Jon Rothstein's 5 Key NBA Draft Decisions to Watch
College Basketball expert Jon Rothstein tells you five players to watch as they make their decisions on whether to stay in school or make the jump to the NBA.
Video Transcript
JON ROTHSTEIN: Hi. This is Jon Rothstein with Yahoo Sports with five key NBA draft decisions to monitor between now and the 2020 NBA draft. One is easy. It's Iowa's Luka Garza. If Garza opts to return to school for another season, the Hawkeyes will be clearly a team to watch at the top of the Big Ten, and a potential final four candidate under Fran McCaffery.
Another one to monitor, Villanova's Saddiq Bey. The Wildcats have all the requisites to again be in position to compete for a third national championship under Jay Wright. But if Bey returns, it will give the Wildcats a type of playmaking score on the wing that Wright has often used to his advantage.
Malachi Flynn of San Diego State is another key draft decision to monitor over the next couple of months. Flynn's insertion from Washington state as a transfer made San Diego State the team to beat in the Mountain West and a potential one or two seed in the 2020 NCAA tournament. If Flynn returns to the Aztecs, San Diego State is in a situation where it should again be a top 15 the 20 team entering next season.
Immanuel Quickley from Kentucky is a player that didn't enter last season with the fanfare and attention of teammates Tyrese Maxey or Ashton Hagans, but by the end of the year quickly was clearly Kentucky's best guard, was named the SEC player of the year. If Quickley decides to keep his name in the 2020 NBA draft, John Calipari and the Wildcats may opt to look at the grad transfer market to bring in a player to help add some experience to Kentucky's perimeter, which will be very, very inexperienced entering the 2021 season.
And then lastly, Florida Scottie Lewis completes the list here. Scottie Lewis is a player who had moments during his freshman season who likely would have shined at a higher rate if he went through individual workouts and the NBA draft combine like we've seen in most years. But due to coronavirus, a lot of NBA personnel have told me over the last week that NBA teams are preparing to make their selections for the 2020 NBA draft based on Skype interviews and prior scouting in person. This means somebody like Scottie Lewis out of Florida, who would have had the chance to shine at the combine in Chicago, won't be given that same opportunity now.
Those are five key NBA draft decisions to monitor between now and the 2020 NBA draft. I'm Jon Rothstein. This is Yahoo Sports.
