The 2019 NBA Draft is only hours away, and by my count, 27 of the players in ESPN’s Top 100 Prospects have significant NIT ties.
Of course, the big story tonight is whether the Pelicans will go the risky route and make Zion Williamson the first overall pick despite his complete lack of NIT experience, or go the conventional route and choose Tacko Fall on the basis of his having led UCF to the 2017 NIT Final Four. But even after the first selection is announced, and my eyebrows are raised above pursed lips in the “well, don’t blame me if this doesn’t work out” facial expression, there will be plenty of intrigue tonight for NIT fans, and plenty of familiar faces.
Here’s what to watch for:
Guy who played in the most NIT’s
One man who conceivably could be drafted tonight played in three NIT’s over his college career. Impressive stuff.
Donta Hall: He isn’t likely to be picked, but he did play in the NIT three times. And he even won a game once!
NIT Champions
Three players in ESPN’s Top 100 have an NIT Championship to their name.
Josh Reaves, Penn State: Reaves got in foul trouble in the 2018 quarterfinals, but still averaged over twelve and five as a role player during Penn State’s run to the title. Sadly, he is not likely to be drafted tonight.
Kerwin Roach, Texas: Snoop, as the locals call him, is also unlikely to be drafted, but he’s already accomplished more than the NBA can offer, averaging 17/4/5 in this year’s premier college basketball tournament.
Jaxson Hayes, Texas: While he didn’t play in the tournament due to injury, we can only assume the moral support of this likely lottery pick was invaluable to the Longhorns.
Didn’t play in the NIT, but almost did
Four players (five if you count Jaxson Hayes), have significant NIT ties despite not logging any minutes themselves. Which is rather impressive.
Daniel Gafford, Arkansas: Gafford looks like he might slip out of the first round, which is what happens when you opt to rest yourself rather than competing in the best tournament ever bestowed unto man.
Romeo Langford, Indiana: A possible lottery pick, Langford will be with Hayes in the green room tonight. He didn’t see the court during his lone NIT, due to injury, which means his career will always be dogged by the question of whether his health was the difference between Indiana ending its 40-year title drought or not.
Nic Claxton, Georgia: Lots of prognosticators have Claxton going in the first round. He would have played in the 2018 NIT, but the selection committee mercifully allowed Georgia to sit that one out after the school fired their head coach, respecting the Dawgs’ stance that they could not give the tournament the performance it deserved.
Aubrey Dawkins, UCF: He was sitting out, per transfer requirements, when UCF made the 2017 Final Four, but he was certainly a part of the team, and was likely even in the building for some of those games. If he’s drafted, it will be a surprise.
Guys who played in the NIT but didn’t do anything notable
Five players fall into this bucket, one of whom was sneaky about it and played before he transferred schools. It’s possible there are other guys out there who transferred and therefore eluded my research. This is a risk with which we all must live.
Zylan Cheatham, Arizona State: This is the dude who transferred. He was a role player as a freshman on the 2016 San Diego State team that made it to the Garden, and enters tonight a possible second-round selection.
Terance Mann, Florida State: Mann logged a combined 45 minutes over two NIT games as a freshman, but alas, he was never to return. He’s a fringe second-rounder.
Kenny Wooten, Oregon: Wooten is in all probability not going to be drafted tonight, and whether this was the difference or not, his performance on the biggest stage didn’t help. While he secured a double-double against Rider in Oregon’s 2018 NIT Opener, he was quiet as they fell to Marquette in the tournament’s second round.
KZ Okpala, Stanford: Okpala hadn’t come into his own yet when he played in his only NIT (the 2018 one), but he still might find his name called around the end of the first round. Let this be a lesson, children: a missed opportunity doesn’t always spell the end of the road.
Justin Robinson, Virginia Tech: Robinson played forgettable basketball as a freshman in the 2016 NIT, which is probably why he’s probably not going to be drafted.
Guys with strong NIT pedigrees
Eleven players fall into this bucket. Eleven historic players.
Dylan Windler, Belmont: Windler broke onto the scene as a sophomore in Belmont’s 2017 NIT opener, notching 21 points to go with nine boards. He’s a possible first round pick.
Ky Bowman, Boston College: While his team ran into a determined, Final Four-bound Western Kentucky in his lone NIT appearance, Bowman still put up 18 memorable points. He’s on the edge of getting drafted tonight.
Justin Wright-Foreman, Hofstra: A fringe second-rounder, the arc of Wright-Foreman’s college career was defined in the NIT. In 2016, he was a freshman who scored three points across nine minutes as Hofstra lost to eventual champion George Washington (the university, not the president). This year, he was a senior who scored 29 in Hofstra’s narrow miss against NC State.
Tyler Cook, Iowa: Cook appears unlikely to be drafted tonight, but it isn’t out of the question. As a freshman, he impressed in the 2017 NIT, averaging 17 points per game before Iowa lost to eventual champion TCU.
Tremont Waters, LSU: Waters, a possible second-rounder, dropped 19 in LSU’s loss to Utah in 2018.
Terence Davis, Mississippi: Davis, a likely second-round choice, put up an unforgettable 30 points in Mississippi’s 2017 win at the Carrier Dome.
Lamar Peters, Mississippi State: While his old teammate Quinndary Weatherspoon (we’ll get to him) is on the fringe of the draft, Peters is on the wrong side of the bubble. He was an unsung hero in 2018, but lands in this section on the basis of his 14 rebounds with no points against Nebraska that year.
James Palmer, Nebraska: Palmer does not appear destined to be drafted, but if he does make the cut, he can thank the 21 points per game he posted in this year’s NIT.
Tyus Battle, Syracuse: Battle was a freshman when Jim Boeheim declared war on the city of Greensboro prior to the 2017 NIT, and scored 20 while defeating the city’s hometown branch of the state university system. He also played pretty well against Mississippi that year, but not well enough to stave off Davis & Co. He’s unlikely to be drafted tonight.
Matisse Thybulle, Washington: The man with a very cool name has a very cool NIT stat line, featuring 16 fouls over four career NIT games. He was also in double figures in both of Washington’s 2018 contests. NBA franchises are duly impressed—he figures to be chosen tonight in the first round.
Jaylen Nowell, Washington: Nowell put up 25 in Washington’s opening-round classic against Boise State in 2018. He’s a likely second-rounder.
NIT Legends
The men from whom myths are made.
Quinndary Weatherspoon, Mississippi State: Who can forget Quinndary Weatherspoon’s 2018 buzzer-beater, a three that sank Baylor in the second round? An instrumental piece of that Final Four squad, Weatherspoon may or may not be drafted tonight. There is no way to know.
Isaiah Roby, Nebraska: Speaking of Nebraska, this likely second-rounder scored 28 in the Cornhuskers’ stirring defense of their home court and their head coach this March. Sadly, his college career ended with him fouling out in a loss to TCU in the next round.
Tacko Fall
There is only one Tacko Fall. And tonight is a big night.
Tacko Fall, UCF: Will Tacko Fall be drafted? Will the tallest man to ever play in the NIT be drafted? Will the man who inspired this blog’s creation be drafted? We’ll see. Few have him in their mock drafts, but a blogger can hope.
We all can hope.
