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Eye On College Basketball
2025 Lottery Mock Draft: Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper are clear 1/2. Projecting teams for Tre Johnson, Ace Bailey, VJ Edgecombe, Kon Knueppel, Jeremiah Fears, Derik Queen + more
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- [00:00]
Gary Parrish
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- [01:20]
Matt Norlander
Do you think astronauts fight over elbow room? Probably because advanced tech doesn't always mean more space. Until now. Introducing the Hyundai Ioniq 9, a three row electric SUV with over 300 miles of range, ultra fast charging capability and lots of space. The all new Hyundai Ioniq 9 space in an EV. Visit HyundaiUSA.com or call 562-314-4603 for more details.
- [01:42]
Gary Parrish
Ioniq 9 is available in extremely limited quantities at select dealers and select states only. EPA estimated range based on fully charged battery for comparison purposes only. Actual range will vary based on several factors.
- [02:04]
Matt Norlander
Hey there Scary Parish. Welcome back to CBS Sports. I own College basketball podcast where we sometimes discuss camel fighting, dodo birds and leaky black. Matt Norlander is here with me. If you're watching on YouTube, you know what to do that like button shouts for Brandon Davies. And if you haven't yet, subscribe to the C Sports college basketball YouTube channel. It would be tremendous if you did that while you're here. Let's get into it today. With the order now set, we're gonna POC this beat through the lottery with Rotating picks. This, of course, a mock draft. 20, 25 NBA draft. I'm gonna select first, then Norlander, then back to me. I'm gonna take Cooper. Flag number one. On behalf of the Dallas Mavericks. Spoiler alert. But before we get to that, Norlander, let me ask you this. How do you feel about the Mavericks winning the lottery? I don't like it. Do you like it?
- [02:55]
Gary Parrish
I think it's absolutely hilarious. I love it. I do. I think this is so funny. I think the fact that now that we've gotten to this point, I was watching last night, we go into the, we go into the commercial break and it was, it was Charlotte and we'll try to get to Natas Hornets maybe around the fourth pick. See how he feels about that turn of events there. But it was Charlotte, it was Philadelphia, it was San Antonio again. We'll get to the spurs on that. I feel like no one's paying attention. Fact that the spurs just got a top two pick and then Dallas. I was like, is Dallas really going to get this? Dallas did not only Dallas get it. And I find it hilarious. Tied the 1993 Orlando Magic for the largest jump from where you were odds wise before the lottery to what you wound up with. It was a 10 spot jump for Dallas. Just like Orlando back in 93 Mavericks with a 1.8% chance to get. To get that done. By the way, just a year ago, the only other jump like that was either nine or ten spots was the Hawks when they had a 3% chance and they jumped nine spots to get the, to get the number one pick there. So yeah, I do find it, I find it to be, I find it to be really funny. And this is now just the second time ever in franchise history that Dallas will have the number one pick. Trivia time. Did you see it? Did you hear it? Who's the other number one pick in the history of Dallas's franchise?
- [04:13]
Matt Norlander
Not Luka Doncic.
- [04:15]
Gary Parrish
Not Luka Doncic. And happened the year I was born.
- [04:19]
Matt Norlander
Oh, the year you were born.
- [04:21]
Gary Parrish
Yeah.
- [04:21]
Matt Norlander
So, okay, that sounds like that would have been Anthony Davis.
- [04:27]
Gary Parrish
Yes. I'm a 13 year old podcaster. Hi. I'm growing so quickly.
- [04:32]
Matt Norlander
You are tall for your age.
- [04:33]
Gary Parrish
Born after I started the podcast. No, 1981. Mark Aguirre.
- [04:38]
Matt Norlander
Straight out of the Mark Aguirre. Of course it was Mark Aguirre.
- [04:41]
Gary Parrish
Come on, Mark Aguirre. So yeah, I find it to be the funniest possible outcome and, and you know, the, the inevitable avalanche of Nico jokes and, and the thing is rigged. I Don't, don't really feel like the NBA would, would, would feel obligated to rig this thing for what, the 8th 9th most important market franchise in the league.
- [05:08]
Matt Norlander
Like if you out there, if you say or tweet that the NBA draft lottery is rigged, I immediately just assume you have a low iq. Like, like it just makes no sense. Like it would be so bad for business to ever get caught trying to rig the NBA draft lottery. Particularly on behalf of a franchise that gave away Luca Ponchica. Like what are you even talking about? I can't speak to 1985 and things that went on back before Norlander was born. But, but in the year 2025, they're not rigging the NBA draft lottery.
- [05:43]
Gary Parrish
We've got a hashtag NBA rigged right now. Come on in everyone. Come on in. And by the way, not a will chop up some of the parts of this episode. Distribute them as standalones on YouTube. I look forward to the inevitable waterfall of the NBA is rigged in that comment section too. Very very much.
- [05:58]
Matt Norlander
Over the years with the help of, you know, work I've. I've tried to slow down on just point my finger and calling people stupid and calling people idiots and everybody's dumb. Like I really have I really taking that down a notch or seven. But I feel comfortable saying that if you are out there genuinely believing the NBA draft lottery is rigged, you're an idiot. Is just a stupid, it's a stupid thing to believe. Okay. It's just, it's just a dumb thing to think. So. So like stop thinking, stop thinking that. Or at least understand that the rest of us think you sound silly when you say things like that.
- [06:40]
Gary Parrish
Although if you are a Jazz fan, you gotta believe that it might be rigged against you because. And here we go right into the, the Maverick stuff. How about the fact that Utah was, you know, tied for the best odds? I guess technically it was pre draft position of number one. Even though that they had flat percentage there at the top. It dropped to fifth overall. The Wizards the furthest back the Wizards could drop. And if you're a Wizards fan as well, although you know happy for Cooper flag that he didn't get sent to D.C. because that would have been just professional purgatory. They dropped all the way to six. But the Jazz, this got passed around last night. I'll drop it here and still wait instead of wait until we got the fifth pick and then we can get going here. The Chaz have not only never had the number one pick, the Jazz since the lottery began 40 years ago, have never bettered their position after the lottery results came out. They've come out flat, where they had the 9th best odds and finished 9th in the picking order, where they've had, you know, the 12th best and finished 12th. But they have either remained flat or worsened in the lottery every single time. That's an amazing trend that continued on Monday night when the Jazz wound up dropping down to pick fifth. That franchise has never had the number one pick. We'll get to the Jazz in just a little bit. But, yeah, Mavericks gain. It's also the Western Conferences game. Last thing for me here, GP I think. I think it's fair to say that the NBA has more power, star power, team depth than the Western Conference. And then look what we have here. Dallas and San Antonio, they get the top two picks. And as we'll discuss in just a second, I think it's pretty clear here that, that the top two shouldn't be up for debate. And so that only theoretically strengthens the league on that side of the ledger all the more moving forward.
- [08:27]
Matt Norlander
Yeah, when I say the NBA draft lottery is not rigged, I mean, broadly speaking, but it's obviously rigged against. Against the Jazz, obviously. That. That goes without saying. That goes without saying. I just meant, like, in the other ways that people think it's rigged. It's just not.
- [08:43]
Gary Parrish
When you're a franchise and, and try. And try and take an entire genre of music called the Jazz.
- [08:51]
Matt Norlander
Yeah.
- [08:52]
Gary Parrish
Utah.
- [08:53]
Matt Norlander
Yeah.
- [08:54]
Gary Parrish
You've done it to yourself.
