Dreams became reality as eight Big Ten players heard their name called at the NBA Draft last night. Unfortunately, odds are this won’t work out for all of them and the fit is a major reason. We decided to grade the fit of all the Big Ten players drafted last night.
Just to clarify this article is grading the fit for the player not for the team. Sometimes you can be a great fit for a team need, but that fit is terrible for your long term development.
Rather, I am just trying to evaluate if some of our favorite Big Ten players are set up to succeed at the next level.
Let’s get into it.
Jett Howard: Rd 1 Pick 11 / Orlando Magic
Jett Howard was the first Big Ten player selected when the Orlando Magic took him just outside the Top 10.
When you talk about fits it doesn’t get much better than this. Jett Howard fits into the Magic system perfectly. Howard will be asked to do one thing at the next level, and that is to shoot. The 6’8″ wing shot 36.8% on 7 3pt attempts a game in Ann Arbor. His size and shooting stroke are the projectable talents at the next level.
Those traits are so complimentary of the talent around him in Orlando. Paolo Banchero and fellow Wolverine Franz Wagner will star for the Magic and Jett will be able to play off of them. Add in that the Magic drafted another long playmaking guard in Anthony Black at pick 6 and a connecting defensive expert in Andre Jackson Jr in the second round. The Magic are building a core of young talent with limbs everywhere.
Howard will likely come off the bench to start the season, but that could benefit him and allow him to be a Jordan Crawford/Lou Williams/Jordan Clarkson type role in his rookie season. The Magic picked him over guys like Jordan Hawkins, Gradey Dick, and Keyonte George – players some belived were better shooters- so clearly they believe in Jett.
(RIP to former Michigan Wolverine Caleb Houstan though. This pick kind of eliminates the hole he would fill on this roster. Win some lose some for Michigan fans.)
Grade: A+
Kobe Bufkin: Rd 1 Pick 15 / Atlanta Hawks
Just when one Wolverine finds the perfect fit, another finds a terrible one.
Kobe Bufkin to the Hawks is a confusing pick. Bufkin will join a crowded backcourt with Trae Young, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Dejounte Murray, and Saddiq Bey. It would make sense to bring Bufkin in as a secondary playmaker who can play better defense next to Trae Young, if they didn’t just do that by trading for Dejounte Murray.
To me, this pick makes no sense unless the Hawks have some trades coming up to clear up room in the backcourt.
I already had some fears that Bufkin had some James Bouknight potential to him, as a SG who shot up in the pre-draft work only to be given up on quickly by his eventual NBA team.
Grade: D
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Rd 1 Pick 17 / Los Angeles Lakers
Jalen Hood-Schifino became the first non-Wolverine off the board for the Big Ten. The 5-Star recruit from Montverde didn’t last long in Bloomington and now he is headed to the City of Angels.
JHS will play for the biggest franchise in the NBA next to its biggest star in Lebron James. There aren’t many other Lakers under contract either. JHS could walk into a starting role if the Lakers don’t address the starting PG role in free agency. It seems likely that the Lakers will let D’Angelo Russell walk in free agency as they prioritize guys like Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, and Lonnie Walker IV.
JHS can be a secondary creator next to Lebron and take some of the workload off of him in Year 20. JHS should be able to carry some bench unit minutes and organize the team when the King isn’t on the court. Hood-Schifino will need to work on his catch and shoot 3s as he won’t have the ball in his hand as much. I think he will find a way to still get to his spots in the midrange off closeouts and dribble handoffs.
Barring the Lakers signing a bunch of guards in Free Agency, I really like the fit for Hood-Schifino. I liked other fits like Toronto better or another team that would put the ball in his hand a little more. So, I’ll ding it down a bit.
Grade: B
Kris Murray: Rd 1 Pick 23 / Portland Trailblazers
I think I would have put an A grade for any place that Kris Murray would have ended up, because his play style fits in anywhere. Still, Portland is a great situation for Murray.
Portland has Damian Lillard, Shaedon Sharpe, Anfernee Simons, and no.3 pick Scoot Henderson to battle for minutes at the 1-3 spots. They are thin at forward. Nassir Little might be the defacto starter next to Jusuf Nurkic. I wouldn’t be surprised if Murray doesn’t win the starting role eventually.
