Lamont Jones, 6-0 PG, Iona
The Gaels’ floor general (23.2) has taken the leap as a senior. Offensively, the former transfer from Arizona has stepped up to pace the second-best scoring team in the nation. Jones is averaging 23.2 points on better than 45 percent from the field and a somewhat inefficient 32 percent on 3-pointers.
The biggest concern with Jones is that his size requires him to be a point guard while his game screams scoring guard. His best bet to make it in the NBA is to be an offensive sparkplug off the bench, but his shot selection and lack of high-level competition at Iona will not serve him well.
There is no question that Jones’ draft stock would be helped greatly by a postseason appearance where he could showcase his scoring prowess and possibly pull off an upset. As it stands, Jones is all but guaranteed to be undrafted and likely playing overseas next fall.
Nate Wolters, 6-4 PG, South Dakota State
Wolters (22.8 ppg) has long been a favorite of scouts and executives around the league because of his natural abilities as a shooter and ball handler. Over the summer at the Nike Elite camps, Wolters was one of the more vocal leaders, and he is clearly the catalyst for the Jackrabbits.
In a recent matchup against Murray State’s Isaiah Canaan, Wolters went toe-to-toe with the Flyers’ heralded guard and put up 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting with five assists and four turnovers in a road loss. For the season, Wolters is shooting nearly 50 percent and over 41 percent from 3-point range. His true shooting percentage is a solid 61.1.
As a prospect, Wolters is NBA-ready to be a shooter off the bench and has the potential to be an adequate backup point guard but will always struggle against more athletic players. Wolters is not a highly sought prospect but has value for the right team. In a league where shooting is always in need, Wolters likely will hear his name called somewhere in the mid-to-late second round.
Travis Bader, 6-5 SG, Oakland
Bader (22.0) is the statistical beneficiary of a heavy dose of playing time. In fact, he leads the nation in minutes, which partially explains why he is fifth in the country in scoring.
With a pedestrian true shooting percentage of 59.0, Bader is the type of high volume collegiate scorer that NBA teams normally don’t find very receptive. One major area of concern with Bader is his shot selection; he hoists nearly 11 3-pointers per game. While he makes 39 percent from the arc, that is way too many shots.
That is not to say Bader cannot impress some team, but the junior wing of the Golden Grizzlies should not be seriously considered as an early entrant to the draft. If Bader were in this draft, it is highly unlikely he would be selected. However, he would be a name to watch in summer league as he has the size and some skills that a team may feel warrants an invite to training camp.
Joe Kotoch is the Editor-in-Chief of Pro Basketball Draft, a leading scouting service in the world of professional basketball. Before Joe created PBD, he served as an NBPA & FIBA certified agent and scouted players all across the world. Born and raised in Cleveland, Joe also contributes to Fox Sports Ohio and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. You can follow Joe on Twitter @Probballdraft.
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