- [08:55]
Matt Norlander
You get what you get. You get what you get. So obviously rigged against Jazz. Obviously rigged against the Jazz. I just don't think rigged anywhere else. Seriously, talk to anybody who's ever been in the room, like, when the ping pong balls are being done, and they'll just tell you not only is it not rigged, it would be. You wouldn't even. It couldn't even be done. It's just. It's so not rigged. It is so just random and coincidental. And here's the other thing you got to remember. Yeah, the Mavericks only had a 1.8% chance to win the lottery. But even the teams that were, quote, supposed to win the lottery aren't really supposed to win the lottery. They only have 14 chances. So, yeah, Washington, Charlotte, whatever, they've got better odds than anybody else, but still not good odds. So, like, nobody has ever actually, it's a little bit like, you know, Juan Soto's at the plate. He's amazing. He probably has a better chance to get a hit here than anybody else, but he's still not supposed to get a hit here. The. The percentages are against him. Same thing with the NBA draft lottery. It's a random thing that comes out randomly. You know, congratulations to the Mavericks, but in all seriousness, I don't like franchises being rewarded for stupidity. Like, I. The only reason you're in the lottery is because.
- [10:08]
Gary Parrish
Hold on. Who's stupid now? They traded. They traded Luca for Anthony Davis and the number one pick, which becomes Cooper Flag. See, that's such a 60. Chess, my friend.
- [10:19]
Matt Norlander
I've seen that. I've seen that out there. And, like, I can laugh along with it, but, you know, you could be sitting at a blackjack table holding 20 against a six and hit and get an ace and land on 21.
- [10:33]
Gary Parrish
That's exactly what this is, by the way.
- [10:35]
Matt Norlander
Yes. Like, you could hit, like. Okay, dealer's got a six, you got 20. What do you want to do? I'll hit it.
- [10:41]
Gary Parrish
What?
- [10:42]
Matt Norlander
You want to trade Luka Doncic? You want to hit 20? Yeah, let's do it. Okay. Ace, 21. Amazing. I suggest you hit, sir. That was still the dumbest. As somebody who perfected the Chumba Casino game throughout the winter, I went a whole winter unable to speak in complete sentences without losing air.
- [11:10]
Gary Parrish
Wild. Correct. Remember when he almost died on the podcast? Three weeks in a row? Yes. And you're like, I'll just do another show. I'm like, you don't have to do this. Good.
- [11:21]
Matt Norlander
Dude, I almost die every season. It's, like, not even unexpected anymore. Like, one day I'm gonna die in the middle of the season, and everybody's gonna be like, man, I saw this coming. He actually held out longer than I thought. I thought we lost him in 22. That's where we're gonna. That's where we're gonna be. So you can hit 20 and get an ace and be like, look. Look how well this worked out. It doesn't mean it was smart. In fact, it still means it was just as dumb as it was the day that you did it. So who's the idiot now? Is that what you asked the guy? Still the same guy who traded Luke for unreliable Anthony Davis. But congratulations on getting lucky with some ping pong balls. Now you get to draft Cooper Flag, and, oh, like, this is going to be a thing. I think it already is. Like, do you trade Cooper Flag if you can get into the Giannis deal.
- [12:10]
Gary Parrish
No, no, no, no. This is not for them. It better not be.
- [12:14]
Matt Norlander
I promise you they will at least talk about it.
- [12:16]
Gary Parrish
Oh, gosh.
- [12:17]
Matt Norlander
I mean, in all Seriousness, if you have double, if you want to double down on. Our championship window is now, and it's immediate, and it's Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson. Well, Giannis does give you a better chance to push that through right now than, than an 18 year old does. That's. That's undeniable.
- [12:33]
Gary Parrish
Yeah. All right. I'm not getting any yacht. Listen, I, I understand what champs is doing. Like, that's clearly coming from, from Giannis's camp to a certain extent, but, like, he's now open to the possibility of maybe exploring free agency for the first time. I don't know what that is. So, like, has he truly never. Whatever. I'm not. We're not not doing this. If you're driving right now, look around. I'll wait. All those cars you see. Yeah. They're all probably on autotrader.com autotrader has the largest selection of new cars. Used cars, electric cars, even flying cars. Okay, no flying cars yet, but as soon as those get invented, they'll be on Autotrader. Did you know that more people visit Autotrader to shop for their cars? And for good reason. Not only do they have the supercharged search features that allow you to easily find Your perfect car, AutoTrader has Kelley Blue Book. My wallet. From credit scores to down payments to rates, we all know that car buying requires a lot of math. Enter my wallet on Autotrader, a tool that helps you know exactly how much you'll pay each month for your car so you never have to do car math again. You're welcome. So whether you're into timeless classics or the latest trends, like a solar powered, eco friendly, self driving car, for instance, or whether you just want a practical car with no surprise costs, if you see a car you'd like, if you, it's probably on Autotrader, See it, find it. Autotrader.
- [13:54]
Matt Norlander
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- [14:56]
Gary Parrish
All right, if we need San Versini, we'll try to get to him before the end of the show to get a little more on Giannis. But all right, let's, let's go right into it. Obviously you've got Cooper Flag to the Mavericks at number one. And you know, during the season for the most part this is, this is by design. You know, we try and as a college basketball podcast predominantly and then we kind of switch over to be an NBA draft podc, at least in a part time capacity for, you know, the better part of two months here after the end of the season. But we don't, we don't go too deep into NBA prospect talk or draft talk because that's not what our audience is looking for during the season. But now that we're here, like, let's, let's at least talk a little bit about Flag. He's going to go number one. This is not going to, this is not debatable. Don't even tell me we're going to look up at a month from now and say we've got an actual competition here because there's really no case for it whatsoever. We've seen what all of these prospects are, what they can do. It doesn't guarantee that Cooper Flag will be the best player in this class. That's not what we're talking about. We're talking about going in to the end of June with this draft. It is obvious it is non negotiable that Cooper Flag has the highest ceiling, the highest floor, is the most well rounded player and is the clear cut number one prospect in this class. So those are the broad parameters here, gp. But, but add what you'd like here on, on the Mavs getting Flag and, and anything that comes with it.
- [16:17]
Matt Norlander
First, I would like to formally announce that if you want.
- [16:20]
Gary Parrish
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [16:21]
Matt Norlander
If you would allow me that opportunity. It's not every day I get to sit here and pretend I'm Adam Silver. You could shave your head every day.
- [16:28]
Gary Parrish
And throw them if you wanted to.
- [16:31]
Matt Norlander
It don't make you Adam.
- [16:32]
Gary Parrish
You got to change a little bit. But you could walk around being a mini Adam Silver if you wanted to.
- [16:36]
Matt Norlander
Okay, I'm going to try to turn into a mini Adam Silver right now.
- [16:39]
Gary Parrish
Okay. For those, for those not watching. He's trying to suck in his cheeks and chin. That's, that's.
- [16:47]
Matt Norlander
Well, Adam Silver, he's got a. He's got a very thin. He's got a thin face.
- [16:50]
Gary Parrish
He does.
- [16:51]
Matt Norlander
I'm struggling to get my face as thin as his.
- [16:53]
Gary Parrish
Yeah, we're all on a journey. Okay.
- [16:57]
Matt Norlander
We're all on our job. Hey, we're all running our own race.
- [17:00]
Gary Parrish
That's right.
- [17:06]
Matt Norlander
With the first Pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Dallas Mavericks select Cooper Flag from Duke University. That's the way they would do it. I wouldn't double check this morning. I wouldn't watch Palos.
- [17:21]
Gary Parrish
Yeah, you don't. You had to double check. It's pretty obvious.
- [17:25]
Matt Norlander
Well, I. Would you have known it's specifically from Duke University. Not forward. From Duke. Forward. From the Duke Blue Devils.
- [17:34]
Gary Parrish
Positionless. No, Duke University. They always said. They, they say that the name of the university property.
- [17:39]
Matt Norlander
Yeah, that's right. So do I, so. And that's the way I do it as well. No, you're exactly right. He's the no brainer number one pick. It does not mean he will be the best player from this class, although the smart money would suggest that's the most likely outcome. It's a little bit like Zion Williamson had to be the number one pick in the draft. There was no serious discussion about anybody else. It doesn't mean that he's been the best player from that draft or ever was going to be. But there was no debate at the top. If you won that lottery, you had to take Zion. There's other things like that. Obviously, LeBron James, when the Bulls win it, Derrick Rose. I know how it turned out. I still think you go back in time, there's not really a conversation to be had. Greg Oden has to be the number one pick. Even though Kevin Durant was amazing. And this is, this is like that. Cooper Flag is the best prospect. He was the best college basketball player. He's going to be able to impact winning on both sides of the ball. A high floor, tremendous ceiling. This. If you're going to keep the pick, you, you know who you're using it on and regardless of which franchise would have won that lottery, they would have used it on the exact same guy. It's Cooper Flag from Duke University.
