Rivals Roundtable: Decision time on staying in NBA Draft
This week in the Rivals Roundtable the analyst team of Eric Bossi, Corey Evans and Dan McDonald takes one last look at whose NBA Draft decision has the biggest impact on college hoops this season. Also, who had the most intriguing commitment of the week and whose ranking have we been hearing about the most?
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MORE: Bossi's Best: Toughest-to-read recruitments in class of 2021 | McDonald's Nuggets: Why Baylor, FSU are on a roll; top commits | Evans Seven: Prospects on commitment watch
2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Position
2022 Rankings: Top 75
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1. The deadline to withdraw from the NBA Draft is Aug. 3. Whose decision can have the biggest impact on the 2020-21 college season?
Bossi: I’m going to go with Arkansas and Isaiah Joe. There is a lot of excitement in Fayetteville over Eric Musselman and a potential resurgence led by an impressive homegrown recruiting class. But, a vet like Joe who can open up defenses with his shooting would make things much easier and greatly increase the chances of making a move in this year’s SEC.
Evans: I don’t see how it cannot be Iowa's Luka Garza. I mean, we are talking about the clear-cut favorite for national player of the year if he returns for his senior season. Sure, there are concerns regarding his foot speed and place in today’s NBA but that is for another day. For now, it is all about how destructive and impactful that Garza can be in college basketball. We are talking about arguably the top player in the game and one that could go down as a legend at Iowa.
McDonald: Baylor received some good news this week with MaCio Teague coming back, but now all eyes are on Jared Butler's decision. If he decides to return to Waco, look for the Bears to be right back in the mix for the No. 1 spot and have as a good of a shot as anyone to cut down the nets next April. They should be really good either way, but his return would obviously be a big boost.
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2. Which of the last week's commitments caught your attention and why?
Bossi: I love the Angelo Brizzi commitment to Villanova. He is an excellent fit to play alongside top 50 guard Jordan Longino in the backcourt and he can really shoot the ball from deep. Brizzi has pretty good size for a combo guard, passes the ball well and plays with toughness. Did I mention his ability to shoot the ball from deep? I just wanted to reiterate that he’s one of the best jump shooters in America and should be a guy whose talent Jay Wright maximizes.
Evans: I am going to stick with Emarion Ellis. While I love Rahsool Diggins’ fit at UConn, Ellis deserves some love and so does the staff at Texas. For one reason or another, many of the local Midwest high majors showed very little interest in Ellis; the dude didn’t have a single offer until March! A quick-twitch guard that stands close to 6-foot-5, is just 16 years old, and best used on the ball, Ellis should find the perfect system for his game and playing style. He has to get stronger and show that he can consistently knock down shots but Texas thinks it got a steal in someone that is reminiscent of a younger DeJounte Murray.
McDonald: I really like Peyton Watson's choice to pick UCLA. He's an incredibly gifted player with a great combination of size, skill and athleticism, but what I really like is he's always very locked in on the defensive end. That will work well with the way Mick Cronin coaches. He'll do really well in Westwood and be NBA-bound before long.
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3. Whose ranking, regardless of class, have you been getting questioned on the most over the past few weeks?
Bossi: Class of 2022 guard Cason Wallace. No contest. I have heard from a lot of people in the state of Texas whose opinions I’ve grown to trust over the years and they think we have Wallace way under-ranked at No. 90 nationally. I watched him online earlier this week at OTR Exposure’s Best of Both Worlds camp in Dallas and last night during TB5 Reports King of the South event. He certainly played well. I’ve always appreciated his motor and toughness but he does shoot and make plays for others better than I realized. Texas is loaded in 2022 and I could see Wallace making a move up a bit from where he is. Auburn, Baylor, Creighton, DePaul, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and UT San Antonio have all offered and his recruitment is setting up to be a heated one.
Evans: Oh boy, you opened up Pandora’s box with this one! Someone that has been brought to my attention for not being ranked is David Joplin and I must say, after watching some of his recent film and speaking things over with Bossi who saw him in-person last week, the appropriate parties may be onto something. Joplin is the ideal new age combo forward that can complete a variety of tasks on both sides of the floor. He might be the next man up for receiving inclusion into the Rivals150 if another reclassification takes place because of it. I wouldn’t be surprised if a commitment ensues this month, too, with such others as Butler, Iowa State, Marquette, Minnesota, Missouri and Texas heavily involved.
McDonald: Matthew Cleveland is one here locally in Atlanta that I hear from people saying he should be higher. We had him in the mid-30's prior to travel ball starting back up, but we moved him up to No. 25 after his strong start with the Atlanta Celtics as well as players from the 2021 class moving up into the 2020 class. We probably were a little low on him and now we have him pretty fairly ranked. He's an elite athlete whose motor is always running on high. In the transition game, you can really see his athleticism, but also how crafty he is finishing at the rim with either hand. I still think he has room to grow with his perimeter skills and playing in a half-court setting, but it's clear he's been working on his game in those areas. Cleveland recently committed to Florida State.