{"id":2469,"date":"2025-06-21T13:36:13","date_gmt":"2025-06-21T13:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/2469\/"},"modified":"2025-06-21T13:36:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-21T13:36:13","slug":"2025-nba-draft-confidential-coaches-execs-scouts-on-khaman-maluach-top-center-prospects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/2469\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 NBA Draft Confidential: Coaches, execs, scouts on Khaman Maluach, top center prospects"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The evidence keeps trickling in.<\/p>\n<p>The Oklahoma City Thunder, like the Cavaliers, Celtics, Knicks, Mavericks, Bucks and other teams in the last couple of years, have used two big men lineups on the floor \u2014 7-foot center Isaiah Hartenstein and 7-1 forward Chet Holmgren \u2014 to great impact. Small-ball lineups still dominate the NBA game, but size matters, more and more, and especially in the postseason.<\/p>\n<p>Part of it is evolution. More bigs come into the game such as Cleveland\u2019s Evan Mobley, who can handle and pass as well as score, and was given the keys to the Cavaliers\u2019 offensive car this season by first-year head coach Kenny Atkinson. A big who can initiate offense like Mobley is a godsend to teams that can see their star guards stymied by hard shows on pick-and-rolls, or otherwise taken out of rhythm. Cleveland ripped off a 64-win regular season, as Mobley unlocked all of the features of his game, while also anchoring Cleveland\u2019s top-five defense with center Jarrett Allen. Similarly talented bigs like Bam Adebayo in Miami can draw defenses their way.<\/p>\n<p>This year\u2019s NBA draft features a number of bigs who have a plethora of offensive skills. And some still bother to block a shot or two. Like Duke freshman Khaman Maluach, who\u2019s rising rapidly up draft boards in the last days before the draft. Whatever your preference. They haven\u2019t been played off the floor yet.<\/p>\n<p>Once again, I make no bones about the fact that this is the NBA version of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/6274940\/2025\/04\/21\/nfl-draft-2025-confidential-hunter-sanders\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">my NFL colleague Bruce Feldman\u2019s annual NFL Draft Confidential.<\/a>\u00a0As that work pairs perfectly with Dane Brugler\u2019s monster NFL draft preview,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/the-beast\/2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Beast<\/a>, I hope my contributions serve as a complement to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/6414203\/2025\/06\/10\/nba-draft-guide-2025-top-100-prospects-cooper-flagg\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sam Vecenie\u2019s exhaustive annual NBA Draft Guide<\/a>. Sam is the first and last word on NBA prospects, having scouted and\/or seen almost everyone over the last couple of years.<\/p>\n<p>But I have spent some time on this. I\u2019ve spent the last two-plus months talking with nearly three dozen college head and assistant coaches, NBA executives, scouts and other personnel types who\u2019ve all either seen or coached against most of this year\u2019s crop. (I try not to ask coaches about their own players, because it\u2019s often hard for them to give me a real and objective evaluation of their own guys.)<\/p>\n<p>In exchange for anonymity, they tell me the truth, both good and bad, about what they think about the players.<\/p>\n<p>As ever, this is not a mock draft. Really, it\u2019s not even a \u201cBig Board.\u201d And, I didn\u2019t ask about every single player that\u2019s in every single mock. I have to cut this off somewhere. I know Florida guard Alijah Martin has a chance to be taken, for example. He\u2019s a hell of a defensive player. But I don\u2019t know that you\u2019d read 10,000 words apiece on all of the guards, wings and bigs who could possibly be taken. So I made some decisions. But, there\u2019s still plenty to chew on here. Have at it!