- [19:03]
Gary Parrish
Rare is the number one pick that goes on to win a national national title that goes on to win an NBA championship with the team that drafted him. It's only happened four times in the lottery era. Lottery era lines up perfectly with the NCBA tournament expanded era. So since 1985, those four players are Kyrie Irving, LeBron James. So those two were teammates when they did it and the other two teammates were did it when they did it as well. Duncan and Robinson with the Spurs. So only four times as a number one pick. So keep that in mind as well. Doesn't mean Flag can't or won't be the fifth one to do it or perhaps someone that's previously been drafted. Number one doesn't ultimately go on and do it. You've got Wembanyama. Obviously we'll see what the spurs can do in general. But. But with what he provides here. Yeah, I mean it's quite obvious. I think his floor, his floor to me is floor would be in worst case scenario. Again, barring injury. We're removing all of that. Particularly coming off of what looked to be like a pretty severe Tatum injury on on Monday night. And by the way, keep this in mind as well as we talk about the lottery and number one pick and number two pick and number three pick. Just, just remember it's always, it's always good to just keep it in front of mind. Like Jalen Brunson waited until the second round was drafted by the Mavericks out there anymore and he is one game away from bringing the Knicks to their first Eastern Conferen Conference Finals in 25 years. So you will get inevitably players that matter all star level outside the lottery. We'll see who that winds up being, you know, two, four, six, eight years from now. We talked about a GP with a few episodes back with Jalen Wells with the Grizzlies. I mean he didn't even get a combine invite last year. He was one of the three or four best rookies in the NBA this past season. So just always good to to keep that in mind. Real quick, just a couple more things on Flag. He'll be the fifth Duke player that goes number one overall. Paulo did it to Orlando in 2022. Zion Williamson obviously with the Pels in 2019. Kyrie Irving 2011 with the Cavs and the Elton Brand also in the building there last night to the bulls in in 1990. 9. If you are watching on YouTube, either live or in breakout video fashion after the fact. If you did not realize Cooper Flag led Duke in every single category or tied statistically in all the five major categories. 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks. Ben Simmons is the only other freshman ever to lead his team statistically in all five major categories. I do like Flag's projection at the next level much more than Ben Simmons and then Flag First Player Here's a couple of just outrageous notes. He's the first player since Penny Hardway to average at least 197411 in a season. Not the first freshman first player. Which is actually kind of surprising. I'll say that one more time. The first D1 player since Penny Hardaway in 9293 to average at least 19 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, a block and a steal. It's actually genuinely surprising. There hasn't been someone else that's done that since Penny Flag did it and he was the first player in D1 history with at least in one season. 700 points, 250 boards, 150 assists, 50 steals and 50 blocks. Just an awesome, awesome player. Really good teammate, super competitive. One of the better help defenders I've seen as a one and done player come out in the past 1015 years. The shot got better as the year went along. If you're a Mass fan, obviously be over the moon about this because he will. I think Flags most underrated ability that I project for him is that he will not need to step in immediately and be Dallas's best player or its second best player. Maybe not even his third best player. But he will. He will truly thrive in in a supporting role as needed. As a rookie he could be the rookie of the year. He could be a revelation immediately. But yeah his the way that he projects out is so so special there as a one on one defender and talking to a few people you know throughout the course of the season but really, you know, through March and since then his one on one defense overall definitely needs a little bit of work. This is just nit nitpicky stuff. He's an amazing help defender. His instincts there are just outrageously good. But overall he checks more boxes than any other prospect in this class and intrigued to see him go to Dallas and intrigued just to see what happens with this franchise and the Lakers moving forward after the now that this has become part of the unintentionally but happened all the same now that this has become Part of the Luca Dontrich Anthony Davis trade will be intriguing to see five, 10 years down the road where Flag's career is, where Dallas is and where the Lakers are as well.
- [23:34]
Matt Norlander
All right, tell me who the spurs are going to take at number two.
- [23:37]
Gary Parrish
With the number two pick, the San Antonio spurs select Dylan Harper, Rutgers. When he goes in the top five, he'll be the first pick from Rutgers to ever go top five in the modern draft era. The most recent high pick from Rutgers was James Bailey, sixth in 1979, Harper averaged 19.4 points, 4.6 boards, 4 assists, shot 48% last season. He averaged the most points by a freshman in the Big Ten since Eric Gordon with Indiana in 2007, 2008, and he's only the second Big Ten freshman to ever average at least 19. And four, D' Angelo Russell was the other one there. I, I think as we get closer to the draft, we might well be there here now. But in, you know, the past few days here, GP knowing we were going to do a mock and starting to do, make a few more calls, do a little more of a deep dive and trying to kind of transition into draft season, I think if you want to put Flag tier one, that's fine. I think tier two is a one player tier as well. And I think it's Dylan Harper. I think after that then you get into an interesting conversation. I think there is a chance talk to two people on Monday. I think there's a definitely a non zero chance that by the time the second pick has come or by the time we get to draft night, there is a scenario in which San Antonio could try and trade this pick, maybe trying to get Giannis and who that would involve. That's obviously we're not going to get too much into that. So just keep in mind that's, that's, that's a scenario that some people think is out there. And the idea that you'd have Wemby and Giannis on the same team with San Antonio would obviously be super fascinating. But I'll tell you what, Dylan Harper, you, you'd play him with, you know, in the scenario, if you don't trade it, you get Darren Fox. Now Steph Castle. I actually think all three can play together. Really, really good talent. He was, you know, he was on, he was on a team that didn't make the tournament along with Ace Bailey. But if you watch what Harper was capable of doing, he actually battled some illness there that kind of sidelined him for a little portion of the season as well, just really, really good instincts. And, you know, the fact that his father played Ron Harper most famously on the Bulls title teams there, I actually put stock into that as well. I think there's something really to be said about players who come from parents that play professional professionally. And yeah, I, I love Harper. I've come around on him. I, I was, you know, two, three years ago when I first saw him. I really liked him. Then I kind of like fade a little bit, just relatively speaking. Like, is he going to be, you know, top three pick? Is he more like in that 5, 8 range? I'm all the way back now. I think. I think he is on a tier two himself. I've got him going to, to San Antonio.
- [26:10]
Matt Norlander
I would also have him going second. I'm less certain that he's in a tier by himself. I do think Cooper flag is tier one all alone. You don't even think about anybody else at number one. I do believe Dylan Harper should go number two, but I would consider other people there among them the guy that I'll have the Sixers taking third. So with the third pick, 2025 NBA draft of Philadelphia 76ers select Trey Johnson, University of Texas. This is one where I'm just taking the guy I believe is best player available, best player on the board. Every draft I try to have somebody that I believe in a little more than what appears to be the consensus. Sometimes it's Kawhi Leonard, and that works out great. Other times it's Marvin Bagley. Doesn't work out so well. This time it's going to be Trey Johnson. And I know a lot of people have him in the top five. I don't think many people have him in the top three. Most are going to have Edge come ahead of him, Bailey ahead of him. And I'm not saying that's ridiculous, but six foot six, shot it incredibly well from the perimeter athleticism, like he just checks all of the boxes for a prospect. And he wasn't just a good prospect, he was a really good college basketball player. And I know I've seen some people suggest that Philadelphia, you know, when you already have Jared McCain, when you already have Tyrese Maxey, you might not want to go with another young guard. But if they don't go Johnson there, they're probably looking at Edgecomb or Bailey. And as we just found out, Ace Bailey is not as tall as you think. And Edge comes roughly the same size as Trey Johnson, even if they get described somewhat differently in terms of, you know, positional stuff. At the next level. So I, I'd be comfortable with. But more than that, I think Trey Johnson is a. Is a top three prospect in this draft and I would take him third if I'm Philadelphia.
