Three ex-Arizona Wildcats on ESPN's Top 100 NBA list
The Arizona Wildcats have three players on ESPN's list of the Top 100 players in the NBA.
To be more precise, three of the top 66.
There is only one ex-Wildcat left in the NBA who played for Lute Olson -- Andre Iguodala, who is stuck with the Memphis Grizzlies at the moment after winning multiple titles -- and being 2015 NBA Finals MVP -- with the Golden State Warriors.
Jerryd Bayless, who was recruited by Olson by ending up playing for Kevin O'Neill in his only season at Arizona, left the NBA this offseason to join the Sichuan Blue Whales of the Chinese Basketball Association.
Anyway, here is the trio that ranks on ESPN's list:
No. 66 Deandre Ayton, center, Phoenix Suns
Ayton, the top pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, averaged 16.3 points and 10.3 rebounds in 71 games as a rookie.
ESPN's Kevin Pelton wrote:
"As expected, Ayton's combination of size, skill and athleticism made him an efficient scorer. His .608 true shooting percentage ranked him second among rookies who played at least 500 minutes, behind Mitchell Robinson of the Knicks. As Phoenix finds more playmakers on offense, Ayton should be able to improve on the 21% of the team's plays he used as a rookie, becoming more of an offensive force."
No. 50 Lauri Markkanen, power forward, Chicago Bulls
His missed the first 23 games of his second season because of an elbow injury, and his season ended early in March after he suffered from an accelerated heart rate and fatigue. In between, he put up big numbers: 18.7 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 36.1 percent from 3-point range.
ESPN's Chris Herring wrote:
"The Finnish 7-footer was on the biggest tear of his career, averaging 26.5 points and 12.5 rebounds in February on 49% shooting overall and 38% from 3. He and Zach LeVine really started playing well off each other."
No. 45 Aaron Gordon, power forward, Orlando Magic
He is about to enter his sixth season in the NBA, and he just turned 24 earlier this month. He has averaged 16.7 points and 7.6 rebounds across the last two season, while improving his 3-point percentage from .288 (77 of 267) in 2016-17 to .349 (121 of 347) last year.
ESPN's Zach Lowe wrote:
"Gordon sort of floats around the offense instead of participating in it ... He is talented enough to stumble into 15 points per game this way. He is a solid rebounder and also a stopper on defense across almost every position, if he is dialed in. There is a better player in here, somewhere."