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Indiana Pacers: Draft Prospect Watch 1.1

The second edition of Indycornrows' peek into the 2015 NBA draft.

By Matt Andreason
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The first week of the college basketball season is nearly complete, and while the Pacers have gritted their way to a few unexpected wins, their record still stands at 5-7, teetering on the edge of life in the lottery.

Here's a game-log recap for each of DraftExpress' top-14 prospects:

1. Jahlil Okafor C, Duke, 18 years old, Freshman, 6' 11" 272lbs:

  • 11/14/14 vs Presbyterian:19 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST, 1 BLK, 9/10 FG, 1/2 FT
  • 11/15/14 vs Fairfield: 17 PTS, 9 REB, 2 AST, 2 BLK, 1 STL, 8/10 FG, 1/3 FT, 5 TO
  • 11/18/14 vs #19 Michigan St.: 17 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 2 BLK, 2 STL, 8/10 FG, 1/2 FT, 3 TO
Offensively, Okafor's as skilled, polished, and Tim Duncan-y as advertised. Questions about his NBA future seem to focus on his defense and athleticism. True, he doesn't possess the super-human quickness and vertical as some of his draft-worthy counterparts. But you know what? Neither did Roy Hibbert, and Big #55 eventually turned himself into an elite defender/rim protector. I don't mean to compare Okafor and Hibbert; they're very different players. I only mean to contend that Okafor's lack of athleticism doesn't automatically preclude him from becoming a competent defender at the NBA level. And it should be noted that if he does reach competent levels defensively (in addition to his impressive array of offensive gifts) then, well ... holy Hakeem Olajuwon Jr.?

Oh, and so it begins:


As if the Sixers needed the motivation.

2. Emmanuel Mudiay PG, Guangdong, 18 years old, 6' 5" 200lbs:

  • 11/14/14: 22 PTS, 5 AST, 5 REB, 3 STL, 10/15 FG, 0/3, 3PT 2/5 FT
  • 11/16/14: 24 PTS, 5 AST, 7 REB, 10/22 FG, 1/5 3PT 3/4 FT
  • 11/19/14: 23 PTS, 8 AST, 9 REB, 2 STL, 11/17 FG, 0/2 3PT, 1/1 FT

Mudiay continues his impressive foray into the Chinese Basketball Association, piling up gaudy numbers on a nightly basis. Without knowing much about the CBA, I decided to do a little research to find a frame of reference. The following stat lines may surprise, horrify, and humor you:

Let's start with the no-names:

Old Faces in New Places:

The One That Cuts the Deepest:

Pretty please, Emmanuel, is too late to join Larry Brown in Texas?

3. Karl Towns PF/C, Kentucky, 18 years old, Freshman, 7' 0" 248lbs:

  • 11/14/14 vs Grand Canyon: 8 PTS, 8 REB, 2 AST, 3 BLK, 3/7 FG, 0/1 3PT, 2/2 FT, 2 TO, 3 PF
  • 11/16/14 vs Buffalo: 3 PTS, 5 REB, 1/6 FG, 0/1 3PT, 1/2 FT, 1 TO, 5 PF
  • 11/18/14 vs #5 Kansas: 9 PTS, 8 REB, 3 AST, 4 BLK, 4/8 FG, 1/2 FT, 3 PF

There's an interesting "Euroball playing time" effect going on in Lexington these days. Except John Calipari isn't cutting minutes to hide talent from NBA eyes, he's doing it because he's got an NBA-ready, four-man rotation of bigs that teams like the Lakers and Sixers would probably trade in for right now. Not two or three years from now. Right. Bleeping. Now. Towns is one of the behemoths, and maybe the most physically gifted of the bunch. But even while possessing a Shanghai-Tower ceiling of talents, it's quite possible we won't see him play more than 25 minutes all season.

