2. Ochai Agbaji – Kansas Jayhawks
The player to watch here is Ochai Agbaji, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard out of Kansas. While I’m not the biggest fan of drafting seniors because by the time that they get their second contract, they’re nearly pushing 30-years-old (I’m joking). But since the beginning of the collegiate season, we’ve seen Agbaji skyrocket up draft boards.
He was once projected as a bottom ten of the first-round type of talent, but now he’s being mocked in the lottery exclusively.
The reason being is that he’s really stepped it up in every way possible. From upping his scoring from 14 to 19 points per game, becoming a much better rebounder at the guard spot, to now being one of the better 3-point shooters in all of college basketball.
Kansas’ success during March Madness is just the cherry on top. Agbaji could very well increase his value even more if he puts on a couple more tremendous performances and wins a national title.
From the tape I’ve watched, he reminds me a bit of Minnesota’s Malik Beasley because he can hurt you from anywhere on the floor. He aggressively attacks the basket but can knock down shots from deep when needed.
He doesn’t have the ball-handling or playmaking abilities you’d want out of the two-spot normally, but any team that drafts him could make do if they relied on him purely from a score-first perspective.
I project him to be a top 15 selection, but I lean more toward the 10-15 range. If the Knicks end up with a pick in that area and they draft Agbaji, he’d be yet another high-upside wing for New York to continue developing alongside its young core.