by Gabe Akins
NBA Draft 2015:
Worst Entries (10-6)
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| (Review Journal) |
This entry will deal with the ten worst players in the draft. It will list the ten players that could have benefitted most from another year or two in college. Players like these often leave early because of family financial stability and their desire to be paid right now. These players would benefit from the NCAA paying them for the value that they bring to their schools by playing high level college basketball.
10: Montrezl Harrell
The Louisville star forward had a good year even though he had high expectations placed on him. Harrell averaged over 15 points and almost 10 rebounds per game for a team that made it to the Elite 8. Harrell was regarded as a sure lottery pick in last year's draft which was significantly weaker. With two of the best pro prospects at Harrell's position in recent history (Jahlil Okafor and Karl-Anthony Towns), Harrell is sort of an after thought in this year's draft. Harrell is now ranked 22nd in DraftExpress' top 100 prospects. It would be smart for Harrell to wait another year as he could probably be a top 10 pick in a weaker draft class.
9: Jarrell Martin
Martin backed up his All-SEC Freshman season with a selection to the overall All-SEC First Team this past season. Martin averaged nearly 17 points and 9 rebounds per game. One would think that this would be the perfect time for Martin to leave, but he is only projected as a late first-round to early second-round pick. This means he might not get a guaranteed contract. If Martin could wait one more year, he could see his draft stock rise. However, LSU brings in the number one high school recruit in Ben Simmons next year which could take some of the spotlight away from Martin. Martin is already athletic enough to play in the NBA, and at 6-10 he has the height to play in the league. With the arrival of Simmons next year, it makes a little more sense for Martin to leave which is why he is only ranked at 9.
8: Jordan Mickey
The other LSU big man, Jordan Mickey, also had a breakout year in 2015 averaging 15 points to go along with 10 rebounds per game. These are pretty good stats for a young big man, however Mickey is a 6-7 forward which is undersized for the NBA. Mickey is ranked 55th in DraftExpress' top 100 prospects which makes his decision to leave a little bit worse than Jarrell Martin's because it is not even a guarantee that he will be selected by an NBA team.
7: Brandon Ashley
After being ranked 16th in the nation coming out of high school and being named a McDonalds All-American, there were high expectations for Ashley and the Arizona Wildcats. Playing on a team loaded with talent, Ashley managed to do his part. He averaged double figure points the past two seasons, both on teams that made it to the Elite 8 . However, Ashley has seen his ranking decline as he is listed as the 88th best prospect by DraftExpress. This means it is very likely that he won't get picked. An argument could be made that Ashley doesn't have a very high ceiling and it will be hard for him to improve his draft stock. However, Ashley could not hurt himself by coming back for his senior season and trying to improve his ranking so that he has a better chance of being drafted.
6: Rashad Vaughn
Another highly talented high school recruit has decided to enter the NBA Draft. In this case, he is leaving after just one season. Vaughn had a pretty good freshman season averaging 17.6 points per game. On February 10th, Vaughn tore cartilage in his knee and missed the rest of the season. Vaughn is projected as a second-round pick which is pretty low for a player of his talent. Vaughn would have been smart if he decided to return to UNLV for another year or two so that he could show the scouts that he can still play after knee injury. One NBA scout was quoted in the Review Journal as saying, “He was late first round until he got hurt. Now, he’s probably second round.”
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