Draft Prospects 2017

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Jordan Bell was the first player with five straight NCAA Tournamnet games of 12-plus rebounds since Houston's Hakeem Olajuwon in 1983-84. In his junior and final year at Oregon, Bell was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the year averaging 1.3 steals and 2.3 blocks per game. He finished his college career as Oregon's leader in blocks (235) and field goal percentage (61%).

Tim Kempton Jr. (son of former Sun and current broadcaster Tim Kempton) played all four years at Lehigh University where he received honorable mention All-American in 2015 and 2016. He is the Lehigh and Patriot League all-time leader in career rebounds and third in school history in career points. Kempton was named First-Team All-Patriot League three times and is a two-time Patriot Player of the Year.

Mathias Lessort has represented France twice in FIBA play, at the 2015 U20 Euros and 2014 U20 Euros. He received French League Co-6th Man of the Year in 2016 while playing for Élan Chalon. In 2017 he won the French Cup and was a FIBA Europe Cup champion.

Davon Reed averaged career highs across the board during his senior season at Miami. He made a three-pointer in the first 27 games of the year and finished with at least one triple in 32 of 33 outings. He ranked third in minutes, sixth in free throw percentage, eight in three-pointers and 10th in three-point percentage in the ACC. Reed was named All-ACC Third Team and ACC All-Defensive Team.

Andrew White bounced around between schools in college, but improved everywhere he went. He finished up his senior year at Syracuse where he was named All-ACC Third Team and set a Syracuse record with 112 three-pointers. White was named All-Big Ten Honorable Mention as a junior at Nebraska and shot better than 40 percent from deep in each of his final two seasons.

Tim Williams led New Mexico with 7.1 rebounds to go along with his 16.9 points per game in against their conference. In 11 games his senior year against Mountain West Conference opponents, Williams always scored in double-digits and shot 53.8 percent. His junior year he ws named All-Mountain West First Team by the media and Second Team by coaches.

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2017 Suns Pre-Draft Workouts: June 9

2016-17 Stats: 9.0 ppg. 3.0 reb.  52.9% fg.

Laurynas Birutis is a 7’11” center who currently plays for Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas in the Lithuanian Basketball League. He began playing professional basketball when he was just 16 years old. He is a silver-medalist for the FIBA Europe Under 20 Championship in 2016 and won bronze in 2015 for the FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. He made his debut on his new team in April 15, 2017 where he put up 17 points with four rebounds.

2016-17 Stats: 16.1 ppg. 2.6 ast. 4.6 reb. 1.1 stl. 0.5 blk. 48.8% fg. 40.1% 3p.

Dillon Brooks was an early entry candidate for the 2016 NBA Draft, but withdrew his name to play a third season at Oregon. It worked out well for the 6’6” forward as he was named Pac-12 Player of the Year in 2017 and helped lead Oregon to the Final Four. He finished his college career as the 10th all-time scorer in Oregon history and became their career leader in NCAA Tournament scoring, field goals made and assists. Brooks was consensus second-team All-American in 2017.

2016-17 Stats: 7.5 ppg. 3.2 reb. 36.6% fg. 31.6% 3p.

2016-17 Stats: 18 ppg. 1.3 ast. 5.0 reb. 0.8 stl. 0.7 blk. 48.2% fg. 41.4% 3p.

Rodney Pryor, a graduate student who earned honorable mention All-Big East honors, led Georgetown in scoring and ranked third in the Big East with 18 points per game. He finished tied for the team in rebounds with 5 per game. Pryor hit a team-best 84 three-point field goals and ranked third in the Big East in that category. His 577 points this season rank 15th all-time for a single season at Georgetown, while his 84 threes are the second-most in a single season.