- [28:18]
Gary Parrish
Yeah, we're on the same page here, buddy. I'm weighing on Trey Johnson. I would also have him third. Love the pick official measurements and by the way, I am totally. We talked about this in the past. We don't have to. We got a, you know, something of a time limit here. You are as God made you. Your height is what you are in. Bear in in bare feet. So Trey Johnson is six, four and three fourths barefoot with a six ten and a quarter wingspan. VJ Edge comes six four with a six seven and a half wingspan. Yeah, I'm way in on Trey Johnson. I think he should be the third player picked in this draft. Whether he will be remains to be seen. The SEC freshman of the year let all freshmen in scoring last season. Yes, more than Cooper Flag. 19.9 points per game, 3.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists. He is the second best freshman to come out of Texas with Kevin Durant being the best obviously. He made 89 threes on 39.7% from beyond the arc and. And he is poised if he goes top five and I think his best case scenario is probably three. I cannot see him dropping below six. I don't think he's really has any business dropping below five. But I love him at three there. If he goes top five, he'll be the first Texas player to go top five since Tristan Thompson in 2011. I think he will be a bucket getter, a really, really good scorer and he will be averaging more than 20 points in not so long of a time here. You know, by year two, year three, year four in the pros. Love what he can do. Gets a shot all over the floor. That's good stuff there. Let's go to the fourth pick. With the fourth pick in the 2025 NBA Draft the Charlotte Hornets select BJ Edgecomb Baylor not to get that mic ready because not obviously knows his Hornets well. So we're going to go to you obviously on this as well. He's from the Bahamas. Second team all Big 12. Was the Big 12 freshman of the year. Would be the first top five. He's almost certainly going to go top five. Would be the first top five pick out of Baylor in the modern draft era. Average 15 points, 5.6 boards, 3.6 assists, 2.1 steals. He, he was, he was a really, really good player. That was on a team that didn't do a ton. And so his, his star didn't shine quite as brightly as I was expecting going into the season. Only he and Cooper. Flag shouts to our CBS Sports research team. They're the only players last season with 30 plus dunks, 50 plus threes, and 100 plus made free throws. Well, that's that. What's that tell you? Can get to the rim, can shoot it from deep, can draw contact, shoots it well from the line. A lot to like about Edgecombe, no question about it. I think he can go anywhere from three. I think he'll be, his range will be three to five, but I've got him going number four to the Hornets. I want to hear from GP first and then before we move on, I just want to hear from. After GP's done, I want to hear from Nada on the Hornets going from potentially getting the number one pick to slide in all the way to four.
- [31:01]
Matt Norlander
I'll be quick here. I would have edge come going forth as well. I, I, the, the top four prospects we have coming off the board are the four prospects I believe I would have coming off the board.
- [31:12]
Gary Parrish
In that order, too.
- [31:13]
Matt Norlander
Yeah. And, yeah, and that makes us collectively a little lower on Ace Bailey than most, but we can get to that next nada. You okay with your, your Charlotte Hornets taking Vijay Atkum? I think it's only him and Trey. I think it's him, Trey, and then maybe an outside shot at Concan Impal. I think those are the three guys that you're really going to hear involved. As for, like dropping out of the top three, you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes. Win more games next time.
- [31:42]
Gary Parrish
Yeah. How about this? Let's just real, let's tap into this real quick here. Charlotte Washington, who's all the way down at 6. This is why, like our own colleague Jonathan Jones, he tweeted, I don't know if you saw it Monday night, but he's like, man, this is when the Mavericks, like, get rid of the NBA lottery. Like this, this system, I just, this system sinks. I actually, I like that it's set up like this. If you're going to be bad and you think that you can tank out, just know that there are chances that you won't wind up with number one or number two or number three. You could get four, you get five, you could get six there. You know, maybe the lottery system isn't absolutely perfect. I'd give you that. But, yeah, Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Hornets just seem like they're in a state of perpetual rebuild. Like, you know, are we going to look up in two years and not be talking about the hornets on a 2027 mock draft? Like, you know, sorry, nada, but flip it back on? But that just doesn't seem likely. Like, this. This franchise just seems like it can't get out of its own way. They.
- [32:39]
Matt Norlander
The only reason I have any sort of faith is that it's new ownership, new management, and it's not Michael Jordan. He's a minority owner right now. I do believe that things will change. But I wouldn't surprise me if we're talking they're in the top 10 of a mock draft in 2027.
- [32:55]
Gary Parrish
There you go. All right, GP what do we got?
- [32:58]
Matt Norlander
With the fifth pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Utah Jazz select Ace Bailey from Rutgers University. It was interesting watching the. The mock draft, the lottery show last night. Sham Shrania was interviewing both Ace Bailey.
- [33:16]
Gary Parrish
And you're gonna say what I think you're gonna say.
- [33:20]
Matt Norlander
So he's just asking him questions about each other and whatever. And so Ace Bailey is, like, talking about Dylan Harper. He's like, he's amazing, Link. He does this and he does that, and, man, wherever he goes, they're going to be great. And then. And then Dylan Harper's asked about Ace Bailey, and he's like, man, I'm telling you one thing. He's amazing. He's incredible. And wherever he goes, they're going to be great. I'm like, all right, timeout, timeout. If wherever he goes, he's gonna be great, and wherever he goes, he's gonna. They gonna be great. Why couldn't you guys make Rutgers good?
- [33:58]
Gary Parrish
There is that. I mean, you're gonna make an NBA.
- [34:00]
Matt Norlander
Franchise great, and you're gonna make an NBA franchise great. Why couldn't you make Rutgers good? I. I still think that's how I said that.
- [34:07]
Gary Parrish
To me, what stood out to me is that you've got shams standing next to both of them. Dylan Harper's, you know, six, four, six, four and a half. And he calls Ace Bailey six ten. And you look at him, and it looks like they got two inches separating him. 6:10.
- [34:22]
Matt Norlander
They just stood there and lied on television about everything. You're not as tall as he says. You're not gonna make anything great. You didn't make nothing great either. But I like them both. I would take them both in the top five.
- [34:36]
Gary Parrish
Okay, so keep it going, though, GP okay, so you've got. We've got Bailey to The Jazz at five. I'll offer thoughts in a second. But why there? What do you like about him?
- [34:46]
Matt Norlander
And yeah, at some point you just gotta not pass on the potential, on the ceiling, on all the little buzzy words connected to prospects. I hate that he doesn't seem to be interested in doing much more than scoring.
- [34:59]
Gary Parrish
Are you sure you hate that when it was the season was going on, you're like, did you see this dude? 32 points and one assist.
- [35:06]
Matt Norlander
I like the highlights. The highlights were good, man. I, I tell you, if me and my boys are gonna sit down on with the iPad and watch college basketball highlights, we're gonna get the A's Bailey pretty quickly. He, he, he's got incredible highlights. But the other stuff is, is lack it. Either one of these things would not be shocking to me. In three years, Ace Bailey is actually the best player from this draft. That would not be shocking to me. I'm not predicting it, but it would not.
- [35:37]
Gary Parrish
I, I, I agree, I agree with you. I would not be shocked.
- [35:40]
Matt Norlander
Right.
- [35:41]
Gary Parrish
Get to that point. That would not shock me. Having seen what he can do and what he's capable of.
- [35:45]
Matt Norlander
Okay. That would not shock me. Ace Bailey is among the most inefficient young players in the NBA. Scoring points for a bad team also would not shock me either, either one of those things. His variance is really high, yes, but it's so high in a good direction that I can't let him slip much lower than this. And for a Utah franchise that clearly is just still trying to add difference making talent on the board at this point, he's the biggest possible difference maker available, I believe.
