Recent NBA Mock Draft Has 2 'Noles as Top-20 Picks
CBS Sports released its latest mock draft on Monday night, and it has a pair of Seminoles being selected as top-20 draftees. Gary Parrish has small forward Devin Vassell coming off the board 16th, and headed to the Minnesota Timberwolves, while he sees fellow small forward Patrick Williams chosen shortly thereafter by another midwestern team, the Milwaukee Bucks.
I've already written about why Vassell could be a lottery pick, as well as Williams' adept off-ball movement, but here are Parrish's comments on each player:
Devin Vassell's numbers — 12.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game — don't jump off the screen, but that has more to do with playing at Florida State than anything else. The Seminoles had four players who averaged between 9.2 points and 12.7 points. So Leonard Hamilton's team was balanced at the top, possibly to the detriment of Vassell. Either way, what's important to note is that the 6-7 guard made 41.7% of his 168 3-point attempts over the past two seasons. And what that suggests is that he's a two-way wing who can make jumpers reliably, which is why he should go in the top 20 of this draft.
Patrick Williams is probably more of a long-term investment than an instant-impact rookie considering he's still only 18 years-old and developing. But the 6-8 forward measures well and was a key piece on a Florida State team that won the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title. He performed strongly down the stretch while scoring in double-figures in five of the Seminoles' final seven games. So, again, it's possible he won't help an NBA team much next season. But what Williams could become in a year or two is enough to generate attention in the back half of the first round.