2016-17 Stats: 11.4 ppg. 1.3 ast. 5.2 reb.  0.9 stl. 0.7 blk. 41.4% fg. 34.1% 3p

Paul Watson grew up in Phoenix and went to Paradise High School. He showed off his athleticism while he was a participant at the 2017 College Basketball Slam Dunk Contest. He finished his college career ranked ninth in Fresno State’s history in blocked shots, three-pointers made and attempts. He also became the 16th top scorer in the program’s history with 1,361 points.

2016-17 Stats: 15.1 ppg. 1.9 ast. 4.3 reb. 0.7 stl. 39.1% fg. 38.4% 3p.

Matt Williams scored in double figures in 31 of 36 games his senior year at UCF. He made the second most threes in the nation with 126, which are the most in a season in AAC and UCF history. Williams scored a career-high 38 points (most by a conference in 2017) on 11 three-pointers (UCF and American Athletic Conference record) against USF.

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2017 Suns Pre-Draft Workouts: June 7, 2017

Being 6’10” and 250 pounds, Endrice “Bam” Adebayo uses his size and athleticism to fly over the competition. He has tremendous dunking ability and a toughness that cannot be stopped in the paint. He is much quicker than other centers and can beat them up the court on a fast-break. Whether it’s lobs, put-backs or fast-breaks, Adebayo knows how to put on a show. Coming out of high school he was named North Carolina Mr. Basketball and North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year. He was a dominant rim-protector in his lone season at Kentucky, averaging 1.5 blocks per game and was named Second-Team All-SEC and SEC All-Freshman Team.

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Bam Adebayo: Draft Profile and Stats

From scoring to rebounding to blocking shots, John Collins can do just about everything in the paint. He uses his strength to box out, get the ball, put it up and draw a foul. He averaged 6.7 free throws a game last season shooting 74.5% from the line. He is aggressive off the glass and can keep plays alive with his offensive rebounding. He finished his sophomore and final season at Wake Forest being named First-Team All-ACC and claiming the title of ACC Most-Improved Player of 2017.

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John Collins: Draft Profile and Stats

Jarrett Allen posses the size and athleticism to become an effective center at the next level. With a 7’5” wingspan, Allen has no problem grabbing rebounds (8.4 per game) and blocking shots (1.5 per game). Whether it’s throwing down explosive alley-oops or swatting away shots, Allen gives teams a spark of athleticism. Allen led Texas in rebounds, blocked shots and minutes played, as well as ranked second in scoring. He recorded 12 double-doubles on the season (tied for third-highest total by a UT freshman in school history), including eight in Big 12 Conference play.

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Jarrett Allen: Draft Profile and Stats

Lauri Markkanen can absolutely make it rain from deep. Using his size and mobility, Markkanen shot an impressive 42.3% from three-point range as a seven-footer. He is also willing to do the dirty work in the paint getting rebounds and using his size to fight for baskets. He is known as one of the most NBA ready prospects in the draft. His mix of pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop screens keep the defense constantly off guard due to his deadly shooting. Markkanen finished his freshman season at Arizona being named Third-Team All-American and First-Team All-Pac-12.

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Lauri Markkanen: Draft Profile and Stats

Zach Collins has the potential to be a stretch-five in the NBA if he actually gets the opportunity. He shot 47.6% from deep in college, although it was only on 21 attempts. In his one year at Gonzaga, Collins was looked at more as a post player where he was able to back defenders down to get to the rim. Defensively he has a high motor and can control the paint as he averaged 1.8 blocks per game. He had one of his most impressive games in the national semifinal against South Carolina where he put up 14 points, 13 rebounds and had six blocks to help lead Gonzaga to the National Championship game.

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Zach Collins: Draft Profile and Stats

Frank Ntilikina has won back-to-back French League Best Young Player awards playing with Strasbourg the past two years. He is a pass-first point guard who has great court vision and can control the pace of a game. Ntilikina is tall and lengthy for the guard positon, giving him versatility on defense and the ability to reach out for steals. Offensively he uses his ball handling skills to create his own shot off the dribble.

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Frank Ntilikina: Draft Profile and Stats

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