Alabama Athletics
How Might Alabama's Players Fare in the 2020 NBA Draft?
The University of Alabama men's basketball team has three players testing the NBA waters, with guards/wings Herbert Jones, Kira Lewis Jr. and John Petty Jr. having all declared themselves for the upcoming draft.
However, only one of them is listed in the latest Sports Illustrated mock draft, which was the first projecting both rounds and factoring in the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament.
Jeremy Woo has Lewis, who is about to turn 19, being selected No. 24 by the Miami Heat.
He wrote: "Miami enters the draft without a long-term point guard on the roster, and in this scenario Lewis is the best one available, and certainly a viable investment in this range. He’s still a ways away from understanding how to run an NBA team and sorely needs to add strength to his frame, but he has blazing end-to-end speed you can’t teach, and was successful this season using it to put pressure on defenses.
"Lewis is more of a drive-and-kick guy than a natural lead guard, but the fact he’s younger than a lot of freshmen leaves some optimism that he can develop into a solid rotation guard in time. There’s upside for a team willing to be patient."
Lewis is also listed 24th on the SI Big Board.
At No. 1 on both lists is Georgia's Anthony Edwards, who recently announced he was entering the draft.
The 6'5" guard averaged 19.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in his lone season with the Bulldogs, shooting 40.2 percent from the field and 29.4 percent from three. He is looking to become the first Bulldog to be selected in the top five in the NBA Draft since Dominique Wilkins in 1982.
All three Alabama players can still return to the Crimson Tide as long as they don't sign with an agent.
Meanwhile, the NBA continues to hold out hope that the season might resume in the summer. If that’s the case, the lottery will have to wait until win-loss records are final. The draft is tentatively scheduled for June 25.
