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NY Knicks Draft: 3 Prospects to Watch during the Sweet 16

By Toby Jaffe

Mar 22, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; The Southern California Trojans bench reacts during the second half in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament against the Kansas Jayhawks at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 22, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; The Southern California Trojans bench reacts during the second half in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament against the Kansas Jayhawks at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports /
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Joel Ayayi . Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports
Joel Ayayi . Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports /

NY Knicks: Joel Ayayi is an NBA-ready prospect

Speaking of Gonzaga…

The undefeated Bulldogs are the nation’s best team and boast a loaded roster. The big 3 of Corey Kispert, Drew Timme, and Jalen Suggs get all the attention, but one would be foolish to overlook junior guard Joel Ayayi.

Ayayi is from France and, like countryman Frank Ntilikina, has played on French national teams. Gonzaga, ever dominant on the international recruiting scene, swooped him up in 2018.

For the 2020-2021 season, Ayayi has 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists on 40% three point shooting and 57% overall.

As you may now have figured out is the trend among the three players I am writing about today, Ayayi is a versatile player who plays hard and smart. He is equally comfortable handling the ball and running the point as he is playing off-ball and spotting up for jumpers. He does what he is asked to do without complaint and appears quite coachable — a quality we all know Thibs (and really just about any NBA coach) values.

Ayayi is not, however, someone who is going to make a dozen all-star games and lead the league in scoring. That’s ok. What he projects to be is a very solid role player willing to do whatever it takes to win games. You can never have enough of those.

Ayayi is definitely well within the NY Knicks’ draft range and warrants hard consideration. However, it is possible that the Gonzaga prospect will forgo the 2021 draft (as he did in 2020) and return for his senior season. The only reason to do so would be to live out the college experience and maybe slightly improve his draft stock. The fact is that Ayayi is an NBA-ready prospect and could be a boon to any franchise that selects him.

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