RJ Barrett (FIBA)

This article is a continuation of yesterday’s 2019 Draft Rankings. Find tiers 4-6 here.

Tier 3

12. Darius Bazley

Darius Bazley has the makings of a really versatile defensive player; standing at 6’9” the Syracuse commit has the lateral quickness and footwork to hold opponents on the perimeter and has enough length and vertical pop to protect the rim and grab rebounds.

On offense, Bazley is decidedly a perimeter player. His mechanics could be tighter, but his shots go in. And while he still needs to work on his shot selection, Bazley can handle the ball in transition and half-court sets.

The question we’ll be hearing about Bazley during his freshman season will be, “What is he?” Is he a center that can grab rebounds and handle the ball in transition? Is he an wing that might be too tall to defend quicker players and too skinny to cover heavier fours at the NBA level?

Here’s a way more important question: does any of it really matter in today’s NBA?

What does matter is that there’s a lot to like in Bazley’s game and, if he puts it all together, tightening his shot mechanics and shot selection, we could be talking about the most versatile player in this draft on both ends of the floor.

The first player out of Duke’s freshmen big four to appear in our list, Tre Jones will be the best starting-caliber passer the Blue Devils have had since, well, Tre’s brother Tyus. Jones is capable of making really advanced reads for a high school prospect. He has mastered the art of drive and kicks and knows how to find the lob target with great timing and accuracy, which will be extremely important on a team that will have two potential lob catchers in RJ Barrett and Zion Williamson.

When Jones needs to get his own offense going, he chooses to drive to the rim. The Apple Valley High school player has a nice switch of gears to catch defenders on their heels, and, while he lacks the burst to finish through contact, Jones is polished enough as a finisher to be a highly efficient inside scorer.

As a capable perimeter defender with quick hands and the willingness to switch, the key area of improvement for Jones is his shooting, especially off the catch. Tre’s mechanics are a major work in progress as evidenced by his 24% from beyond the arc in the AAU ranks. If Jones doesn’t develop his outside shot, defenders could pack the paint on him, forcing a player whose effectiveness inside comes more from his skill set than his physical features, to take tough interior shots.

10. Darius Garland

One of the best passers at the top of this class, Darius Garland has the exact package of skills you would want in an NBA lead ball-handler. On offense, Garland knows how to read the floor and he can see the play before it happens, hitting teammates with great timing and accuracy as they’re on the move, whether cutting to the basket or running in transition.

The Vanderbilt commit can also create shots for himself thanks to his advanced ball-handling ability. Garland is shifty with the ball in his hands, having an arsenal of moves and a lightning quick change of pace. This allows him to shake his man off and get to the rim or create space on the perimeter to get to his pull-up.

A competent shooter both off the catch and off the dribble, the biggest limitation for Garland at the NBA level will be his physical tools. Measured at 6’0.5” with a 6’1” wingspan and without great vertical pop it will be interesting to watch if Garland can rely solely on his vision and his ball-handling ability to be an effective offensive player at the college level.

9. Anfernee Simons

Is Anfernee Simons even a 2019 prospect? Similar to Hamidou Diallo last year, Simons is a fifth year senior who will be one year removed from his high school graduation at the time of the 2018 draft, which means he is draft-eligible this year. Since we don’t know if Simons will declare or not (and probably won’t know until after the NBA Draft Combine), I’ll consider Simons as part of the 2019 class just like every other high school senior.

Simons’ case as a draft prospect is based mostly on his athleticism and his scoring ability. An explosive player with the ball in his hands, the IMG Academy player has enough burst and length to finish at the rim in traffic, even if his touch comes and goes.

As a shooter, Simons has compact mechanics and a quick release and the ability to convert jumpers with NBA range both off the catch and pulling up. Simons made 41% of his three point shots last season for Team Breakdown at the AAU ranks and, if he improves his low release point, he could translate his ability to the next level.

Standing at 6’4”, Simons projects more as an undersized wing than a lead ball-handler at the NBA level. Before reaching the pros Simons will need polishing in several areas of his skillset, especially his passing, which is more of a secondary skill considering his score-first mentality.