- [36:24]
Gary Parrish
I think there are two players that have the widest variance and he's one of them. I'll let you know when we get to the next one. We haven't talked about him yet here. Rutgers is going to have two first round picks for the first time in program history. This year has never happened. Bailey averaged 17.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, one steal, 1.3 blocks. Last season he was the only player to rank top 10 in the Big 10 in points, rebounds and blocks. He and he and Flag were the only freshmen to average at least 17 and seven seven boards obviously in that distinction there. And he's only one of four Big Ten freshmen in the past five decades to average 17. Seven specifically out of the Big Ten, joining Magic Johnson, Chris Humphries and Jared Sellinger. I'm lower on Bailey than I want to be. I do think, yes, if he absolutely hits, then there is a Chance, but I could see him kind of blending into the scenery. Just being a guy who plays on three or four different teams, averages 50, 15 and a half for his career is a good score. But how much does he impact winning overall? We'll see. I, I It won't necessarily affect the careers of Harper and Bailey that they didn't make the tournament. But I'm sorry, even with the cast around them not being that well built, it is, it is still a, it is a damning thing on both of them that they are likely, highly likely, borderline locks to both be top five picks and they didn't make the tournament when there are 68 teams that can get there. Again, from an individual skill standpoint, it doesn't really have anything to do with where they're going to get drafted. And we've seen players not make the tournament and go top three. Number one, Fultz will have that work out. Ben Simmons will have that work out. These are different kind of players, but it wouldn't surprise me overall on my big board, I don't even have Bailey top five because of the variance factor there. But five of the Jazz makes a ton of sense spinning way forward if that actually, it's not going to happen. I don't think Bailey will drop to five. I wouldn't fight against it if it did. But if they got, if the Jazz did wind up with Bailey and let's say the Jazz are in a position next year to draft one or two and you've got the home, I say the hometown. It's not his hometown. But if you've got AJ debancer right there in the backyard, that would be, that would be an interesting thing from a roster building perspective. Let's keep it moving.
- [38:45]
Matt Norlander
I would just say this. I, I don't love that they didn't win at Rutgers either. But like Anthony Edwards didn't win at Georgia.
- [38:53]
Gary Parrish
Yeah, exactly. Edwards is another one. Yeah.
- [38:56]
Matt Norlander
So forever, like I don't know that there's, I used to really believe in that. Like, I didn't like that Anthony Edwards didn't win at Georgia, but that's like.
- [39:05]
Gary Parrish
The difference is it's one player and they were two awesome, awesome players and they couldn't have. I'm not saying it will prevent them from having good careers. It's just super weird to me that two dudes that good. It wasn't that they were the first team out of the tournament. They were not close. That team stunk and they didn't impact winning at the college level in a way. Where at least a couple people I've talked to, it's not going to prevent them from getting drafted. High gp it just, it does lift eyebrows. Like what, like what happened here. Like I've even been a halfway decent team with two guys that good.
- [39:35]
Matt Norlander
Yeah. Like it went so the wrong direction so early that we just kind of like stopped talking about it. But it is still relative to what I thought the sport would look like in October. One of the bigger surprises for me personally of the season that they were so bad because it, they had two great players, obviously not enough good stuff around them, but like two. And they weren't just great prospects, they were like really good college basketball players as well. And the other thing, it's. Sometimes you'll look at something and you'll be like, yeah, but look who was in charge. But like Steve Paiko is respected as a quality basketball coach. Like he's not the guy people are talking about. Well, you know, like he's respected. He's. He's accomplished things in college basketball and taking that Rutgers program from nothing to respectable. And so just that combination like you just told me, Steve Dylan, Ace. Give me those three. I, I'd say that's an NCAA tournament team. I thought it would be. And so I don't love that they weren't able to win, but I also am not sure that it has, that it would impact my evaluation of them in any sort of meaningful way because I did let that kind of stuff impact my evaluation of Anthony Edwards and I ended up just wrong on him. Like I was just, I wasn't like, you know, I wouldn't take him in the lottery. I didn't say anything dumb like that, but I was lower on Anthony Edwards than I should have been. And part of it was that he impacted winning in no way whatsoever at AT Georgia. And turns out now, yeah, and now he might end up in the NBA finals and become the young American face of the entire league.
- [41:10]
Gary Parrish
With the number six pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Washington Wizards select Con Knippel, Duke University all freshman team. Averaged 14.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists. Shot 48 from the field, 41 from three point range. He, he made 84 threes last season. That was only behind Trey Johnson and volume made from beyond the arc. He was the only freshman in the country to have at least 100 assists and 83s last season. And he, he is a tremendous complimentary piece. I think Knipple could go anywhere. I think he's probably, he could be anywhere from five to eight. He's got really good size. I said it on the podcast before, I'll say it again today and I'll say it before he gets drafted again. His defensive instincts are tremendous. He is a plus defender. He rarely screws up. He understands where he needs to be. He can be a great help defender, good on ball, really good size, really good shooter from beyond the arc. He was the best robin in college basketball last season. I wrote a feature on him amidst amid Duke's NCAA tournament run and yeah, awesome teammate, good shooter, really awesome footwork, good handle, can get into the mid range and he was a player who if we had we would never do this because we don't do mock draft episodes in the start of October, but if we had done one in the start of October, he was on first round radars by then. Not necessarily for sure seen as a lottery pick, but man he played his role so so well. He will kill it in the interview process. I got to know him and his family obviously very well over the course of the season writing the feature on him. It is a win no matter who picks him. Now I've got him going to the Wizards GP which if you're the Wizards you would gladly take him. I don't see Knipple as being the kind of guy like every player to this point that we have talked about one through five. I can, I can see scenarios in which all of those players wind up at some point being the alpha score alpha player on their respective franchise eventually. Not that they all will not. That never happens. The 1 through 5 are not going to be that. But I can see those scenarios Knipple, he could have, he could grow into be an all star player. I don't know if he would be a ever will be a franchise player. So I think that might be where the next line you kind of draw off here. But man oh man, his floor is super high. I think he's got a top three floor in the draft gp. And if you're the Wizards, what are you going to do? Like I think he can help your winning but Washington just, you know, it's just one year after another. This, this is the most helpless, monotonous, forgettable, pathetic franchise that's out there. Almost feel bad for any draft pick that goes there but eventually, somehow, some way it's got to turn around, right?
- [43:48]
Matt Norlander
I mean, if you say so.
- [43:50]
Gary Parrish
I mean theoretically that's a dagger for the Wizards 6 pick overall. But I got Knipple going there and I think that he is Definitely top six material.
- [43:57]
Matt Norlander
If John Wall couldn't do it, who on earth could?
- [44:02]
Gary Parrish
That's also fair.
- [44:03]
Matt Norlander
You see? You know what I'm saying?
- [44:06]
Gary Parrish
Yeah, it's fair. That's fair what I'm saying. Yeah.
- [44:09]
Matt Norlander
By the way, I didn't notice this as I, as we were doing this last night.
- [44:14]
Gary Parrish
Yep.
- [44:14]
Matt Norlander
In an email back and forth. This is literally the exact order of the mock draft I filed two weeks ago.
- [44:19]
Gary Parrish
Nice. The way we did.
- [44:21]
Matt Norlander
Yeah.
- [44:22]
Gary Parrish
Just so, we're just so folks realize this. Like we did it over email. GP went first, I went second. We went back and forth. So he didn't know I was going to pick and I didn't know vice versa. So good deal. Okay.
- [44:30]
Matt Norlander
And we're, and so we'll stay, we'll stay on schedule because with the seventh pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, I have the New Orleans Pelicans selecting Casper Yakotonis from Illinois. And this is just me believing that the shooting is better than the shooting numbers showed at Illinois, which is something that I do believe. It's only 32 from three. That's not great. If he is a career 32 three point shooter in the NBA, we've got problems then this pick did not work out. But so much of the other stuff that was obvious there in flashes is stuff that I just think translates to the NBA. And this is one where I used to get caught up on athleticism, lack thereof. And I still think athleticism is probably the most important thing you can bring to the table in that league. The most important skill these days seems to be shooting. The most important thing probably still athleticism. But there are non athletes who can flourish or at least not top shelf athletes who can still flourish in the NBA by just being smart, knowing how to get to their spots. First step stuff, changing speed stuff. And I think Yakachunas could do a lot of, a lot of that. I, this is who I, I, I have since early in the college basketball season had him in the top 10. And even if he wasn't as consistent as you might have liked and the shooting percentage wasn't where you would want, I think there's enough stuff in his background to suggest the shooting is better. And I, I saw enough to make me comfortable spending a top seven pick on him.
