NBA Draft 2014: Delon Wright Is the Best Prospect You've Never Heard Of

Every college basketball season there are a few solid NBA prospects who mysteriously fly under the NBA draft radar.  This year, Utah's Delon Wright is one of those players.  Wright is the younger brother of NBA veteran swingman Dorell Wright.  Unlike his older brother, whom he apparently easily beats one-on-one, Delon Wright is a 6'5" playmaking guard—and a particularly dynamic one at that.

Wright is advantageously tall for a point guard, especially at the college level, and he appears to have the skill set necessary to play that same position as a pro.  Because of academic issues, Wright spent two years at City College of San Francisco before arriving at Utah this season.  His transition from community college to the PAC-12 was seamless: Wright's mixture of size, fluidity and on-court intelligence overwhelmed Division I opponents immediately.  However, NBA scouts haven't seemed to notice.

Wright's all-around production for a decent Utes team has been rather jaw-dropping. He's averaging 16 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 2.8 steals and 1.3 blocks per game—and shooting 60% from the field.  His long-range shooting needs work, but when a point guard prospect shoots 60% from the field such flaws can be overlooked for the time being.

Players in the Pac-12 with statistics like Wright's should be very much in the 2014 first-round draft discussion, but Wright's name rarely pops up.  One reason is perhaps because of his age—Wright will be 22 in April—and another might be his somewhat unusual path to Utah.  But none of these things should matter—any tall point guard who mixes offensive efficiency with dominant defense (2+ steals and 1+ blocks per game) has to be taken seriously as a highly intriguing prospect.  With Wright, so far, that has not been the case.  He could be a draft day heist in June.

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