2017-18 CBB Draft Kit: Power Conference Mock Draft

You might be able to tell it is almost time for college basketball when my small and merry crew get together for a mock draft. Lists of players are great, but we get a better sense of relative value with mock drafts. This draft took place on the FCBLZone (where you can still join a league if you are reading this in late October). There were six of us, the draft snaked, and each team had to select two guards, two forwards, a center, and a utility player – one of whom had to be a freshman. With just 60 players off the board, it is hard to go wrong with any of the picks, but let's take a spin around the mock with as little mockery as we can muster.

Round 1
1. Michael Porter, Missouri, FR, F
2. Marvin Bagley, Duke, FR, F
3. Miles Bridges, Michigan State, SO, F
4. Ethan Happ, Wisconsin, JR, F-C
5. Yante Maten, Georgia, SR, F-C
6. Angel Delgado, Seton Hall, SR, F

I had the first pick and did not mess around by taking the top freshman on the board. I am not sure if Missouri will be very good, but they will afford Porter every opportunity to put up numbers. There might not be much difference in talent between Porter and Bagley, but Duke has plenty of other mouths to feed. Bridges does it all and should out-produce the two first-year players selected ahead of him. If leagues do not have a freshman requirement, then Bridges is unquestionably the top pick. Productive centers are at a premium in leagues like this, so Happ and Maten were quality picks. Both bigs had productive guards to steal some of their shots last year (Bronson Koenig to go along with forward Nigel Hayes in Wisconsin, J.J. Frazier in Georgia), so they should improve their point production. Delgado led the nation in rebounding last year and had 27 double-doubles. His offensive improvement was a nice surprise.

Round 2
7. Deandre Ayton, Arizona, FR, F
8. Bryant Crawford, Wake Forest, JR, G
9. Devonte' Graham, Kansas, SR, G
10. Jerome Robinson, Boston College, JR, G
11. Alonzo Trier, Arizona, JR, G
12. Bonzie Colson, Notre Dame, SR, F

The first seven picks had a certain commonality: they were all frontcourt players. I have noticed this trend in most of my drafts this year. Bigs are going at the top, particularly with the top three of the freshman class all being bigs. Ayton is the third of the top freshmen. He won't be the top offensive option for the Wildcats, but should provide plenty of rebounds and blocks. We finally had a run of guards with upperclassmen going with the next four rounds. Graham may have to adjust to playing on the ball, but should be among the top producers in the Big 12. Crawford and Robinson are scoring guards who can dominate the ball (i.e. more assists). Trier is the second Wildcat to go in the round. I think his points will go up as a junior, but his assists may fall a tad. I bolstered my frontcourt with Colson, who averaged a double-double last season despite standing at just 6-5.

Round 3
13. Ben Lammers, Georgia Tech, SR, C
14. Kenrich Williams, TCU, SR, G
15. Reid Travis, Stanford, JR, F
16. Trevon Bluiett, Xavier, SR, G-F
17. Chimezie Metu, USC, JR, F
18. Drew Eubanks, Oregon State, JR, F-C

I continued to ignore the smaller players by loading up on Lammers. Statistically, he is the top returning center, which came as a surprise to me. The Yellow Jacket big man put up 14.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 3.3 blocks. It may be tough for him to return those numbers, but even a modest downtick is all right with me. Had I picked a guard, I may have gone with Williams. The Horned Frog grabbed 9.3 boards, which is incredible for a backcourt player. Travis is a solid pick who has some health issues over his career. Bluiett's career has progressed in a nice arc, but he might be tapped out on stats because he played 35.1 minutes last season. Even a repeat from the Musketeer would be a fine season. Metu and Eubanks are two of the top returning rebounders in the Pac-12. They both face internal competition from players returning from injury, Bennie Boatwright and Trey Tinkle, respectively.

Round 4
19. Shamorie Ponds, St. Johns, SO, G
20. Collin Sexton, Alabama, FR, G
21. Joel Berry, North Carolina, SR, G
22. Jeffrey Carroll, Oklahoma State, SR, G-F
23. Isaac Haas, Purdue, SR, C
24. Nate Mason, Minnesota, SR, G

Another run of guards starts round four and reduces my options as I wait until the end of the round. It will be interesting to see how Chris Mullin uses Ponds and Marcus LoVett, who are small-ish guards. Sexton is the top freshman guard and should command the ball for coach Avery Bradley. Berry is on the other end of the experience spectrum, and the news that he broke his hand came out after the draft. He shouldn't miss much of the season. Carroll is another solid rebounder for a guard-eligible player. I expected Haas to take a big step forward last season, but his minutes remained steady. He is lone big for the Boilermakers and can be a top center if he can player more than 25 minutes per game. I finally filled a guard slot with the best producing guard in the Big 10, Nate Mason.

Round 5
25. Kyron Cartwright, Providence, SR, G
26. Marcus Foster, Creighton, SR, G
27. Tyler Davis, Texas A&M, JR, C
28. Mohamed Bamba, Texas, FR, F
29. Robert Williams, Texas A&M, SO, F
30. Jevon Carter, West Virginia, SR, G

Assists are always the ugly stepchild of the three major stats, particularly in this league. Cartwright is the leading returning setup man in Tier 1. Foster had a really nice campaign with the Bluejays last season and was able to produce even after Mo Watson was lost for the season. He should keep the good times rolling as a senior. Davis is a second-tier center who might not progress as much as his owner would like with NBA prospect Robert Williams sharing the frontcourt. Bamba should really help with boards and blocks. If he can score a bit too, he will help his owner as well as the Longhorns. Carter is a demon thief and if steals were a separate category, he would be a, ahem, steal.