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Center of attention<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s hard to teach 7-foot-1, 253 pounds, and 75 percent from the floor on 2-pointers. And being a vital part of a Final Four team. And being just 18 years old. Cooper Flagg got most of the attention at Duke this past season, but Maluach certainly didn\u2019t disappoint, either, after coming out of the NBA Academy Africa from South Sudan, playing in the Basketball Africa League and playing on South Sudan\u2019s men\u2019s team \u2014 at 17 years old \u2014 as it clinched its first-ever Olympic tournament berth last summer. South Sudan then nearly shocked the world in a one-point exhibition loss to the U.S. men in London, with Maluach scoring seven points off the bench, before South Sudan beat Puerto Rico in the opening round of the Games.<\/p>\n<p>At Duke, Maluach was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team, averaging 8.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks on 71.2 percent shooting from the field in 39 games. He ranked sixth in the country in offensive rebound percentage (16.5) and 2-point percentage (75.4). There\u2019s a reason the Spurs, per league sources, have already had him in twice for pre-draft visits. It\u2019s not likely San Antonio would take him with its No. 2 overall pick, but the Spurs certainly know that they\u2019ll probably need to secure a second top-10 pick to have a real chance at taking him. Maybe top five.<\/p>\n<p>Khaman Maluach | 7-1 big | 18 years old | Duke<\/p>\n<p><strong>College head coach No. 1 (his team played Duke):<\/strong>\u00a0I actually think he has the biggest upside of anybody in the draft. \u2026 He\u2019s huge. And he\u2019s long. He\u2019s a good athlete. And I think he has natural defensive instincts. He shoots the ball better than I think, maybe, he was able to show this year. He\u2019s a live body. He\u2019s enthusiastic about playing. It seems he loves the process, is not afraid of it. He\u2019s competitive. He\u2019s not afraid. He\u2019s ready to mix it up if he needs to. His length, size and athleticism, and then when you add those other things, I think the only thing that could stop him is injury.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Western Conference executive No. 1:<\/strong> Guys like him are only in one place for 11 to 13 years, and they\u2019re starters. What\u2019s the worst scenario he could be? Clint Capela? If you watched him in FIBA, offensively, it\u2019s two completely different talents than he showed at Duke. In FIBA, he\u2019s shooting 3s. At Duke \u2026 no. But there were a couple of times where he did do it and you\u2019re like, ah, that\u2019s what I saw at FIBA. He plays hard. He seems like a great kid. Rebounds. And Duke bigs \u2014 (Dereck) Lively was undervalued, and he\u2019s turned out to be damned good. Mark Williams. The general manager who has enough (guts) to take him earlier than Tre, maybe even Edgecombe, I could see him being the under the radar (pick) that nobody\u2019s really pinpointing to maybe screw up the (draft) order a little bit.<\/p>\n<p><strong>College assistant coach No. 1 (his team played Duke):<\/strong>\u00a0I got up next to the kid. He\u2019s huge. And he\u2019s untapped. He\u2019s got a world of potential. He goes after everything. He rebounds. And offensively, he\u2019s untapped.<\/p>\n<p>Few big men have as much in their offensive quiver as Maryland\u2019s freshman Derik Queen, who was Big 10 Rookie of the Year and a first-team all-conference selection. The 6-9 power forward can pass and score \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=aHETenAqV20\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">sometimes, with his team\u2019s season on the line<\/a>. Where he goes next week is up in the air, though; he\u2019s all over the place from the mid- to late Lottery. South Carolina\u2019s Collin Murray-Boyles turns heads at the other end of the floor, as one of the best defenders in the country, with just enough offense to not get played off the floor. Georgetown center Thomas Sorber missed a large chunk of the Hoyas\u2019 season with an injury, but he showed substantial two-way potential in his one season on the Hilltop, and his Green Room invite this week only solidifies the growing belief he\u2019ll be a top-20 pick. Right alongside him may be Georgia freshman Asa Newell, whose game puts some in mind of Obi Toppin when he turned two great years at Dayton into a top-10 draft selection, and Michigan junior Danny Wolf, an all-Big 10 selection who almost averaged a double-double (13.2 ppg, 9.7 rpg) for the Wolverines.