2014 NBA Draft: How the Top Prospects Are Playing so Far This Season

The talent in the 2014 NBA Draft class has been hyped up since before these youngins' were out of high school.  There was a lot of pressure on these teenage stars to live up to all the hype, and so far, they have not disappointed.

Jabari Parker, Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle and the several other budding stars of the 2014 draft all have NBA general managers and owners counting down the days to the draft.  216 to be exact.

Freshmen Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins both gave stellar performances in their national debuts going head-to-head in the perfectly-titled Champions Classic. 

Fellow-freshmen Julius Randle readied the stage for Wiggins and Parker with a spectacular performance of his own. 

There are some lofty expectations for this draft class, that has been called the most talented draft since Kevin Durant and Greg Oden by Gary Tanguay of CSNNE.com and is the cause of NBA teams allegedly tanking just to get a chance at one of these bright stars.

So far, these young stars haven’t disappointed.

Jabari Parker

Parker went for 27 points on 9-of-18 shooting and 4-for-7 from three in his national debut against Wiggins and the rest of the University of Kansas Jayhawks.  He also grabbed nine rebounds and had three steals.

And although Duke lost, thanks to a couple of clutch Wiggins shots, Parker stole the show. 

He scored in virtually every way possible—from three, from mid-range, from the free-throw line, a dunk, a layup.  I mean, there’s nothing out of Parker’s repertoire.

He is arguably the most offensively well-rounded basketball player in college basketball and has been compared to former Duke great Grant Hill.  Just check out this side-by-side comparison.

His scoring ability is crazy.  He has counter-moves for his counter-moves and an incredibly efficient jumper to match.

So far this season, the 6’8” freshman is averaging 22.4 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game in 27.6 minutes of play.  He is also shooting an insane 65 percent from three and is shooting 55.6 percent from the floor.

With the amount of jumpers Parker takes, that is an incredibly efficient number.

Most of the hype surrounding the 2014 draft class focused on  Wiggins as No. 1 and Parker at No. 2, but Parker is a winner, and so far this season, he’s stolen the spotlight from Wiggins.

As teammate Quinn Cook describes him, “He wants to be great.  If it’s a scrimmage, a practice, a free-throw competition, he wants to be great.  He is a workhorse,” as reported by Michael Rosenberg of Sports Illustrated.

Parker has already made history, becoming the first Duke freshman under Mike Kryzyzewski since Michael Beasley and Eric Gordon to score at least 20 points in each of his first four games of his career.  But it seems Parker’s remarkable performances aren’t enough for the Duke forward.

When asked by Rosenberg how he would grade his performance in Duke’s loss to the Jayhawks, Parker replied, “C minus.”

If a C minus is 27 points on 50 percent shooting with four threes, I’d like to see what an A looks like, or even a B.

Most NBA scouts see Wiggins with a higher ceiling, more potential, but if Parker’s C minus game looks that good, with his pro-like scoring ability he may have the most upside of any player in the 2014 draft.

Andrew Wiggins

As I mentioned before, although all the talented players in the upcoming draft class gained attention, Wiggins was top dog.

Before even attempting his first shot of his college career, he had been dubbed the “best recruit since LeBron James.”  He had been on the cover of Sports Illustrated (so had Parker.)  And Kevin Durant had this to say about him as reported by Cameron Tomarchio of The Herald Sun, “He’s raw, but his ceiling is high.  He can be like a Hall of Famer, All-Star, for sure. He’s good.”

He is projected as the No. 1 overall draft pick of the 2014 draft class and has been for quite some time.

His raw athleticism is unmatched.  See video below.

That’s what KD means when he says “his ceiling is high.”

Although Wiggins has crazy potential and some out-of-this-world athleticism, I mean he is the child of a former NBA player and a former Olympic sprinter and silver medalist, his skills still need some refining.

So far this season Wiggins is averaging 17 points and six rebounds per game in just under 30 minutes.  Good numbers, but not great.  He is shooting 54.5 percent from the field, but only 33.3 percent from three.

He also only has one block total in his three games so far. 

With his athleticism and 7’0” wingspan, as reported by Draftexpress.com, he should be blocking more shots than that.  And grabbing more rebounds than six per game. 

He also needs to expand his game with shooting from the outside.  He can definitely shoot, but he needs to be more consistent.  Thirty-three percent from the three-point line isn’t exactly stellar shooting especially for a guard, which is what Wiggins is listed as for Kansas.

But let’s not forget, in James’ first season in the NBA, at the same age Wiggins is now, he shot a measly 29 percent from three.  And I’d say he turned out pretty well.

So far, Parker is outshining Wiggins, but with Wiggins’ raw athleticism, he may be able to pass Parker with some fine-tuning.  And may very well be what LeBron was for the Cleveland Cavaliers for whatever possibly-tanking team gets their hands on him first.

Julius Randle

With Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins hogging most of the spotlight, Julius Randle seems like a third wheel.  But man is he far from it.

His name shouldn’t just be tossed around with Wiggins and Parker as a No. 3 pick.  The University of Kentucky freshman is arguably the most NBA-ready of the 2014 draft class.

As Skip Bayless says, he’s already got his “man body.”

The 6’9” 250-pound freshman is a beast.

Michigan State’s Branden Dawson, who guarded Randle almost all night in the Champions Classic, said this of the freshman per Rosenberg of Sports Illustrated, “I’m sore all around.  He’s strong.  I didn’t really think he was that strong.  He is just tough.”

Dawson isn’t exactly a bean-pole himself.  He is a 6’6” 225-pound junior at one of the top collegiate programs in the country.

Dawson continued about Randle as reported by Rosenberg:

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“He is relentless to score.  He demands the ball.  You really don’t see that too much, a freshman coming in that hungry to score.  But he wants to score on every possession.”

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That relentlessness has paid off for Randle.  So far, he is averaging 20.8 points per game. 

Not only is Randle relentless to score, he is also relentless on the boards.  He has become known as a double-double machine, averaging 13.4 rebounds per game to go along with his 20 points.

The Wildcats haven’t had much competition this season, winning by at least 29 points in all four of their wins so far this season.  Although this may boost his numbers, Randle doesn’t back down from competition.

In Kentucky’s loss against No. 2 Michigan State, he had one of his biggest games, scoring a season-high 27 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.

He has yet to make a three-pointer this season, but he is shooting an efficient 61.1 percent from the floor.

If Randle can expand his game outside the three, his beast mode will be at full throttle.

These three aren’t the only fantastic picks in the 2014 draft.  Marcus Smart, who just had an amazing 39-point game against No. 11 University of Memphis, scoring point guard Dante Exum and Blake Griffin-like Aaron Gordon have also been amazing this season.

This is a special draft and thanks to the NBA’s one-year rule, college basketball gets to experience all of them this year.  Can you imagine March Madness this year?  If the first few weeks are any indication, we’re in for a great year of college basketball.