Newest ESPN NBA mock draft has three Hoop Hogs selected
As June's NBA Draft draws closer, things are slowly becoming more clear with the future of a select few Arkansas basketball players.
The trio of Anthony Black, Nick Smith Jr. and Ricky Council IV are all three in the draft after forgoing their remaining college eligibility. Jordan Walsh and Davonte Davis both also have their names in the draft, though they entered while retaining college eligibility.
With the deadline to withdraw their names and return to college being at 10:59 p.m. CT Wednesday, Walsh and Davis have to make a decision. While Davis isn't looking at being selected in the draft, Walsh's stock has seen an uptick following workouts and the NBA Draft Combine.
ESPN's Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo released a post-combine and pro day mock draft and Walsh was projected to go 39th overall to the Charlotte Hornets.
Arkansas head coach Musselman spoke on the ESPN set at the NBA Combine on May 17 directly after Walsh finished up competing a scrimmage. The Desoto, Texas, native wasn't able to connect on any of his five shots, but he did have six rebounds, five assists and no turnovers in 19 minutes.
"Well, he did a little bit of everything but score the basketball," Musselman said. "He's an excellent rebounder for his position. A very, very unselfish player and I think he showed those skills that he has. Being unselfish, moving without the basketball and being a range rebounder. He does a great job rebounding out of his area."
Walsh started 22 of the 36 games he played in — tied with Black for most games played by a Razorback freshman. He averaged 7.1 points and 3.9 rebounds with 40 total steals steals and he shot 34.4% (11-of-32) from three across the final 19 games of the season.
Also projected to be selected in the mock draft were freshmen Anthony Black at No. 8 overall to the Washington Wizards and Nick Smith Jr. at No. 12 overall to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Both are commonly being projected as lottery picks.
An All-SEC second teamer, Black was the only player in the SEC to be top 25 in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and blocks. He led the SEC in minutes per game (34:51) and averaged 12.8 points and 5.1 rebounds while also setting a freshman school record with 74 steals.
"I feel like I do a little bit of everything," Black told ESPN on May 17. "But I think my best attribute is just making my teammates better and doing little things to help the team win."
Hampered by a right knee injury, Smith played in just 17 games as a freshman. He averaged 12.5 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. The No. 2 overall player in the 2022 class on Rivals, Smith scored 20-plus points on two occasions against Georgia and Kentucky — both coming inside Bud Walton Arena.
"I think he can fit anywhere, because he's a dynamic scorer," Musselman said of Smith on May 17. "He's a dynamic scorer. He's got great quickness with the basketball. He's an underrated defender. Offensively, when the play breaks down and the shot clock is running down, he can go get his own. Every coach wants a player that can go get their own shot when the plays break down.
"I think he's got an incredible future. Both he and Anthony and Jordan Walsh, they're so young and they're going to get better. The thing about all three of them is they really really work hard. Their work ethic is going to take them and their games even further."
Left out of the mock was Council, who led the team with 16.1 points per game last year. He worked out with the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday and attributed his growth at Arkansas to the talent on the roster challenging him.
"We have about five NBA prospects playing against (each other) in practice every day," Council said in an interview with the Pacers. "You couldn't do nothing but either shy away or get better, and I feel like I got better."
Council has a shot at being selected in the second round of the draft and a recent mock from NBC Sports even had Council being selected 29th overall in the first round by the Pacers.
The NBA Draft will be held on Thursday, June 22, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.