With Jerami Grant and to a lesser extent Cam Reddish & Justise Winslow heading to Free Agency, the fit could get worse if they bring some Forwards back/in. I think the fact that the Trailblazers are picking him signals some of their intentions.
Kris Murray’s ability to score or be a complimentary player means I am not worried if the Blazers trade Lillard in a week. I think it could upgrade his fit, open up some shots for him to score more and artificially boost his standing. If Lillard stays, I think Murray does what his brother Keegan did this past season and prove how much of a winning player he is.
Grade: A
Brice Sensabaugh: Rd 1 Pick 28 / Utah Jazz
This is a weird one. Which I guess is typical for the Utah Jazz to be weird.
Sensabaugh is a guy who I might project to be a cross between Jordan Clarkson and TJ Warren. Now, Brice will be teammates with Clarkson. Sensabaugh has a real feel to him. He is one of the few prospects I saw play live. He has a great ability to get his shot off. He uses footwork, a solid handle, and ball placement to be able to release his shots. Brice will get buckets at the next level. How many buckets for this Utah team will be interesting.
Guys like Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, Clarkson, and Talen Horton-Tucker will want to get some shots up. Ochai Agbaji, a first round pick from last year, might be the starter at the 3 spot that Sensabaugh looks to occupy. Brice Sensabaugh will have to work on catch and shoot threes as that isn’t really something I would call a strength, but I believe he can make that work.
This fit is murky because it is hard to gauge a tanking team like Utah’s interests. Hopefully, for Brice his talent forces him into a major role.
Grade: C+
Jalen Pickett: Rd 2 Pick 32 / Denver Nuggets
Going to be shorter on 2nd rounders. Jalen Pickett at 32 was a surprise!
Senior superstar Jalen Pickett is a unique player who lead an elite offense by his ability to back people down, score from all three levels, his passing skills and making his teammates better.
Does that sound familiar Denver?
The Nuggets have their starting 5 Jokic, Murray, Porter Jr, Gordon, and KCP all under contract. After that the champions don’t have much. Pickett has a real opportunity to earn some minutes for this team as a backup point guard. How cool would a Pickett Jokic pick and roll be by the way?
Free Agent Reggie Jackson returning or a veteran point coming to the Mile High City would lower the fit, but for now I will give it a B-, which is very high for a 2nd rounder.
Grade: B-
Seth Lundy: Rd 2 Pick 48 / Atlanta Hawks
Seth Lundy makes it two Nittany Lions drafted in the second round!!!
Lundy is a guy who projects very simply as a 3 and D wing at the next level. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out his role. He can fill in next to Trae Young (or whoever is still a Hawk next year) and score some buckets and be a physical presence on the other end of the court.
I already bemoaned the Atlanta roster earlier. Deandre Hunter or Bogdanovich might be on their way out of Georgia by a trade. Still, the wing room is a little crowded this season for the Hawks. Seems like Lundy will be relegated to a deeper bench role with chance to earn more minutes when Hunter gets hurt.
Grade: C
Trayce Jackson-Davis: Rd 2 Pick 57 / Golden State Warriors
One of the biggest losers fo the draft was TJD as he fell all the way and almost went undrafted. I hate this. Trayce is too good to be this late of a pick.
That being said I think TJD fell into a decent spot. The Warriors have been a skilled franchise who have made solid role players out of later picks. With Wiseman gone, the Warriors don’t really have a backup center. Kevon Looney is getting older each year and has battled injuries. TJD could be the day one backup big and play some serious minutes with some Hall of Famers around him.
It is difficult to know how much teams value the 57th pick in the draft. The Warriors might sign one or two bigs in Free Agency. Still, I hope Trayce Jackson-Davis gets his shot to prove all the other NBA teams wrong.
Grade: C+
That was it for the Big Ten. Good luck to Chase Audige, Caleb McConnell, Andrew Funk, and any other Big Ten players who will pursue Summer League invites or two-way contracts! Regardless, all of these players gave us Big Ten fans plenty of great memories and we thank them for that.