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Interesting early mock for ‘25

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This motivated me to find a mock draft from last September. Probably a more drastic difference than usual because this crop was weak…but some of these projections will make you say, “Wow.”


 
I’d be surprised if Wagner and Big Z weren’t drafted next year. Expecting both of them to make a big jump next year. Wish we could have gotten one of them to stick around!
Both players are not likely to make big jumps because of who they are playing for. With the right development, the sky is the limit for Big Z. Unfortunately for Z, he made another boneheaded mistake by choosing Cal, again. As for CJ, he is just not very good. He and Edwards are two of the most overrated players coming out of high school in my lifetime. His flaws were overlooked because of his basketball pedigree. However, it appears that CJ is the apple that fell far from the tree.
 
Agree about Z. Was really high on that kids ceiling and wanted him back more than any other that still had eligibility.

Only thing holding him back is between his ears. If he was more driven (court and weight room) and had a mean streak he'd be top 5 to late lottery for sure.

Not to mention Cal not putting him in the best position to shine.
 
From that list, Duke shouldn't lose a game. I believe I saw 4 1st rounders with maybe 3 in the top 15 or so? Wow, they seem stacked! Hope they fall flat on their faces.
Mike Krzyzewski ain't walking through that door..... Duke will lose plenty of games.
 
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I don’t get the Big Z love. He’s got an uncommon skill set for a guy his size for sure. The problem is he’s not very good yet.
 
5 dukies in top 30. Bradshaw has a long way to go this year to be a first rounder. When’s the last time cal didn’t have a player on his team projected as a first rounder?
 
A few thoughts:
Duke's entire starting five are projected 1st rounders. 40-0 or it's a failure.
No Arkansas dudes. 10-loss Cal will continue.
Why has France become a basketball factory? Puzzling.
Jaxson is a cool name.
 
A few thoughts:
Duke's entire starting five are projected 1st rounders. 40-0 or it's a failure.
No Arkansas dudes. 10-loss Cal will continue.
Why has France become a basketball factory? Puzzling.
Jaxson is a cool name.

Yeah, Cal has proven he can't win without extremely talented rosters. Post 2017 season, he really hasn't nailed one roster of need down. He did solid with the 2019 team but that roster wasn't super talented. 2020 was up and down.

We know about last 4 poor seasons and 2018 was underwhelming as well.

It will be interesting to see how UK does as well if Jaxson is the only first round pick type. I looked back at our title teams and final four teams back to 75 and most had several future first round picks on them. To be fair, this one may too down the road.
 
Z is a guy who should have transferred to a place like Gonzaga. How they use bigs and increase their versatility would have been a good move. Or just stay at UK. That had to be a 2 way street though and not sure how interested Pope was after they talked.

Regardless, he likely made a bad call following Cal if he wants to truly excel.
 
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A few thoughts:
Duke's entire starting five are projected 1st rounders. 40-0 or it's a failure.
No Arkansas dudes. 10-loss Cal will continue.
Why has France become a basketball factory? Puzzling.
Jaxson is a cool name.
You have a lot more faith in Duke’s guards than I do. Proctor and Foster are “meh” for me. Additionally, an All-Freshmen front line hasn’t worked well for Duke in recent years.
 
You have a lot more faith in Duke’s guards than I do. Proctor and Foster are “meh” for me. Additionally, an All-Freshmen front line hasn’t worked well for Duke in recent years.
I was being sarcastic. I actually know very little about their guards.
 
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I was being sarcastic. I actually know very little about their guards.
Oh I know you were. It’s kind of crazy Foster is getting so much love. He averaged 7-2-2 last year. That doesn’t scream Top 10 pick to me unless he makes a big leap this year.
 
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Duke has the most top-tier talent this, that's for sure.

Arkansas has guys that definitely have draft potential. Fland should be a first-rounder IMO (assuming he's not misued). Thiero, Z, Wagner, Know, Brazille, and Davis all have NBA potential. I can't imagine them all getting the PT they think they deserve or Calipari meshing a good lineup together, despite a ton of talent. They'll have the talent to beat anybody, but probably be handcuffed with bad lineups by Calipari.

Maybe I'm wrong, but wouldn't shock me to see Carr get drafted, if he can truly stretch the floor and pass it. I'm not saying he will, but I'm excited to see him in our offense.

Next year's draft seems pretty strong. Reed was wise to go when he did. Even if he improved, he wouldn't have been drafted any higher. Plus, NIL can't compete with the third pick, on top of worrying about an injury.
 
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