<\/p>\n<p>Derik Queen | 6-9 big | 20 years old | Maryland<\/p>\n<p><strong>Eastern Conference executive No. 1:<\/strong> I\u2019ve been telling our guys, you watch him before the games, and he (seems) lackadaisical. He doesn\u2019t show a serious side. And that\u2019s a turnoff to some people. I\u2019m like, think of Naz Reid when he was at LSU. It was the same damn thing. The games never get too big for (Queen).<\/p>\n<p><strong>College assistant coach No. 2 (his team played Maryland):<\/strong> The skill is real. The knowledge of the game, and how to get to where he needs to go, crafty, is a real thing. He\u2019s not jumping over a phone book. I worry about, can he guard? Who he\u2019s going to guard is my question. I don\u2019t worry about him at all on offense. But I don\u2019t think he can guard fives. I don\u2019t think he\u2019s great in pick-and-roll defense, and I don\u2019t think he can move well enough laterally to guard Giannis and Michael Porter Jr., these scorers. He tries on defense, I think. I just don\u2019t think he moves well enough for it to be as good as it needs to be if he\u2019s not going to be a guy who\u2019s going to be super efficient on offense.<\/p>\n<p>I like him a lot (though). He can pass. He\u2019s a willing passer. He actually wants to pass. He can really see the floor. He can survey. He can get to his spot. He can make a shot off both feet. He can knock you off balance. He can get to the free-throw line. He\u2019s a good rebounder. There\u2019s a lot to like. The defensive part is where I have questions. Who\u2019s he guarding? Can he guard (Mikal) Bridges? Can he guard Josh Hart? Can he guard Stew (Isaiah Stewart), the next tier of guys who aren\u2019t the primary offensive option, but they know how to cut, how to go to the glass?<\/p>\n<p><strong>College assistant coach No. 3 (his team played Maryland)<\/strong>: I am not a Derik Queen guy. He can\u2019t shoot. Look at his 3-point percentage and number of attempts. I don\u2019t know who he\u2019s going to guard. Very skilled with the ball, because he\u2019s got great hands. Good from 15 feet on in. Doesn\u2019t run fast or hard. But he hardly took any 3s. And the way the NBA game is right now, what are you gonna do? But he\u2019s a great rebounder.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Western Conference scout No. 1:<\/strong>\u00a0Nice kid. Heavy emphasis on kid. We interviewed him, and he\u2019s 19 going on 14. He can do one thing: he can score. But you don\u2019t want to have to rely on a rookie scoring for you to contribute.<\/p>\n<p>Collin Murray-Boyles | 6-7 forward\/big | 20 years old | South Carolina<\/p>\n<p><strong>College assistant coach No. 4 (his team played South Carolina):<\/strong> I would say I love his game. He was a little bit like Draymond (Green), similar size. Great passer in the short roll. You couldn\u2019t double him because he\u2019d make you pay. Just really hard to guard. Analytically, I had that scout. He was shooting a crazy percentage within three feet of the basket. He shoots such a high percentage and no one can really stop him from getting that close. He\u2019s such a good dribbler and he\u2019s so strong. It just makes him unique. He shot 62 from two on the year. The midrange kind of drew it down a little bit, but when he got close, the ball\u2019s going in, or he\u2019s getting to the free throw line. That, combined with the passing \u2026 and the rebounding is elite.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s so quick, and has such a good feel for where the ball\u2019s going. There\u2019s some awesome plays, some great defensive plays, where most guys would get a deflection, he\u2019d just catch the ball. They\u2019d throw it right to his hands, and it just, like, sticks. The shooting is the biggest question, but I think he has everything else. \u2026 He seems like he\u2019s a great kid, even though they were struggling. He was playing really hard.