a lottery pick last year. However, after a year of going against older players, now there are some doubts. High school phenoms do not always translate to the NBA.
The 76ers are moving more and more away from Ben Simmons being the lead point guard. If they could find a heady point guard who can shoot, pass and play at least average defense, they would certainly look seriously at him.
If the 76ers brass feel his freshman year at Arizona was just part of his learning process, Mannion could be that player.