Obligatory you should pay $1 a month for The Athletic, but here are some scout evals on our 2 decisions:
https://theathletic.com/3264227/2022/04 ... -weigh-in/
Jalen Wilson’s evaluation
“I would have a hard time envisioning him getting drafted. He’s not good enough. The thing that he does the best in college right now is that he rebounds the ball. We always ask, what’s gonna get you on the court? Why is Coach gonna put you in an NBA game? I don’t know why he’d get put in the game. He’s a solid defender of similar sized guys. He does a good job of switching. He just doesn’t do anything good enough.
“He needs to ideally show he can be a three man. But if he’s going to be a four man — Trey Murphy is a good example — show you can make 3s. (Murphy shot 43.3 percent from 3 at Virginia as a junior and then was picked 17th in the 2021 draft. Wilson’s 3-point percentage went from 33.3 percent as a freshman to 26.3 percent this season.) Because he’s not a great driver. He is good in transition, but how he’s going to get on the floor is be a better one-on-one defender and be 35-to-40 percent as a 3-point shooter.”
“Last year at this time, you expected him to make a jump. And whether it’s the DUI or whatever, he didn’t make a jump to me. His stats didn’t really change much from last year, except he was worse from 3. He’s gotten his body better and that’s helped, but he needs a good full year next year and needs to be better.”
“If he stayed in, he strikes me as someone who would get in summer league and training camp, but probably be facing a G League season where he’d have to prove himself. For him, is just getting on with your pro career more important than playing out your eligibility at Kansas? Where I imagine that might be even more lucrative in the current climate than what a G League deal would offer. An Exhibit 10 contract — one that can be assigned to a G League team — is $50k, plus a G League contract is $37,000.”
“He has to be better, and he needs to come back. And it’s OK. Look at the playoffs. Whether it’s Fred VanVleet or Jose Alvarado or Herb Jones, there are four-year guys out there getting to play and impacting games. It’s OK not to be a one-and-done or two-and-done.”
Christian Braun’s evaluation
“Christian is probably in a far more advantageous position. I think he may never have more momentum than he does now coming off of this national title run in which he played well. I think also though he’s in a position where it might still be hard for him by the next early-entry deadline for withdrawal to have an assurance that he’s a first-round pick from someone. He’s in that range where he might be a first-rounder, but he might not be. He’s probably in the 30s to 40s and closer to 40. Some have him even lower than that.”
“He did really help himself over the course of the year. He’s a vertical athlete in that he can run and jump, but laterally he’s just at best average. He’s a good college defender, but defense is always going to be a question mark. He shoots it good, albeit not great. He’s got to elevate his release point a little bit. Translating his 3-point shot to the NBA game, I still think there would be some struggles. He needs to get it off a little quicker, because I don’t think he’s getting that same shot off. And sometimes he doesn’t even look for a shot when he has open shots in college. He needs to be 40 percent from 3, and he needs to make three or four a game, and he needs to not turn down shots. He needs to be shooter first, a driver second. Let his shot set up his drive.”
“When he plays hard and when he’s aggressive and attacks, he’s freaking good. He needs to come back and be aggressive and be the man all game, not just a half, and show he can do that.”
“His personality is the kind that tell him he shouldn’t go in the draft, he’s gonna go, right? He’s gonna explore it, and he should. But he’s got to transition from a three to a two to really have a chance. At 6-6, that’s going to be what he is in the NBA. His percentage was good from 3 this year (38.6 percent on 3.3 attempts per game). But to be a real valuable commodity, he needs to become great. That could happen.”
“For him, it’s weighing two pretty good things: I could ride this momentum, and I think I’m certain I’ll get picked, versus you just saw a teammate of yours go back and turn probably a similar position that you’re in now into maybe being a lottery pick. If he comes back next year and he competes for Big 12 Player of the Year, which he should have a chance for, he could be like (Ochai Agbaji) and move up into the teens.”