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1. Sharife Cooper
Seeing Cooper on this list may surprise some, as Cooper is regarded as a mid to late 1st round pick, but even so, I still feel Cooper’s value is higher than that and he’ll be way better than where he’s picked. Now it makes sense why Cooper is slated to go around 15-25 on boards and you could say it’s surprising it’s not lower. Cooper only played 12 games this past college basketball season and shot 39% from the field and only 22% from 3. Also, Cooper is listed at 6’1 180 pounds on Auburn’s athletics website. These are all potentially troublesome, but watching film on Cooper is something I highly recommend if you haven’t. Cooper has some of the most entertaining film out of all the prospects in the draft with his creativity and his ability to get to the rim even with how small he is. Sure, they’re are very glaring problems in his games including his ability to shoot the outside shot and turnovers, but his speed, playmaking and pace are parts of his game that are, at least I feel like, NBA level.
2. Nah’Shon “Bones” Hyland.
Bones is another prospect that may seem surprising to see on this list as he’s another guy who’s regarded to for sure go 1st round. Bones is also another one of those guys who’s film is so fun and entertaining to watch. His ability to knock down NBA range 3’s, his speed, his creativity with the ball in his hands and how he’s able to find his shot. With how Hyland plays, I could definitely see whichever team drafting him wanting to play him more off-the-ball as a two-guard and letting him run point sometimes. Hyland can get carried away with his shot selection and turnovers but with a guy who I seeing easily fits in today’s game where you want to get up and down the court and shoot the first open shot you get, I think the transition for Hyland offensively into the NBA will be easier than some people may think.
3. Day’Ron Sharpe
Sharpe is a prospect I’m still a really big fan of. In his lone season at North Carolina, his stats didn’t jump off the paper but that was kind of to be expected. Playing behind guys like Garrison Brooks and Armando Bacot, Sharpe had limited minutes, but he made the most of them almost all the time. His stats don’t show nearly the kind of impact he had in games and how well he played. But, if you want to look at the stats, in just around 19 minutes of play, Sharpe was able to grab nearly 8(7.6) rebounds per game, including 3 offensive rebounds per game. I see Sharpe being a very solid rotational player who can come in and give you a spark defensively while still having the ability to score whether it’s catching lobs, post-ups or put-backs on offensive boards.
4. Josh Primo
Primo is a guy you’ve probably heard the least about out of all these guys. I won’t tell you to buy some extreme stock in him or he’ll be some crazy diamond in the rough, but if he makes an immediate impact in the NBA even as a solid role player, don’t be surprised. Primo is a very streaky player. Primo shot 38% from 3 on around 4 attempts and had a game where he shot 6-8 from 3 against LSU in January. Primo benefited greatly playing in Alabama’s offense which felt like one of the more NBA-like offenses in college basketball. For Primo primarily, I love how he can find his spots on the floor and move without the ball. As I said, Primo was very streaky, but it’s understandable for a freshman. What I like about him though is that he never really had a long drought of bad shooting, and in games where his shots weren’t falling, he’d impact the game in other ways.
5. Aaron Wiggins
I’ll start off by saying that I don’t see Wiggins coming in and making an immediate impact like how I see the other guys doing in the NBA. However, down the road I think he will start to come to form and be in a role I’ll say like a Jordan Poole is in. Wiggins is already 22 which is pretty old for a prospect and I completely understand why he’s around the 2nd round to possibly even being undrafted realm. Still, I like how everything about his game is very solid and fluid. Can be a spark for offense and a pesky defender at the 2-3 spot.
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