4. Kelly Oubre SF, Kansas, 18 years old, Freshman, 6' 6" 204lbs:

  • 11/14/14 vs UC Santa Barbara: 0 PTS, 2 REB, 1 TO
  • 11/18/14 vs #1 Kentucky: 6 PTS, 4 REB, 1 STL, 2/3 FG, 1/1 3PT, 1/2 FT, 1 TO, 3 PF

5. *Mario Hezonja SG, Croatia, 18 years old, 6' 8" 200lbs:

Uh-oh:

6. *Kristaps Porzingis PF, Latvia, 19 years old, 7' 0" 220lbs

7. Justice Winslow SF, Duke, 18 years old, Freshman, 6' 6" 221lbs:

  • 11/14/14 vs Presbyterian: 15 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 6/12 FG, 2/3 3PT, 1/1 FT, 3 TO
  • 11/15/14 vs Fairfield: 18 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 6/10 FG, 1/2 3PT, 5/7 FT, 1 TO
  • 11/18/14 vs #19 Michigan St.: 15 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST, 1 BLK, 4/11 FG, 1/2 3PT, 6/9 FT, 2 TO

8. Stanley Johnson SF, Arizona, 18 years old, Freshman, 6' 7" 237lbs:

  • 11/14/14 vs Mount St. Mary's: 8 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST, 2/8 FG, 0/4 3PT, 4/6 FT, 2 TO
  • 11/16/14 vs CS Northridge: 17 PTS, 1 REB, 1 BLK, 7/10 FG, 2/3 3PT, 1/3 FT, 3 TO
  • 11/19/14 vs UC Irvine: 10 PTS, 10 REB, 3 AST 1 STL, 3/8 FG, 0/3 3PT, 4/4 FT, 5 TO

9. Willie Cauley-Stein C, Kentucky, 21 years old, Junior, 7' 0" 244lbs:

  • 11/14/14 vs Grand Canyon: 12 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 4 BLK, 2 STL, 6/7 FG
  • 11/16/14 vs Buffalo: 6 PTS, 10 REB, 4 AST, 1 BLK, 2 STL, 3/6 FG, 2 TO
  • 11/18/14 vs #5 Kansas: 7 PTS, 10 REB, 1 AST, 1 BLK, 1 STL, 3/7 FG, 1/3 FT, 3 PF

10. Cliff Alexander PF/C, Kansas, 18 years old, Freshman, 6' 9" 254lbs:

  • 11/14/14 vs UC Santa Barbara: 9 PTS, 4 REB, 1 BLK, 3/5 FG, 3/4 FT, 2 PF
  • 11/18/14 vs #1 Kentucky: 8 PTS, 8 REB, 2/7 FG, 4/8 FT, 1 TO, 3 PF

11. Sam Dekker SF, Wisconsin, 20 years old, Junior, 6' 9" 229lbs:

  • 11/14/14 vs NKU: 15 PTS, 2 REB, 2 AST, 5/9 FG, 0/2 3PT, 5/6 FT, 2 TO
  • 11/16/14 vs CS Chattanooga: 18 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 7/10 FG, 2/4 3PT, 2/4 FT, 2 TO
  • 11/19/14 vs Green Bay: 19 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 6/12 FG, 1/3 3PT, 6/9 FT

12. Montrezl Harrell PF, Louisville, 20 years old, Junior, 6' 8" 230lbs

  • 11/14/14 vs Minnesota: 30 PTS, 7 REB, 2 STL, 9/12 FG, 3/4 3PT, 9/10 FT, 3 TO
  • 11/17/14 vs Jacksonville St.: 15 PTS, 7 REB, 1 AST, 6/12 FG, 0/3 3 PT, 3/5 FT

13. Tyus Jones PG, Duke, 18 years old, Freshman, 6' 1" 184lbs

  • 11/14/14 vs Presbyterian: 15 PTS, 7 AST, 2 REB, 6/8 FG, 3/4 3PT, 1 TO
  • 11/15/14 vs Fairfield: 6 PTS, 5 AST, 3 REB, 2 STL, 2/5 FG, 0/3 3PT, 2/3 FT, 2 TO
  • 11/18/14 vs #19 Michigan St.: 17 PTS, 4 AST, 2 STL, 4/5 FG, 2/3 3PT, 7/7 FT

14. Myles Turner C, Texas, 18 years old, Freshman, 6' 11" 242lbs

  • 11/14/14 vs North Dakota St.: 15 PTS, 6 REB, 2 BLK, 6/8 FG, 0/1 3PT, 3/4 FT, 3TO
  • 11/16/14 vs Alcorn St.: 10 PTS, 7 REB, 6 BLK, 4/7 FG, 0/1 3PT, 2/2 FT
*Note: Euroleagues are already underway, but due to hair-tearing inconsistencies in regards to playing time and rotations, game logs will not be provided so as to not unfairly represent a player's potential or lack thereof.

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