<\/p>\n<p><strong>College head coach No. 2 (his team played South Carolina):<\/strong> He was a handful. The thing I worry about with him is we didn\u2019t guard him on the perimeter. He\u2019s undersized. If you\u2019re undersized in the NBA, you\u2019ve got to be able to shoot. I look at a guy like Draymond, who could shoot in college. I don\u2019t know if he\u2019ll ever be a respectable enough shooter where you have to guard him. Back in the day, guys used to work to get NBA money. Now they already get NBA money. So I don\u2019t know how hard he\u2019s going to work at shooting. If I\u2019m making $2 million and I\u2019m at South Carolina, I ain\u2019t worrying about shooting. But we couldn\u2019t keep him off the glass. He\u2019s physical. He knows how to score around the rim.<\/p>\n<p><strong>College assistant coach No. 5 (his team played South Carolina):<\/strong> He\u2019s really good positionally, and he\u2019s so strong. So you can never get to your spots. Rebounds. I think the thing is his strength. It\u2019s hard for you to get to where you want to get to. Just trying to get to your plays, he holds you, and he\u2019s so strong. They hedged. He hedges extremely hard, so it makes it hard for you to turn the corner. He does a great job of being able to hard hedge and get back to his guy. They did drop and level at times. But he was more of a hedge guy. He\u2019s got good feet. Very long arms, too, so it\u2019s very hard to throw over the top. He could potentially guard at three, but as far as playing the three, his handle and shot, he\u2019s not there. Obviously, he defends extremely well. He walls up at the rim when you try to score over him. His shooting is not good. But him going over that right shoulder, he\u2019s money down low.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas Sorber | 6-9 big | 19 years old | Georgetown<\/p>\n<p><strong>College assistant coach No. 6 (his team played Georgetown):\u00a0<\/strong>He\u2019s not terribly tall. I thought, for a young big guy, his motor was incredible. A lot of times, young big guys don\u2019t play quite hard enough. He had a grown man\u2019s motor as a freshman. You look at his face, you can tell he was a baby; he has the braces. He\u2019s so young. But he plays hard. Great face-up game. But I was impressed with his motor. Against us, we were fronting, he had a catch and finish like, holy s\u2014. He\u2019s talented. I think he has the touch to kind of extend his range out. He\u2019s a pretty good jump shooter. He just shot 15-footers, face-ups and that kind of stuff. I think he\u2019s got the touch to be able to extend his range. To be able to play that hard, and if he can shoot it some, I like his progression. That\u2019s something he\u2019ll have to work on. But I don\u2019t think he\u2019s far off from what his NBA game, or style should be \u2013 a hard-playing four who can stretch it.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s not a center at the next level. He\u2019s not a 7-foot monster like some of those guys are. He battles in the post. \u2026 He\u2019s not a true center. I don\u2019t think he can guard a (Nikola) Joki\u0107. He can guard Myles Turner, probably. But not the bigger centers. Defensively, he contested shots. He was good in ball screens. They did some zone, they did some switching. The effort was there. His motor was real, his talent was real.<\/p>\n<p><strong>College assistant coach No. 7:<\/strong>\u00a0He played in, what, 20 games, 23 games, before he got hurt? He\u2019s got a chance to be really good. He\u2019s really skilled. Thinks the game. But he\u2019s got a lot of stuff to work on. \u2026 He\u2019s a good athlete, but he\u2019s not a great athlete. He reminds me of a David West type, eventually. David could pass, he was pretty skilled, smart.<\/p>\n<p>Asa Newell | 6-9 forward\/big | 19 years old | Georgia<\/p>\n<p><strong>Eastern Conference executive No. 1:<\/strong> He\u2019s long. He\u2019ll shoot the 3, and sometimes shoots it when he shouldn\u2019t. But there\u2019s an upside that I like there. (Obi) Toppin\u2019s a little better athlete, but Newell\u2019s longer. There\u2019s a point of interest with him.<\/p>\n<p><strong>College assistant coach No. 4 (his team played Georgia):<\/strong> I was surprised he was able to score the way he did in the SEC, just based on what he did at Montverde. When he was younger, there were times when he really struggled to score. He would catch the ball and just look a little awkward. They did an amazing job with him, to do what he did. He would get some easy ones that he probably won\u2019t get at the next level, like rim runs or transition; that kind of drove his percentages up. I do feel like he made a jump scoring the ball. He would let it fly. When he was open, he would shoot it. He didn\u2019t turn many down. Didn\u2019t shoot it great from 3, but I don\u2019t think he took many bad ones. \u2026Really nice kid, worker. I think he has a chance to make a jump because of who he is, in terms of work ethic and attitude.