- [46:10]
Gary Parrish
We're in harmony here. Again, I've got him top eight on my board. I think that he has a wonderful chance to translate and really grow as a professional player. He, the three point shooting was just whatever 31.8% on 170 attempts. He did tail off near the, near the, you know, the final third of Illinois season. Obviously was a 13 all big time player, 15 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists last season. Only he and flag average at least 15. 5 and 4 last season. Yeah. Lithuanian born and really good IQ for the most part. There were, there were some moments last season where I thought if you're like, if you're, you know. Because there was a time where okay, well this guy go top five and I think that moment has passed like for Yakachonas. I think we've got. I think this is probably best case scenario. I think, I think his range is 7 to. I'd say 7 to 13 for him overall. But I, I do like the way he sees the floor. We've got him going to the Pelicans from a fit perspective. I can't go up and down every single time. We'll try and get to Vicini before we get to the end of this. On every single team need right now. Feels like. It feels like that's a good fit overall. I'm with you there buddy. On, on number seven. Let's go to number eight with the eighth pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Brooklyn Nets select. Come on Malawatch. Duke University. And so here we have Duke, which was the best team statistically not in the tournament, but ranked number one in most predictive metrics. Shouts to Torvik obviously. But Duke with three top eight picks in the draft, it would be the third team in the modern draft era with three top 10 picks. That's probably going to happen. 2019 Duke did it. Also a team that didn't win the title, that obviously had ZION and then 2007 Florida, back to back champs, had three top 10 picks in the same draft. Malawatch to me is the other player I mentioned. I referenced before. The widest spectrum here of what he could be. The what? He's got the widest spectrum of what he could be.
- [48:05]
Matt Norlander
I thought you said the widest. And I was like what is he talking about?
- [48:10]
Gary Parrish
No, the widest. W I D E S T. It's early so take another swig of your diet Dr. Pepper before 9:00am Central. What are you doing by the way, man?
- [48:21]
Matt Norlander
This is good for you. Yeah. Zero calories, man, zero calories. This is basically like. I know, I know people like this get up and drink their orange juice but like that's just filled with sugar. You want to die. I'm not trying to die. Look at this. This is. Gotta stay hydrated.
- [48:37]
Gary Parrish
Better for you before 9:00am Diet Dr. Pepper or some OJ?
- [48:41]
Matt Norlander
Oh, I don't think there's any question. Zero calories, zero carbs, zero fat.
- [48:49]
Gary Parrish
Soda. How do you crack a soda at 8 in the morning? He did this before we fired up the pod.
- [48:54]
Matt Norlander
Basically. I am basically right now getting skinny. I don't know if you can see it, but I'm losing weight as we speak. I'm losing weight as we speak. Zero calories. It's like I'm not even doing anything except pouring motor oil into my body.
- [49:13]
Gary Parrish
Just the, the mere decision to be like, yeah, why not? Let's crack it open. Is this a regular thing? You threw Dr. Pepper 15 seconds before we went live. What are you doing? Is this. It can be. It doesn't need to be.
- [49:32]
Matt Norlander
Hey, you think I'm going to take dietary advice from a man who won't put chicken in his mouth?
- [49:38]
Gary Parrish
Yeah, look. Look how it's going.
- [49:43]
Matt Norlander
Hey. How dare you tell me how to treat my body as I spent the entire winter unable to speak coherently.
- [49:51]
Gary Parrish
Hey, GP's. Done a GP's. He's again. We're all on our own journey, sir. You're looking. You're looking good. He's looking good. Have you run that, have you tried to run that mile yet, by the way?
- [50:02]
Matt Norlander
No. The closest I've come to running since we last talked is like a cart path only situation.
- [50:09]
Gary Parrish
Okay, you gotta go grab your ball.
- [50:15]
Matt Norlander
But, but you all. But pace of play is also important. So I. So I might run 30 yards there, but that's about the extent of it. But look at this. You think, you think that happens without one diet Dr. Pepper every morning?
- [50:27]
Gary Parrish
Again with the bicep flap flex.
- [50:29]
Matt Norlander
You think that happens without one diet?
- [50:31]
Gary Parrish
You want it out of here by 10 Eastern? Come on.
- [50:34]
Matt Norlander
You think.
- [50:35]
Gary Parrish
Come on.
- [50:36]
Matt Norlander
Could do this?
- [50:37]
Gary Parrish
Yes, I do.
- [50:38]
Matt Norlander
I thought you were about to call him the widest something and I was like, whoa, buddy, where is this going?
- [50:43]
Gary Parrish
Not even close. Now, I do think Mallow watches ceiling to floor variants very high. His switchability is ridiculous. Elite defensive high end ceiling. I mean, just so, so, so good. He averaged 8.6 points, 6.6 rebounds. Only one. Here's the wild thing, 1.3 blocks last season. Now, for a guy who is as defensively as strong as he is, some of that's impacted by the fact that like Duke defensively it just, it was so big, so large that a lot of the guys, even, even guys like Proctor, in addition to Flag and Knipple, I think there was some of that was affecting his Overall numbers there, but man, he is a good lob threat. Now can he grow into something offensively? That's the question there. But I, I think just the size of him as a human being, how he will help you rim protecting. But again, he can switch. I mean, I'll never forget the image sitting on press row. This dude switches at the top of the key on Mark Sears and Mark Sears is in hell. Like do absolutely nothing. Also a really, really, really good teammate. Just a fun dude to be around. Just, you know, kind of on the, on the intel on the back end there from the South Sudan. He's, he's set to be the fourth player from the South Sudan to be drafted following the steps of Manute Bowl, Luol Dang and Thawne Maker. So yeah, I've got Malawatch to the Nets. Might be a kind of player where when you look at the net situation, if he gets drafted, is the, is he the kind of player that truly alters the trajectory, the 12 year trajectory of your, of your franchise? I'm not sure. But I do really like the talent and I don't think he has any business falling outside the top 10. I've got him going here, eight to Brooklyn.
- [52:35]
Matt Norlander
Bond maker.
- [52:36]
Gary Parrish
Yeah, how about that?
- [52:37]
Matt Norlander
Where do you think he is right now? I mean, right now, I mean, in this moment?
- [52:43]
Gary Parrish
New Jersey. I have no idea.
- [52:45]
Matt Norlander
Probably in New Jersey.
- [52:47]
Gary Parrish
You're looking right now.
- [52:48]
Matt Norlander
Yeah, I'm trying to figure out what part of New Jersey he's in. Oh, no, he's in Beirut.
- [52:52]
Gary Parrish
Okay.
- [52:53]
Matt Norlander
He said Beirut.
- [52:55]
Gary Parrish
That's what'll happen to you, man. And just yet again, another reminder. A lot of these guys are very big deals leading up to the draft and inevitably there just will be some two, four, six years down the road. Where are they, you know?
- [53:07]
Matt Norlander
Yeah, yeah. And it could be Beirut or New Jersey.
- [53:10]
Gary Parrish
It could be Beirut or it's, it's that classic game, Beirut or New Jersey. You've heard about Alabama or England. We do something else on the show. It's called Beirut, New Jersey.
- [53:17]
Matt Norlander
Everybody, everybody think, you know, heading into the lottery, everybody thinks they go end up in New York or la. Sometimes it's Beirut, you know, then sometimes it's New Jersey. In all seriousness, like we spent years talking about Bond Maker.
- [53:34]
Gary Parrish
I know.
- [53:34]
Matt Norlander
And now he's in Beirut. And like it will happen to one of these dudes too. Like it, it could be Trey Johnson, it could be Derek Queen, it could be Danny Wolf, who knows? But like one of these dudes is going to end up in Beirut. We're gonna talk about them like they're not going to. But you can look up one day and one of these dudes is gonna be in Beirut. That's the way the draft works every year. The Raptors are picking ninth. But before we do that, let's get a word from our partners.