8. Quentin Grimes

A high-scoring shooting guard out of the Greater Houston area, Quentin Grimes has a truly versatile scoring skill set. A quick player with the ball in his hands, Grimes has a quick first step and an arsenal of crossovers that allow him to make his way to the basket. His tough frame and long arms allow him to finish at the rim through contact and awkward angles.

The future Kansas Jayhawk has made over 39% of his threes during the past two seasons at College Park High School, which is not surprising since Grimes has really compact mechanics in his jumpshot and he was nearly unstoppable at the high school level when stopping on a dime and getting his shot off.

Standing at 6’4.5” with a 6’7” wingspan, Grimes is not the quickest player laterally, but his size and leaping ability allowed him to be at least a capable defender in high school. Having shown flashes as a passer, Grimes could be a good option as a secondary ball-handler in time, and it will be interesting to watch how much Grimes advances in that direction during his freshman season at Kansas.

7. Louis King

Louis King stands out for his versatile offensive game. At 6’8” the future Oregon Duck is a fast ball handler that can lead in transition, convert jumpers off the dribble coming off screens and shoot threes of the catch. Off the ball, King is a smart cutter and his ability to play above the rim makes him a target for lobs.

While not a lockdown guy as a one-on-one defender at this point, King’s solid physical tools with his quickness, leaping ability and 7’ wingspan give him the potential to be as versatile on defense as he is on offense. King has a high floor as an athletic small forward who could shoot the lights out from three, but his ceiling as two way player might be even higher.

6. Nassir Little

One of the players with the highest upside on this board, thanks to his all-around athleticism, Nassir Little has all the tools to thrive as a two-way wing at the NBA level. Standing at 6’7” with a 7’1” wingspan, Little is a threat off the ball due to his tremendous speed as a runner in transition, his leaping ability that makes him a target for alley-oops and his effectiveness when shooting the ball off the catch.

As a defender, the future Tar Heel still needs polishing, but he has the combination of size, length, quickness and motor to become a versatile defender at the NBA level. Little’s second jump is elite, which combined with his length allows him to protect the rim and fight for rebounds on both ends of the floor and his quickness and size allows him to defend on the perimeter.

With the ball in his hands, Little is a tough slasher that can play through contact when he gets to the rim and can shoot off the dribble a few feet away from the basket. While he still needs to become more consistent as a shot creator for himself, his athleticism, motor and flashes as an offensive player give him the potential to turn into the best two-way perimeter player from this class.

Tier 2

5. Romeo Langford

Probably the most skilled perimeter scorer in high school basketball right now, Romeo Langford can create shots and score the ball from anywhere on the floor, whether it is getting to the rim, pulling up from NBA 3-point distance or getting to the line. Outside of his scoring ability, Langford has good vision as a passer and a great motor on defense that, combined with his physical tools (6’5” with a 6’11” wingspan), give him the potential to cover 1 through 3 at the NBA level.

What keeps Langford from tier 1, and what I think will keep him from being a player around whom you can build a winning team, is his lack of explosiveness. Langford is not a player that’s going to simply blow by guys with his first step or get to the rim in traffic.

While the Houston Rockets have built a winning team around a secondary ball-handler / scorer with some athletic limitations, if any other team would like to try this with Langford, it means that they think he can become James Harden, which is a deeply unrealistic ceiling for him or any other player in this draft for that matter.

The internet has spent a lot of words and film on Zion Williamson and his athletic ability, and while Mike’s comparison to Charles Barkley in his own draft board makes a lot of sense, I can’t think of a better comparison for him than a Leonard Fournette that grew up to be 6’5” and learned to dribble a basketball.

Just like the Jacksonville Jaguars RB, Williamson is an explosive athlete that is at his best in the open court, where he not only runs over opposing defenders due to his size and power, but he is also shifty enough with the ball in his hands to dodge defenders and find an open way to the rim.

While Williamson has other skills that complement his physical tools, like his underrated passing vision on the move, what keeps him from my tier 1 is the fact that he won’t be able to dominate as easily on the NBA as he did in high school if running into a wall of defenders keeps being his go-to move at the next level. This is especially worrisome when we’re talking about a player who still needs a lot of improvement in terms of shooting the basketball. If Williamson doesn’t develop his perimeter game, he could end up as an explosive but predictable slasher at the NBA level.

