Normally when the term “Big Five” is mentioned in college basketball, the phrase refers to the handful of historic Philadelphia hoops programs at Villanova, Temple, St. Joseph’s, Penn and LaSalle. However, during Florida State guard Scottie Barnes’ NBA draft combine interview with media Thursday afternoon, a question about the “Big Five” referenced whether the 19-year-old can move up draft boards and be picked somewhere in the first five selections on July 29.
The vast majority of national mock drafts project him just outside of the draft slots currently held by Detroit, Houston, Cleveland, Toronto and Orlando, respectively, but the 6-foot-9, 227-pounder believes his stock can keep climbing.
“I feel like I can (go in the top five),” Barnes said. “I’ve been having great interviews with teams that are (picking) in the Big Five. I’m a great player who can have an immediate impact with winning. They want a player who’s going to come in and translate that to the game, with a defensive mindset and the offensive tools that I have.”
Based on NBA.com’s consensus mock draft – which combines the current projections of nine different websites, such as ESPN.com, The Ringer and The Athletic – the first five picks are (in order) Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley, Jalen Green, Jalen Suggs and Jonathan Kuminga. Barnes places sixth on the NBA.com compilation, going to Oklahoma City. In a case of general agreement among draft pundits, seven of the nine sites surveyed have the Thunder taking Barnes at No. 6.
Gonzaga’s Kispert sees fit in New Orleans
Although NBA.com’s consensus mock draft has Gonzaga forward Corey Kispert as a non-lottery pick beyond the top 14, a few websites project him as a potentially snug roster fit with New Orleans at No. 10, largely due to his shooting ability (44 percent three-point shooting in 2020-21, career 41 percent from arc).
The 6-foot-7, 220-pounder said Thursday that he’s already done interviews with 11 different teams, including the Pelicans, as well as Boston, San Antonio, Minnesota, Cleveland, Golden State, Chicago, New York, both Los Angeles teams and Oklahoma City.
Asked about the potential of playing with forwards Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, the 22-year-old Kispert responded, “I’m tailor made to play with guys like that, guys who have the ball in their hands a lot and need driving lanes to score. I’m able to put the defense in constant motion (based on shooting ability), move the furniture around and give those guys opportunities to make plays. I’m a great complement for them, to take pressure off of them. Those guys need to go out and score 20 or 25 points a night, but I’m definitely able to step in and take that scoring load off of them, obviously with my shooting and playmaking, too.”
Tennessee’s Johnson sets combine record in vertical leap
Tennessee guard Keon Johnson gained some additional buzz about his NBA potential Wednesday when he broke a 20-year-old record in the vertical leap, recording a jump of 48 inches (four feet). The previous record was set by Kansas’ Kenny Gregory at 45.5 in 2001.
“My phone blew up for sure,” a smiling Johnson said when asked what the reaction has been to his record. “(NBA) teams are talking about it. I set a goal for myself and exceeded that goal. I’m more happy to see the improvement that I’ve been making (than setting a record).”
Johnson is eighth in NBA.com’s consensus mock draft, the second of two lottery picks currently held by Orlando. The 19-year-old said he will work on his shooting (45 percent from field as Volunteers freshman, but 27 percent on three-pointers) entering his rookie NBA season.
“I feel like once I become more consistent with my shot, it’s going to open up the driving lanes that I like,” Johnson said. “Once that happens, my offensive game will open up and I’ll be able to show my athleticism in many different ways.”
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June 25, 2021 at 03:50AM
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Florida State’s Scottie Barnes trying to crack top five in NBA draft - Pelicans.com
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