- [54:00]
Gary Parrish
Okay.
- [54:01]
C
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- [55:32]
Matt Norlander
Diet Dr. Peppers don't pay for themselves Norlander Diet Dr. Peppers don't grow on trees. What if they did though? What if diet Dr. Pepperidge did grow on trees? Wouldn't that be something?
- [55:45]
Gary Parrish
Yeah.
- [55:46]
Matt Norlander
With the ninth pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Toronto Raptors select Jeremiah Fierce out of Oklahoma. This is just for me. Best player, best prospect available.
- [55:59]
Gary Parrish
Is it though? What's with the fear stuff, man? I don't have this dude as a top 15 prospect. I. Where is this coming from? Honestly, like, he's a solid. He's a solid player. Was an All SEC freshman average, 17 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.1 assists. On the small side, has no defensive presence whatsoever. It's just fascinating to me. I, I, he's going to go in the top 10, I suppose. I don't consider him to be a top 15 prospect in this draft.
- [56:27]
Matt Norlander
What you are believing in is his ability to change speeds, get by people, just beat folks off the bounce. The three point percentage is obviously problematic. 28% and whereas with some other prospects in this draft, Yakatunas, I think you can look at a not great 3 point percentage and just say I don't believe in that. I think it's better than that. I don't know that you can reasonably do that here. It's got to get better. If it doesn't, this is a terrible pick. But I don't think he's got to be great at shooting it. If he can really be as great as some people believe at the other stuff like shooting is more valuable and emphasized than it's ever been in the NBA, I, I think that's undeniable. But particularly as a league guard, you can still be excellent in that league as a non shooter if you can. If you're so gifted that people can't stay in front of you. John Morant's a wonderful example of that. When he is healthy, he is still an unreliable shooter. Everybody knows that. Nobody can stay in front of him. He gets where he's trying to get to. I'm not saying Fears is John Morant, but you are counting on him being able to get away from people and get around people in ways that the elite league guards can.
- [57:54]
Gary Parrish
Yeah, his, his, his trajectory here has been interesting to watch. We'll be, I'll also be interested to see once we get to draft night if, if that's where he winds up or if he falls, you know, 9, 10, 11, 12, we'll see. I'm just, it's, it's inevitable and nothing against, nothing against him personally. Just we've got to rank these players.
- [58:11]
Matt Norlander
Oh, it is per.
- [58:16]
Gary Parrish
You want to get out of here soon? We gotta.
- [58:17]
Matt Norlander
Everybody knows it's personal. One day you're getting personal with Nico Medved, next day it's Jeremiah Fears. Everybody knows what's going on here.
- [58:25]
Gary Parrish
With the 10th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Houston Rockets select Derek Queen, University of Maryland, Big Ten freshman of the year. Sixteen and a half points, nine rebounds shot 53%. The second best scoring freshman in Maryland history. Other than a guy named Joe Smith, who once upon a time went number one in the mid-90s in the NBA draft. Queen to the Rockets feels like a Great situation. This is a franchise obviously that had the number two seed got bounced obviously. But you know, going into next season, can you keep that 1, 2, 3 spot in the Western Conference? You add a player like Queen, who was on the older side by the way. Not a, not a young incoming pick that was just had a freshman season, but really smart. There's a lot of things well for his size and what he contributes defensively. Obviously you want more, but excellent passer, sees the floor mature for his age. I also just so happened as this mock draft plays out here, some of the guys were picking, I wrote features on this year and Queen was one of them. I, I, I have him as a top 10 prospect. I think he should go top 10. I wonder if, you know, we're also talking here as the combine is playing out this week and some guys will do some stuff and a lot of guys won't do any stuff there, but they all go through the interview process. I think Queen will do well in the interview process and certainly reinforce his potential and candidacy for being a top 10 pick. I, I think going to the Rockets would be a great situation for him. I think it would be a great situation for the Rockets in that spot to be able to, to draft a player like Queen considering fit needs they might have as well. I'm definitely in, I, I like him a lot and he should be a top 10 pick. You like the pick or would you have Queen a little bit lower?
- [60:10]
Matt Norlander
That, that's definitely in the range. I would have him like if I'm looking at the mock draft I filed. Whenever the last time I filed a mock draft, I don't have it in front of me. But this is, this is in the range of where I would have him. I also sometimes like to think of myself as mature for my age. But then I recognize I'm wearing a Peewee Herman shirt the morning after watching.
- [60:29]
Gary Parrish
Monday Night Raw and drinking soda before breakfast.
- [60:33]
Matt Norlander
Zero calories. Zero calories. When I, when I woke up this morning, I had taking in zero calories. And after I'm done with this entire 12 ounce can, I will still be at zero calories. I'm like the healthiest per, like this is so healthy what I'm doing right now.
- [60:53]
Gary Parrish
Yeah.
- [60:54]
Matt Norlander
11Th pick.
- [60:55]
Gary Parrish
There you go.
- [60:56]
Matt Norlander
In the 2025 NBA Draft, the Portland Blazers, what you call them? Trailblazers.
- [61:05]
Gary Parrish
There you go. Blazers for short, you know, trailblazers for official purposes. If you're gonna be silver, you gotta know what you're doing here. He doesn't get up there and Call them the Minnesota T Wolves. All right, there we go, sucking those cheeks. Guarantee you Adam Silver ain't drinking diet Dr. Pepper at 8:30 in the morning.
- [61:26]
Matt Norlander
I feel very confident, assuming there's no scenario where Adam Silver cracked the diet Dr. Pepper.
- [61:34]
Gary Parrish
Not happening this morning. You got your pick.
- [61:41]
Matt Norlander
Yeah, I'm gonna take Carter Bryant.
- [61:43]
Gary Parrish
There you go.
- [61:43]
Matt Norlander
And this is, this is where I.
- [61:45]
Gary Parrish
Get, this is where we call a swing, folks.
- [61:47]
Matt Norlander
This is where I'm taking a swing. And this is where I get away from my most recent mock draft. But I will adjust accordingly when I update, I believe on Wednesday morning. As you're watching these playoffs unfold it, you're just reminded of how valuable wings with size who are, plus defenders how valuable they are once you get to the stage. The Knicks are now favored to win the east and make the NBA Finals. And the main reason might be Jalen Brunson, but among the other reasons are, you know, Mikhail Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, like just switchable wings with size who are gritty and, and Carter Bryant checks some of those boxes, perhaps not all of them. Obviously I would have liked for him to be more productive in his one year at Arizona. But just like there's a, you know, a, a list that has been created of guys who maybe didn't win in college but still turned into great NBA players. Anthony Edwards being a good example of that. There's also a list of guys who didn't have to be great college players in the brief time they were on campus to become relevant NBA players. And I just can't ever get away from this. When Mikhail Bridges is coming out of Villanova, people question whether you should use a top 10 pick on him because like, he's just a role player, you know, but like he's just going to be a role player. Well, he ends up being picked 10th and then, you know what happens a couple years later. A few years later, another franchise will give you five first round picks for him and like pick swaps and whatever else because that's the guy you win with. He, he won't go the hall of Fame, but that's the guy you win with. Get your stars and then surround them with people like this. And I'm not saying Carter Bryant's going to turn into. I'm not predicting anything other than he's a, he's a type of, that I, every NBA franchise competing for the trophy needs. And he, at this point in this draft, he's the most interesting, that type of guy on the table.
