NBA Draft Sleepers: Derrick Walton Jr.'s Injury Creates Huge Opportunity for Owen Foxwell

In an ideal world, players have total control over their draft stock. It’s entirely dependent on whether or not they play well in the years, and especially the final year leading up to their draft entry. But as always, ideals and reality are very different things. Players get hurt, coaches get fired, teammates start playing even better, and a multitude of other factors can upend a player's draft stock.

This can also happen in ways that are beneficial to a player, and that’s what Owen Foxwell is looking at. South East Melbourne Phoenix made two marquee additions this offseason, bringing in Next Star Malique Lewis and also former NBL Grand Final MVP Derrick Walton Jr.

The arrival of Walton Jr. revealed how the coaching staff felt about Foxwell at the time. He was clearly seen as a bench guard, that they would maybe trust to handle the ball for bursts no longer than three minutes or so.

That was how things went when the season began in September. Through three of the first five games, Foxwell played six minutes or less. Walton Jr. was the star, and there was little room for him. But with some solid shooting and decent playmaking, as well as all-out hustle all over the court, Foxwell did enough to earn about 15 minutes per game, and at the end of November, he had his outburst, dropping 22 points against the Illawarra Hawks.

Foxwell had forced the Phoenix coaching staff to play him alongside Walton Jr. to increase his playing time. He was earning minutes as the primary ballhandler but had also proven capable of thriving as an off-guard who could space the floor and create in short shot-clock scenarios as well. Then, in mid-January, Walton Jr was declared out for the rest of the regular season with a hamstring injury.

In the two games since Walton Jr. went down, Angus Glover has moved into the starting lineup, but Foxwell has seen his point guard opportunities rise off the bench. Against the Cairns Taipans, he finished with five assists and zero turnovers. His ball security has been impressive all season, and now we’re getting to see how that holds with increased volume. In the second game without Walton Jr., he finished with 12 points and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line, showing he could absorb some of the penetration and paint touch responsibility as well.

Foxwell has gone cold from three since mid-December, missing his last nine three-point attempts in NBL play since then but should that return alongside his increased playmaking and dribble penetration chops, then Foxwell may do enough to force himself into a late second-round draft pick.

A lot of a player's draft stock is out of their control, but when they focus on what they can control - like Foxwell has - they open the door to capitalize on opportunities that come their way. Foxwell is reaping the rewards of his ruggedness, and poised to take that trend further for the final stretch of the NBL regular season.

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