Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress keeps tabs on the key prospects and storylines shaping the NBA draft.

Luka Doncic, Real Madrid

Point guard/shooting guard/small forward

6-8, International

Age: 17

Although not yet old enough to be draft-eligible until 2018, NBA personnel have been making the trek to Madrid to watch one of the biggest phenoms to emerge in European basketball in quite some time.

Doncic showed how far ahead of his age group he is this week by scoring 17 points in 19 minutes on just six field-goal attempts in a Euroleague win against Milan. Eyebrows were raised when Real Madrid paid a significant buyout in 2012 to secure the rights of the then-12-year-old Doncic from his Slovenian team, but it apparently knew what it was doing.

Luka Doncic can play point guard, shooting guard and small forward. (Getty Images) More

Only one other 17-year-old in Euroleague history (dating to 2000) was able to secure a rotation spot at such a young age: Ricky Rubio in 2007. Doncic is blowing Rubio’s production out of the water thus far, thanks to his superior size, frame, perimeter shooting ability and equally impressive feel for the game. While it’s easy to fall in love with Doncic’s ball-handling, creativity, ability to play all three backcourt positions, and the confidence at a young age, it was a pair of spectacular blocks, showing unexpected timing and quickness off his feet, that left the strongest impression against Milan.

Doncic is making a strong case to be considered the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA draft, and it will be interesting to see what kind of improvement he makes next year for Real Madrid in the ACB and Euroleague.

Josh Jackson, Kansas

Small forward

6-foot-8, freshman

Age: 19

NBA general managers flocked to Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., on Saturday to watch a rare non-conference late-January game between two of the most talented teams in college basketball. Despite Kentucky starting five McDonald’s All-Americans, it was Jackson – the Jayhawks’ lone McDonald’s All-American – who stole the show in the 79-73 Jayhawks victory with 20 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals.

One of the things NBA personnel like about Jackson is his fearlessness. He was in attack mode all game against Kentucky, making plays defensively and on the glass, while also demonstrating an extremely high basketball IQ by creating for his teammates. His jumper is hardly a thing of beauty, but he’s been finding a way to make shots lately, hitting eight of his last 14 3-point attempts and bringing his 3-point percentage up to 33 percent.

Although it’s difficult to project Jackson as the sort of go-to scoring presence a franchise might want from a top-three pick – he also turns 20 next week, which makes him much older than most freshmen in this class – he does so many different things that NBA front offices are beginning to view him as an Andre Iguodala-type who helps win games with his versatility and competitiveness.

Wake Forest's John Collins is on a roll right now. (Getty Images) More

John Collins, Wake Forest

Power forward/center

6-10, sophomore

Age: 19

The ACC is the most loaded conference in college basketball, with seven teams in the latest AP Top 25 and nine prospects ranked in the first round of the DraftExpress mock draft.

Despite the conference having numerous big-name upperclassmen and McDonald’s All-Americans, the most prolific scorer (at 28 points per 40 minutes) and most productive player (34.3 player efficiency rating) is the unheralded 19-year-old big man.

Story continues