Indiana Pacers: Draft Prospect Watch 1.1

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

By Matt Andreason Nov 20, 2014, 10:00am EST

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:

"Lose Some More for Okafor" "Blow Some More for Okafor "Forget How to Score for Okafor" "Flop on the Floor for Okafor" #TankingMottos
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) November 19, 2014

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:

Eli Holman is a rebounding machine in China. Today he pulled down 17 more boards adding also 12 points
— Sportando (@sportando) November 19, 2014

Errick McCollum had 58 points, 10 rebounds and 15 assists in Zhejiang’s loss to Foshan 127-122
— Sportando (@sportando) November 18, 2014

Old Faces in New Places:

Quincy Douby scored 48 points, added 11 rebounds and 4 dimes in Tianjin’s loss to Shanghai 101-99
— Sportando (@sportando) November 19, 2014

Al Harrington had 42 points, 17 rebounds and 2 assists in Fujian’s loss to Zhejiang 114-87
— Sportando (@sportando) November 19, 2014

Michael Beasley had 42 points (14-for-29 from the field), 17 rebounds and 2 assists in Shanghai’s wins over Tianjin 101-99
— Sportando (@sportando) November 19, 2014

The One That Cuts the Deepest:

Chris Singleton had 34 points, 18 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks in Jiangsu’s win over Shanxi
— Sportando (@sportando) November 16, 2014

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:

Officials for high projected draftee Mario Hezonja, I'm told, upset with recent DNP-CD. Lakers, Sixers and Hawks saw nothing in Espana.
— David Pick (@IAmDPick) November 17, 2014

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.