<\/p>\n<p><strong>College assistant coach No. 5 (his team played Georgia):<\/strong>\u00a0I don\u2019t know if he was great against us, but with his length, he\u2019s so long, and he offensive rebounds so well, and he\u2019s a lob threat. He gets fouled. Lefty, moves well, can run down the floor extremely well. Incredible on the glass.<\/p>\n<p>Danny Wolf | 6-11 big | 21 years old | Michigan<\/p>\n<p><strong>Eastern Conference executive No. 2<\/strong>: If you\u2019re a fan, you think this is the next Kelly Olynyk. He can think the game, he can pass, he can shoot some. My problem with him is he\u2019s (6-11)\u00a0and he\u2019s physical, and he plays like he\u2019s 6-6. He does up-and-unders instead of just going over guys. He wants to pass and make plays. It would be one thing if he was a great shooter. He\u2019s not a great shooter.<\/p>\n<p><strong>College assistant coach No. 3 (his team played Michigan):<\/strong>\u00a0What they want you to do is drop coverage where he and (Vladislav) Golden can do screen and roll at the elbow. Look at his turnovers. He\u2019s a very high turnover machine, because he can\u2019t go left very well. He can shoot 3s, so that does translate. He can bring it up as a five. He told Michigan I won\u2019t come there if you make me play five. He didn\u2019t want to guard fives in college. He did, five-10 minutes a game, but they had Golden. In order for him to be a mismatch, he\u2019s got to play the five in the NBA. He is a late developer. He\u2019s much better than he was two or three years ago.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-6439271 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/250620-Ryan-Kalkbrenner-scaled-e1750385047415.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2508\" height=\"1254\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>      Creighton\u2019s Ryan Kalkbrenner could be a solid pick for an NBA team. \u201cSometimes, you just need competence. You don\u2019t need another star.\u201d (Jordan Prather \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n<p>Multiple bigs could get into the back end of the first round. French center Joan Beringer is one of the youngest guys in the draft \u2014 he just turned 18 last November \u2014 but held his own this season playing for Cedevita in the Adriatic League. The Celtics, among other teams with late first-round picks, have had Creighton senior center Ryan Kalkbrenner in for a workout. Stanford\u2019s Maxime Reynaud was an All-ACC selection (still weird to type \u201cStanford\u201d and \u201cACC\u201d in the same sentence) who played well in Chicago at the predraft combine. Penn State junior Yanic Konan Niederhauser made an impression late in the season for the Nittany Lions, and stands to be one of the most impactful Penn State big men hoopers since the days of John Amaechi and Frank Brickowski.<\/p>\n<p>Joan Beringer | 6-11 big | 18 years old | Cedevita<\/p>\n<p><strong>Eastern Conference executive No. 3:<\/strong> Very, very new to the game. Big (kid). Light on his feet. Shot blocker. High motor. The offensive part is gonna be a wait. Right now, he\u2019s a vertical spacer, lob catcher. Just dunks everything around the rim. He\u2019s only been competitively playing the last five years. \u2026It\u2019s been good for him to leave France and get away from that sort of thing, and now he\u2019s in Slovenia. Perfect work conditions. Lives two or three blocks from the gym. Someone might (take) him in the teens. Really, his talent level, he\u2019s supposed to be a late 20s guy, maybe mid-20s guy, just with his inexperience. But a big body, live body. You\u2019re going to hear from him. Offensively, he\u2019s a ways away. But he does have decent instincts.