Scouts say Sam Dekker, Frank Kaminsky not top-10 NBA picks
By Phil Watson
According to a report from Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times, four NBA scouts he spoke to were not bullish about the potential of Wisconsin Badgers’ stars Sam Dekker and Frank Kaminsky to be selected in the top 10 of the NBA Draft.
Kaminsky, a senior, will definitely be in the draft pool. Dekker is a junior and will have a decision to make once the Badgers’ season ends.
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The four scouts agreed on six players as being locks to be picked within the top 10 selections: Duke center Jahlil Okafor and small forward Justise Winslow, Kentucky centers Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein, former Prime Prep (Dallas) star Emmanuel Mudiay—a point guard who played in the Chinese Basketball Association this season—and Ohio State point guard D’Angelo Russell.
Three other players were nearly unanimous picks for the top 10—Arizona small forward Stanley Johnson and a pair of international players playing in Spain, Latvian center Kristaps Porzingis and Croatian swingman Mario Hezonja.
Others in the mix to be in the top 10 were UCLA forward and former Milwaukee Hamilton star Kevon Looney, Texas power forward Myles Turner, Kentucky power forward Trey Lyles, Kansas small forward Kelly Oubre and Notre Dame point guard Jerian Grant.
It’s worth pointing out that Grant is the only senior of the group discussed by the scouts.
Drafting has changed in the NBA, flipped 180 degrees. Gone are the days when teams went into the draft looking to select a player who could come in and help them win right away.
Now, it’s all about upside, which is why the top of the draft board is dominated by the 19- and 20-year-old phenoms who play one year of college basketball or, in the case of Mudiay, matriculate overseas rather than playing in college at all.
Mar 20, 2015; Omaha, NE, USA; Coastal Carolina Chanticleers forward Tristian Curtis (21) posts up against Wisconsin Badgers forward Frank Kaminsky (44) and forward Sam Dekker (15) during the first half in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at CenturyLink Center. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
Mudiay is the second major prospect to go the international route; the first, Brandon Jennings, wound up being drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 10th overall pick in 2009 after playing a season with Italian club Lottomatica Roma.
Of those unanimous locks, four of the six players are freshmen, one (Cauley-Stein) is a junior and Mudiay averaged 18 points, 6.3 rebounds, five assists and 1.6 steals per game in 12 games with the Guangdong Southern Tigers.
He had originally committed to play at SMU before changing his mind last summer and opting to go pro.
For what it’s worth, DraftExpress.com disagrees with the scouts—ranking Kaminsky No. 10 in its most recent mock draft.
Kaminsky is averaging 18.7 points, eight rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.5 blocks per game for the Badgers this season. He will go head-to-head against Cauley-Stein and Towns on Saturday when Wisconsin faces Kentucky in the Final Four and earlier this season matched up with Okafor.
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Draft Express has Dekker at No. 16 in its latest mock, should he declare. The former Sheboygan Area Lutheran star is averaging 13.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists this season, but was slowed by an ankle injury early in the year.
He has caught fire in the NCAA tournament, scoring a career-high 23 points in a Sweet 16 win over North Carolina only to top that with 27 in the regional final win over Arizona on Saturday.
In four tournament games, Dekker is averaging 21.8 points per game and has scored at least 20 in three of the four contests. He’s also averaging 5.5 rebounds and an assist and shooting a sizzling .604/.481/.769. He was 5-for-6 from 3-point range in the win over Arizona.
But the problem with Dekker, who will be 21 on May 8, and Kaminsky, who turns 22 on Saturday, is simple.
In the new NBA draft era, those guys are just too old.