Tier 1

With tremendous measurables at 7’3” with a 7’8” wingspan, it wouldn’t surprise me if Bol Bol ends up being the best player of this class. The future Oregon Duck can really affect the game on the defensive end thanks to his length. Once he establishes post position and catches the ball near the rim on the offensive end, it’s over for most high school defenders.

The concern with Bol is how is he going to hold up with the intensity of the college and the NBA game. Bol is coordinated and runs fluidly for his size, but he can be late when defending in transition at the high school level. I worry he could be run off the floor by smaller, quicker centers in this “small” era of the NBA.

The development of his perimeter game will be something to keep an eye on throughout the season. Bol went 22-for-45 at the AAU ranks in 2017, but it’s shot mechanics could still be tweaked, and while he has shown flashes of putting the ball on the floor, he is prone to turnovers at this stage. If Bol can be a consistent threat from the perimeter in his freshman year, his “unicorn” potential could earn him serious consideration as the top pick in this draft.

Probably the most complete player in this class in terms of offensive skill set, Cam Reddish has shown not only the ability to create shots for himself on the perimeter, thanks to his great offensive footwork and ball-handling ability, but he also has shown he can create for others.

Standing at 6’8” with a 7’1” wingspan, Reddish has good size and length for defending both forward positions at the NBA level but his path to being a franchise cornerstone at the next level will be how much he can improve or overcome his limitations in terms of explosiveness. Reddish is smooth with the ball in his hands, but he still lacks a degree of burst to get by his man on the perimeter or explode to the rim in traffic.

When Reddish can’t get by his man, he settles for pull-up jumpers and while he connects at a good rate thanks to his ability to create separation, pull-up threes aren’t exactly the most efficient shot in an era of basketball when the search for efficiency is continuous.

The reasons RJ Barrett is the top prospect on this class were put on display during his unreal performance against USA at the FIBA U19 World Cup back in July. A lot has been said about his 38 point, 13 rebound and 5 assist output against the USA team. Yes, that team was poorly-coached and seemed uninterested and/or unable to execute basketball concepts such as “playing defense” or “passing the ball”, but in terms of individual talent on the floor, it was a game that Canada had no business in winning.

Canada’s victory over USA was just one game, but it was also the perfect example of the best parts of RJ’s game. On offense the Duke commit has a rare degree of aggressiveness, putting pressure constantly on defenders. An athletic wing that has great speed with the ball in his hands, Barrett just plays at a different speed than everyone else and becomes nearly unstoppable when he switches gears. Barrett is also skilled as a one-on-one scorer, and has the ability to stop on a dime for pull-up jumpers.

On defense, Barrett showed exactly the same relentless motor that he had on offense. On the perimeter Barrett is a willing defender with good lateral quickness that gets in the passing lanes and contests shots with his length. On the interior, Barrett goes for blocks with good timing and fights for rebounds, boxing out his opponent immediately and competing against taller players thanks to his standing reach and leaping ability.

Barrett isn’t in a tier of his own, however, as you were able to see on my previous two picks on the board, and the reasons why, again, were put on display during the FIBA U19 World Cup. In Canada’s next game, the final against Italy, Barrett went 2-for-13 from the field and 0-for-2 from beyond the arc.

The future Blue Devil is far from a perfect prospect and it showed in that game. He can play too sped up and his vision sometimes is not up to par with his own physical speed, being prone to tunnel vision, missing open teammates and turning the ball over at an alarming rate.

When slashing or getting to the line doesn’t work, Barrett has a hard time creating his own offense. While athletic, he doesn’t have a super explosive first step, his handles are not the most creative and his shot mechanics are still inconsistent, being more comfortable pulling up from midrange than from three.

Barrett is still the top prospect on my board because of his motor on both ends of the floor, production and athleticism. But he could drop in draft boards behind players with more complete offensive skill sets (Reddish) or with unique combinations of size and shooting ability (Bol) if he doesn’t show signs of developing other areas of his game in his freshman year.

General notes on the 2019 class