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Eastern Conference executive No. 2<\/strong>: Saw him last year at the Under-18s in Finland. Still very raw. But he\u2019s come a long way from where he was last year. If you think about Jarrett Allen in college, and just how raw he was, that\u2019s what he reminds me of. If you\u2019re a fan of his, that\u2019s how you have to project him. Just started playing two or three years ago. Good pick and roll defense. There\u2019s not a lot there (offensively). You throw it at the rim and he catches it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Western Conference executive No. 2:<\/strong>\u00a0Raw, young, rim protector and rebounding will keep him around. Solid motor. That kid is a dog, man. He\u2019s a horse. He just works all the time. He\u2019s just starting to play. Whoever gets him is going to have rim protection, rebounder. And he asks questions. Very smart kid. His hands aren\u2019t really the greatest, but he can catch the ball in the dunker\u2019s spot.<\/p>\n<p>Ryan Kalkbrenner | 7-1 big | 23 years old | Creighton<\/p>\n<p><strong>College assistant coach No. 7 (his team played Creighton):<\/strong> I like him. It\u2019s tough, because defensively, and I know he kept winning Defensive Player of the Year, but he never left the paint. He changed shots around the basket. I think his offensive game got better. I don\u2019t think he\u2019s the athlete, mobility guy, that Zach Edey is. But it\u2019s legit size. You just can\u2019t bypass that. Their system \u2014 now maybe, he can do more than he was able to show, based on how they utilized him in their system. He was basically a screen roll guy. But you never really were able to see what he had in his bag. Edey has a little edge to him. I\u2019m not sure Ryan has that.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Western Conference scout No. 1:<\/strong> He\u2019s big as s\u2014, long as f\u2014. Standing reach over nine feet. His interview was spectacular in Chicago. Really bright dude; really smart man. It\u2019s hard not to like him. And he\u2019s a five-year guy. He\u2019s a drop coverage guy, which is fine. But he\u2019s a Jakob Poeltl type. He\u2019s got some bulk. Three blocks a game this year and three blocks a game last year. Sometimes, you just need competence. You don\u2019t need another star.<\/p>\n<p>Maxime Raynaud | 7-0 center | 22 years old | Stanford<\/p>\n<p><strong>Western Conference scout No. 2:<\/strong> Somebody\u2019s gonna get a star in him. Got better each year. A good team is gonna get him, and people are gonna be \u2018How did they get him?\u2019 He\u2019s got to get stronger, but he can post up, he can pass, he\u2019s got the jump hooks, both hands. Turnaround J. He can step out and shoot 3s. And he can put it on the floor. (Donovan) Clingan went seven (in last year\u2019s draft). Zach Edey went nine. Other than (Edey) being bigger, (Raynaud\u2019s) more skilled than both of them put together.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Western Conference scout No. 1:<\/strong>\u00a0Hates to be touched. In the playoffs, the way they let you play, you\u2019ve got to get used to a bit of manhandling. Has some talent. He\u2019s like Luke Kornet. Could shoot the ball, great hands, but hated to be touched. He had to learn. Took him a while, but now he\u2019s a serviceable player. (Raynaud\u2019s) better than Kornet, but he\u2019s going to have to find somebody who values his finesse.<\/p>\n<p>Yanic Konan Niederhauser | 6-11 big | 22 years old | Penn State<\/p>\n<p><strong>College head coach No. 3 (his team played Penn State):<\/strong> Love his upside. Should get better and better. Could turn into Kel\u2019el Ware or even be better. Needs to get strong. Needs to continue to improve his ball skills. Other than this past season has lacked playing against high-level competition but has high upside.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Eastern Conference executive No. 3:<\/strong> Raw. But size and athleticism, he\u2019s got all that. It\u2019s an elite combination. He\u2019s just learning how to play. The downside is he didn\u2019t rebound. He should have been getting an easy 12 rebounds a game. You\u2019re just betting that he\u2019s going to learn and get better at that stuff.