Round 6
31. Jordan McLaughlin, USC, SR, G
32. Josh Okogie, Georgia Tech, SO, G
33. Hamidou Diallo, Kentucky, FR, G
34. Kevin Knox, Kentucky, FR, F
35. Chris Clarke, Virginia Tech, JR, G-F
36. Grayson Allen, Duke, SR, G

Coach Andy Enfield likes to play at a swift pace, which leads to more counting numbers. McLaughlin will have the ball in his hands and should be a steady source of points and assists. Okogie was one of the nicest surprises as a freshman. The Yellow Jackets may have a bit more depth, but his role should remain as the top gun. It is a sure sign that Kentucky may be in a different spot as the Wildcats' best freshmen lasted until the 33rd and 34th pick of the draft. I think Knox will be a better fantasy player because he will score, while Diallo will put up better all-around numbers. Kentucky will be talented once again, but I really look forward to seeing how all the parts fit together. Clarke is returning from a broken foot and has not played in the calendar year. I took college basketball's most unlikeable player in Grayson Allen. Duke has a lot of mouths to feed, but Allen's will be the biggest. He won't be asked to facilitate the offense quite as much with Trevon Duval on the squad, but he should be able to score.

Round 7
37. Jalen Brunson, Villanova, JR, G
38. Udoka Azubuike, Kansas, SO, C
39. Stephen Thompson, Oregon State, JR, G
40. Jordan Murphy, Minnesota, JR, F
41. Bennie Boatwright, USC, JR, F
42. Wendell Carter, Duke, FR, F

Once I started taking guards, I couldn't stop. Brunson is now the leader of the Wildcats. His numbers -- 14.8 points, 4.2 assists -- were somewhat pedestrian, but he may be the go-to player for coach Jay Wright. Azubuike is returning from a broken wrist, but makes for a serviceable second center with an upside of a double-double player. Thompson is the second Beaver to be selected. He gets to play with his brother this season. Murphy had a near double-double season as a sophomore. Boatwright hopes to stay healthier than he did last season when he missed 17 games with knee issues. Carter is probably the player who lost the most value when Bagley decided to go to Duke. He should still see plenty of opportunities for the Blue Devils.

Round 8
43. Trae Young, Oklahoma, FR, G
44. Omer Yurtseven, North Carolina State, SO, C
45. Trevon Duval, Duke, FR, G
46. Ky Bowman, Boston College, SO, G
47. Jo Lual-Acuil, Baylor, SR, F
48. Khyri Thomas, Creighton, JR, G

The eighth round started with three underclassmen who carry some amount of risk. Young will have the ball in his hands from the opening tip for the Sooners. He will be in a sink-or-swim position. Yurtseven disappointed as a freshman, but has a new coach to use his talents to a better degree. Duval is the fourth Blue Devil to be selected and is in a similar position as Young. Bowman was a solid freshman for the Eagles last season. He and Robinson could be the top scoring backcourt duo in the ACC, which seems funny to write. They will get plenty of minutes and showed the ability to score plenty last season. Lual-Acuil will likely get center-eligibility in most leagues. He is a nice shot blocker and rebounder. I finished the round with Thomas, who I like for his all-around play. He has some triple-double potential.

Round 9
49. Deng Adel, Louisville, JR, F
50. D.J. Hogg, Texas A&M, JR, G-F
51. Tres Tinkle, Oregon State, JR, F
52. Vince Edwards, Purdue, SR, F
53. Vladimir Brodziansky, TCU, SR, F
54. Thomas Welsh, UCLA, SR, C

Now that my least favorite coach has left Louisville, I can feel freer to draft Cardinals. Louisville has a lot of question marks, but Adel should get plenty of minutes and put up decent numbers. Hogg and Tinkle are the third Aggie and Beaver to be selected. Oregon State has plenty of fantasy talent and could be an interesting team to watch. Edwards and Brodziansky were supplementary players who have a chance to grow into bigger things. Both were playable but not exciting last year. Welsh lived off of Lonzo Ball passes and was able to knock down jumpers from the sides of the basket. He is certainly an option at center, particularly with T.J. Leaf out of town.

Round 10
55. Jae'Sean Tate, Ohio State, SR, F
56. Troy Brown, Oregon, FR, F
57. Jaren Jackson, Michigan State, FR, F
58. Jessie Govan, Georgetown, JR, C
59. Shannon Evans, Arizona State, JR, G
60. Elijah Brown, Oregon, SR, G

Tate is a solid player for Ohio State, which is on the low ebb of the talent side. Coach Chris Holtmann was able to cajole nice performances out of Butler and could be a boon for Tate. A pair of highly touted freshmen end their teams' drafts. Brown is a high-flyer with the Ducks. Jackson is a big who could play next to Nick Ward for coach Tom Izzo. Govan is fine for a second-string fantasy center, but not the kind of player you want to end up with as your starting center. Maybe coach Patrick Ewing can get something surprising out of the Hoya big, but he has not shown much ability to rebound through two seasons. Evans is my favorite pick of the last round. He put up pleasant all-around numbers for the Sun Devils and should do it again. I like to take at least one transfer and plucked Brown from Oregon to finish the draft. The former Lobo averaged more than 20 points over the last two seasons. Coach Mike Brown's son should continue to fill the hoop in the Pac 12.