2024 NBA Draft: Reed Sheppard, Kevin McCullar Among Early Stock Risers
The 2024 NBA Draft has been labeled as a weaker draft by the vast majority of scouts and analysts. But Giannis Antetokounmpo came out of the 2013 NBA Draft, and Tyrese Haliburton in 2020.
Regardless of how the draft looks right now, there will be stars entering the NBA. Let’s dive into three under the radar prospects for this year’s draft:
Carlton Carrington | Pittsburgh
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Carlton Carrington has easily been the biggest stock riser in the last month. The 6-foot-5 freshman combo guard wasn’t even considered a top 100 freshman heading into the college season but is now producing at an extremely high level. The freshman star has an enticing combination of shot versatility, size and playmaking chops.
His shooting ability really pops, as he shoots nearly 40% from behind the arc on six attempts per game while also having a nice in-between game. Carrington is very perimeter oriented as a scorer but has been efficient scoring the ball to this point.
Carrington’s vision and playmaking ability is quite impressive as he’s one of the top passing freshman in all of college basketball. He has the ability to find the open teammate and make good decisions with the ball.
Carrington wasn’t seen on a single mock draft or draft board heading into the season and is now seen as a first round and potentially even a lottery pick depending on which scout or evaluator you talk to.
Reed Sheppard | Kentucky
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Reed Sheppard was just a four-star recruit coming out of high school and labeled as a multi-year college player. But not even ten games into the season, it has been clear that Sheppard’s time at Kentucky won’t be as long as some anticipated. The 6-foot-3 guard has been the best two-way player for the Wildcats and arguably their best player this season.
The 6-foot-3 lead guard is off to a ridiculous start from behind the arc to start the season as he’s shooting a ridiculous 61.1% from 3-point land in a total of eight games played. Defensively he has been ridiculous at the point-of-attack, and has racked up a ton of steals this season as he’s averaging three steals per game.
Sheppard is a projected first round pick due to him having a clear role in the NBA as a 3-and-D lead guard with some playmaking ability. The Kentucky freshman doesn’t possess a ton of star qualities, but he's so well-rounded and makes a ton of winning plays on both ends of the floor that it makes it extremely hard for a team to not to take a swing in the first round in 2024.
Kevin McCullar Jr | Kansas
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Despite Kevin McCullar Jr being a fifth year senior, we have seen a major improvement offensively by the 6-foot-7 wing player. McCullar is currently averaging a career high in 3-pointers attempted per game while also averaging a career high in his 3-point percentage as he’s shooting 35.5% from behind the arc this season.
In his previous seasons the senior was known to be a solid passer but he has proven to be a reliable secondary playmaker that can locate the open teammate and even make some wicked passes occasionally.
In McCullar’s first four seasons in college, the highest points he averaged in a season was last year at 10.7 but this season he’s averaging 18.5 points.
At the start of the season, everyone had McCullar in the second round or even going undrafted. But now we're seeing the two-way wing being projected in the middle of the first round on some mock drafts.
McCullar will continue to do his thing defensively as he’s one of the top perimeter defenders in college and the NBA Draft but if he can keep his stellar offensive play up then there’s belief he could even be drafted in the lottery in the 2024 NBA Draft.
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