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Western Conference scout No. 1:<\/strong> He\u2019s a workout warrior. Came to the combine and blew out the numbers. But when I went to see him play \u2026 he wasn\u2019t interested in playing at all. He played against the big kid at Oregon (Nate Bittle). He didn\u2019t show up to play. His numbers show that consistent inconsistency. Now, other people have seen him. But all of a sudden, he\u2019s a hot name because of what he did at the combine. But, still, at his worst, he\u2019s Mitchell Robinson. And at his best, he could be a lot better than that.<\/p>\n<p>Auburn\u2019s Johni Broome absolutely maxed out as a super senior for the Tigers, winning SEC Player of the Year honors and leading Auburn to the Final Four and a top-five spot all season. But, it\u2019s more likely than not that he\u2019ll have to stick as a second-round pick. Serbian forward Bogoljub Markovic\u0301 was named Top Prospect in the Adriatic League this past season, shooting nearly 39 percent on 3s for Mega Basket. The 2024 winner of the award, guard Nikola Topi\u0107, was Oklahoma City\u2019s first-round pick (12th overall) last year; Heat forward and 2022 first-rounder Nikola Jovi\u0107 took the honors three years ago. <\/p>\n<p>Kentucky\u2019s Amari Williams came to Lexington after four years at Drexel and finished second in the SEC in rebounds (8.5 per game). China\u2019s Hansen Yang is ready to make the leap to the NBA after playing for the Qingdao Eagles in the Chinese Basketball Association this past season. So is 18-year-old Australian Rocco Zikarsky, whose massive (7-3) size could get him a late second-round look after a couple of years playing for the Brisbane Bullets in the NBL. Zikarsky was also in the NBL\u2019s Next Stars program this season with fellow 2025 potential draftees Izan Almansa and Alex Toohey; NBA alumni who were in Next Stars on their way to the league include LaMelo Ball, Josh Giddey and Alexandre Sarr.<\/p>\n<p>Johni Broome | 6-9 big | 22 years old | Auburn<\/p>\n<p><strong>College assistant coach No. 4 (his team played Auburn):<\/strong> Almost looks like he\u2019s not playing that hard because he\u2019s so good. He was, you\u2019re trying to get him to catch the ball as far away as possible because he\u2019s such a great dribbler. He\u2019s a great passer, especially with his back to the basket. \u2026 With Broome, you couldn\u2019t double him. You have to play him one-on-one. You\u2019re trying to sit on his right shoulder so hard, but it\u2019s so good, he could still get to it, somehow. You\u2019re yelling at your guys, but it was impossible to stop him from getting to that right shoulder. Amazing rebounder. Defensively, he might struggle a little bit. \u2026but the game is so easy for him. He was a five in the SEC defensively. They played (Dylan) Cardwell, too, both those guys together, but with Broome, he\u2019s a little more of a natural drop guy. They had to get him out there to try and impact the ball more. I don\u2019t know if, when he gets to the league, I don\u2019t know if he can really switch. He\u2019s going to have to rely on ball screen coverage to keep himself on the guy he\u2019s guarding.<\/p>\n<p><strong>College assistant coach No. 8 (his team played Auburn):<\/strong> From the waist up, Johni is a great athlete. From the waist down, he\u2019s suspect. He\u2019s got incredible timing. He gets the ball at its peak. And he\u2019s got soft hands. Unbelievable hands. Anything in his area, he comes up with it. Not much vertical. \u2026 I think he competes, and I think this is true of a lot of guys. Very few guys compete in a lot of context areas of the game. They\u2019ll compete in different areas of the game. Broome competes on the backboard. He competes in the paint. And he made himself a much better 3-point shooter. He can really pass, he can really play. But he doesn\u2019t want to guard anybody. He\u2019s not rushing up to a ball screen. Bruce (Pearl) is great at getting guys to play to their strengths. My worry is, unless you play drop, he doesn\u2019t have great feet, and he\u2019s not really competitive in that context of the game. How much would it piss him off to sit?<\/p>\n<p>Bogoljub Markovic | 6-11 big | 19 years old | Mega<\/p>\n<p><strong>Western Conference executive No. 3:<\/strong>\u00a0He\u2019s talented. Very skilled. His body\u2019s got to fill out. Somebody with multiple picks is going to take him. He\u2019s very skilled. You have to bring him (over). If you stash him, you\u2019re going to lose him. He\u2019s a good player. Long, athletic, can pass. He\u2019s got a chance.