- [63:56]
Gary Parrish
Tough to see where he's going to go. This is obviously the best case scenario. Average 6.5 points, 4.1 rebounds. Only started five games for Arizona last season. You know, in the six, seven and a half what 220, 25 pounds overall wings with upside. You're taking a swing. If you're Portland in that spot will be, will be interesting on that. On that end as well could be a player that really benefits from the combine from the testing all the stuff that guys go through there. But yeah, don't be surprised if you hear Carter Bryant same go in the lottery. Not even necessarily opposed to it but I find his stock to be something of a moving. He is, he's a classic example of a player. These are unknowable things because you know you're not going to know what every team's draft board is. But Carter Bryant is the exact kind of player where in some draft rooms his name could be 9, 10 or 11. And if you were able to you know magically beam into other NBA he might be 21, 26 and 33 on other draft boards I think he will be all over the place and it will very much be an eye of the beholder situation here. With the 12th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Chicago Bulls select Jagor Demon, BYU. Another player who I think has pretty wild variants. I think you know his best case scenario might be ninth or 10th and I could see him going 19th or 20th overall. Big 12, all freshmen average 10.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists last season. You know he's, he's a shade under six, nine without shoes on and he's going to be the, he's almost definitely going to be a first round pick. I mean and he'll be the first guy since Jimmer to do so. And this will start a run here at BYU having obviously first round picks. I do, I, I like Demon to grow into a starting level point guard, point forward. However you want to define him. He, he was up and down at BYU from what he was expected to be. Even more than like he, his, his variances statistically were like even wilder swings than Yakachonas in my opinion. But I do like the long term play Overall Bulls at 12 here the, the question is like would from a team fit situation and there almost definitely will be at least one or two teams in the lottery here that we're picking. They're going to trade out. So these players and these situations aren't going to be the same but like they're gonna, they're gonna keep giddy on the roster, obviously, like, they need a player like Demon. I'm not entirely sure. So from a fit standpoint, I don't love it overall, but I do like them. And being a lottery player here, and he was next up on my board.
- [66:29]
Matt Norlander
With the 13th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Atlanta Hawks select Jace Richardson, Michigan State University. I like the idea that he could play either backcourt position, could play behind Trey Young. I think theoretically could play with Trey Young. Could be the type of player who develops in a way that allows you to move off of Trey Young if you decide you're tired of losing with him or not winning much of significance with him. So it just roster versatility, diversity, whatever buzzy word you like. Jace Richardson provides that you mentioned earlier, I guess with Dylan Harper about the son of a professional athlete, that's a real thing, that front office's value. Put on a list of pros and cons in the pro category. Like, they're not going to take you over an obviously superior prospect simply because your mom or dad played basketball at a high level, but they do. Like, if your mom or dad not just played basketball, but was a professional athlete, you know, in Memphis we've got Jaron Jackson Jr. But they're sprinkled throughout like professional sports. Yes, you could find it in Major League Baseball, you can find it in the NBA. You can find it in golf. Frankly, you can find it anywhere. And among the reasons is not just genetics. That's some of it, I imagine, but a lot of it is just you could, you grow up around it. You, you just know what it looks like to work and to be in the gym every day. And often these mothers or fathers, like, they'll have their kids just in the gym every day. Like, how does Tiger Wood's son become a elite golfer? Probably because he really had a club in his hands since the day was born and of course in his backyard and a simulator upstairs. And it just be hard not to. And if, if you're the son of a professional athlete or daughter of a professional athlete, you were just, you start a little bit ahead of the pack. And, and it is, it is something that front offices actually care about. And that won't be the main reason Jace Richardson goes in the lottery, but it is a positive that his father was a veteran NBA player at a high level.
- [68:49]
Gary Parrish
Gp. I like this fit. I like this pick. Richardson is someone who shot mechanics needs definitely some just a little bit of tweaking. His handle is solid. And get Even better. No doubt he averaged 16 points in his final 15 games. Remember, he didn't become a starter until midway through the season and then once he did was a pretty prominent player and played over the the second half of the season. I think it's fair to say Jace Richardson was a top five six freshman in the country last season. And yeah, this particular fit here. I like what you did there and I would yeah, having his father being a 14 year NBA veteran and Jason Richardson, they don't play the same hardly at all which makes it even all the more intriguing to me. But a really smart player and a really, really good fit there. We're only doing a lottery mock folks here and don't worry, we'll have at least one, if not two more mock draft episodes in the pod for you by the time we get to the NBA draft. Shouts to Adam Finkelstein and Kyle Boone, both of whom have appeared on the show before and we'll again with some stuff, they'll do some stuff specifically for YouTube but we'll get them in the feed with show with us as well. But they're, they're on the ground there in Chicago getting stuff done with the combine this week. So with that in mind, the last pick of the lottery, the number 14 pick, the San Antonio spurs select Danny Wolf. University of Michigan. I am way, way high on Danny Wolf will ace the interview process. Tremendous size. I didn't look at his official measurements here when, when they got measured yesterday, but he is a big boy, seven footer, can pass extremely well. Very good offensive player average. 13.2 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.4 blocks last season. Shot 50% from the field. Improved defensively overall. I think, I think he is a top 15 talent and this is, this is team fit as well. If you got Danny Wolf to, to add to San Antonio, good God man. And if they were to keep, keep the Harper pick, Wemby, you know, on his way to returning here, that is a franchise that to me would absolutely have the pieces to be a comfortable playoff team next season as it continues to grow. Wolf is an awesome, awesome prospect. I love the way that he sees the floor. The turnovers are definitely an issue. He would have one or two every game where you just, it happened to be like man you're, you're better than that. Like we just don't need that. But his, his ability to step out and shoot, really score from all three levels. Can use his body well on twist curls, Knows how to use it, knows how to use the rim to his advantage there. And you know is, is certainly a good enough defender as, as a seven footer. No, he's not going to be as switchable as you know, come on Malawatch or anything like that. But for San Antonio specifically here I like the fit if I, if, if that if that comes to pass and the spurs have that pick at 14 on draft night and Wolf is on the board. Think long and hard about taking him. I think that he would be a wonderful, wonderful addition there and I'm as high on him as probably as anyone as you'll find out there. I think he is. He is set to be a 10 plus year pro and probably will wind up being a guy in my estimation who probably gets picked, you know, two, four, six spots too late.
- [72:03]
Matt Norlander
Obviously this is a mock draft which is why I'm often hesitant to, to talk too much about and if you get Dylan Harper and Danny Wolf and put them together and say. Because it's just like almost certainly not gonna unfold the way right this unfolded or any other mock draft unfolds in advance of the night of the draft. But that said, I mean if you do end up with Dylan Harper and Danny and you've already got Wimpy, you're just gigantic everywhere Castle.
- [72:31]
Gary Parrish
Like you're just big everywhere. It actually. Yeah now we got a wrap here because she's got to do his other show. Just to interject on that point, GP the, the new coach because Popovich obviously has stepped down like then it be just from a franchise just following the NBA perspective. Like there is a ton of immediate pressure on, on a team and taking over for Popovich, for Mitch Johnson there. That'll, that'll actually be a very interesting thing to to watch play out there because he's going to have the pieces. There will be no excuses if it breaks that way. Or generally speaking like San Antonio should be a playoff team next year.
- [73:02]
Matt Norlander
And I had Wolf 16th in my most recent mock draft. So I'm not far off from where you are right here. I'm a, I'm a fan as well. Let's get out of here. Shouts to Devin Downey. Shouts to Chester, S.C. shouts to Terry Teagle. He's a legend. Huck Larnell. Thank you guys once again for watching and listening to the I Own College Basketball podcast. If you're not subscribed, please go subscribe anywhere you subscribe to podcast, Apple, Spotify. There's more of us than there are of them. That should be reflected in the comments. So do that and we'll talk to you again real soon. Soon. Later on this week, in fact. Till then, take care.
- [73:43]
C
Paramount Podcasts.
- [73:48]
Matt Norlander
The most original musical ever is now streaming on Paramount. Plus, I'm just giving the people what they want from the director of the Greatest Showman. Better man absolutely sizzles from start to finish.
- [73:59]
Gary Parrish
What are you gonna say? I want the world to see who I really am.
- [74:02]
Matt Norlander
It's wildly inventive and deliriously entertaining. No, stop it. Nothing.
- [74:10]
Gary Parrish
It's only the biggest event in history.
- [74:13]
Matt Norlander
Better man now streaming on Paramount. Rated R.