College Stock Watch: Baylor's Yves Missi
At this point in the season, college teams only have a handful of games remaining before conference tournaments begin. As such, the opportunity for prospects to showcase their upside in big moments is on the horizon, which is important for talent evaluators. When NBA teams are building their boards, there's certainly an edge given to players who can perform in higher stakes games with real consequences against top competition.
In the meantime, players around the country will look to have a strong close to the regular season schedule. Even before postseason play begins, there have been many chances to improve draft stock.
Whose stock has risen recently? What about fallen?
This week, we look at the draft stock of Yves Missi based on recent play.
Yves Missi (Baylor | Center)
John Jones-USA TODAY Sports
Stock: Rising
Season Stats: 11.2 PPG | 5.7 RPG | 1.6 BPG | 65.2% FG
At 6-foot-11 with a 7-foot-6 wingspan, Missi has the size and length to make it in the NBA. He's not necessarily known for being an offensive engine who is tasked with scoring at a high level, but he has flashed more on that end of late. Over the past month, Missi has notched two games with at least 20 points, including a 25-point outing against TCU on better than 70% shooting from the floor.
On the defensive side of the ball, Missi has tremendous upside. He's earned an 89 DSI from Cerebro Sports this season, which is remarkable for a freshman big who has been given the responsibility of protecting the paint in an elite conference. In fact, he's blocked at least one shot in 10 consecutive games, which is extremely impressive.
The numbers might not jump off the page when evaluating Missi, but the raw upside of him as a frontcourt prospect is fascinating. When considering some of the tools he possesses and skills that should translate at the NBA level, he is clearly one of the best bigs in the entire country at just 19 years old. He might be a bit of a project for an NBA team who can be patient in waiting for him to fully develop, but also could contribute as a rookie in the right system.
Missi was born in Belgium but grew up in Cameroon, where several notable NBA players past and present have come from. In 2021, he brought his talents to the United States, playing for West Nottingham Academy and then Prolific Prep before making the leap to Baylor. While he may not have been tabbed as a bonafide one-and-done player entering this season, there's no question he's worthy of lottery consideration at this point.
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