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Western Conference executive No. 4:<\/strong> He didn\u2019t shoot the ball well this year. They moved up in competition. He\u2019s kind of young and frail. But you\u2019re betting on the shot coming up and the body coming up. And when he played in the Hoop Summit in \u201924, he was easily a top-10 player in that.<\/p>\n<p>Amari Williams | 6-11 big | 23 years old | Kentucky<\/p>\n<p><strong>College assistant coach No. 4 (his team played Kentucky):<\/strong>\u00a0(Kentucky) obviously had, Lamont Butler got hurt, so they lost their point guard. They actually were running offense through (Williams) \u00a0to relieve pressure. They ran some zoom action through him. He helped get them through in a pinch. Great size. Moves well. Obviously not a 3-point threat. But around the rim, he\u2019s got good touch. Switching, he\u2019s not a great defender in ball screens. But he can protect the rim. They were in drop coverage a lot, and they iced. He was fine. He can move his feet. But you don\u2019t want him guarding guards.<\/p>\n<p>Hansen Yang | 7-1 big | 20 years old | Qingdao<\/p>\n<p><strong>Western Conference executive No. 3:<\/strong> He\u2019s got good hands. When he came to Chicago, he wasn\u2019t in shape. He shut down. He\u2019s not a guy that\u2019s going to run up and down. He\u2019s like (Joel) Embiid. He\u2019s going to be trailing. But he\u2019s got skills. If Berenger had his skills, he\u2019d be a top-five pick. But he\u2019s slow. Berenger is fast as hell, but he\u2019s limited.<\/p>\n<p>Rocco Zikarsky | 7-3 big | 18 years old | Brisbane Bullets<\/p>\n<p><strong>Western Conference executive No. 4: <\/strong>There\u2019s not a lot to go on. The numbers (in Brisbane) weren\u2019t staggering. But his size, and he\u2019s young and he blocks shots \u2013 you\u2019re betting on that. These big foreigners, you have to expend a pick on them. You\u2019re not getting them in the G League. And you don\u2019t lose the value of those guys (if they stay overseas for a year or two after getting drafted) because you keep their rights.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Eastern Conference executive No. 3:<\/strong> He was supposed to be the prize of the class. Even if he keeps his name in, he probably goes late second round. He just hasn\u2019t done enough to warrant a first-round pick. And with bigs and injuries, they want to see proof of life. I don\u2019t want to see some big guy that\u2019s been hurt half the season, and is now pushing himself into the draft.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">(Illustration: Will Tullos \/ The Athletic; Photos: Jared C. Tilton, Michael Allio, Todd Kirkland \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The evidence keeps trickling in. The Oklahoma City Thunder, like the Cavaliers, Celtics, Knicks, Mavericks, Bucks and other&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2470,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[3119,3125,3124,3118,3127,3128,3139,3134,3129,3140,3136,1267,3142,3141,3135,1385,3120,3130,3131,1260,3137,3122,1268,3121,3123,1721,3133,3143,3138,62,3126,67,132,68,3132,3117],"class_list":{"0":"post-2469","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-atlanta-hawks","9":"tag-boston-celtics","10":"tag-brooklyn-nets","11":"tag-charlotte-hornets","12":"tag-chicago-bulls","13":"tag-cleveland-cavaliers","14":"tag-dallas-mavericks","15":"tag-denver-nuggets","16":"tag-detroit-pistons","17":"tag-golden-state-warriors","18":"tag-houston-rockets","19":"tag-indiana-pacers","20":"tag-los-angeles-clippers","21":"tag-los-angeles-lakers","22":"tag-memphis-grizzlies","23":"tag-mens-college-basketball","24":"tag-miami-heat","25":"tag-milwaukee-bucks","26":"tag-minnesota-timberwolves","27":"tag-nba","28":"tag-new-orleans-pelicans","29":"tag-new-york-knicks","30":"tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","31":"tag-orlando-magic","32":"tag-philadelphia-76ers","33":"tag-phoenix-suns","34":"tag-portland-trail-blazers","35":"tag-sacramento-kings","36":"tag-san-antonio-spurs","37":"tag-sports","38":"tag-toronto-raptors","39":"tag-united-states","40":"tag-unitedstates","41":"tag-us","42":"tag-utah-jazz","43":"tag-washington-wizards"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2469"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}