Grading the Top 2015 NBA Draft Prospects from the Kentucky-Louisville Showdown
Thanks to an endless crew of NBA draft prospects, Kentucky's (13-0) journey to perfection remains intact following a 58-50 road win over No. 4 Louisville (11-1) .
The story of the game was ultimately the Wildcats defense, which held the Cardinals to 26 percent shooting and only one assist on the afternoon.
But almost everyone in Kentucky's rotation played a role, while this was a great opportunity for scouts to see Louisville's hot-shot prospects against NBA-caliber competition.
Ironically, the player of the game was Tyler Ulis, who, at 5'9", really isn't on the 2015 NBA draft radar.
But the top 2015 NBA draft prospects got enough action to qualify for individual grades, which we made for them based on their performance Saturday afternoon, as well as their play throughout the year.
Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentucky, 6'11", C, Freshman
1 of 10
Stats vs. Louisville: 10 points, 3-of-7 shooting, nine rebounds, four turnovers
Against Louisville, Karl-Anthony Towns' presence was ultimately bigger than his statistics.
He only finished with three buckets, but Towns controlled the glass, where he pulled in nine rebounds in 26 minutes.
And five of those rebounds were at the offensive end. Towns opened up the game by pulling down his own miss and putting it back in for two.
He played physical down low throughout, particularly while fighting for loose balls.
Offensively, his two other field goals came in the second half, one of which was off a fluid over-the-shoulder post move. The other: an and-1 finish on the break after taking just three dribbles to get to the basket from half court.
On the downside, he did turn the ball over four times. He traveled, forced a pass into the lane and threw another one away under pressure late in the game.
As talented as he is, Towns just isn't as polished as Jahlil Okafor at Duke, and without routine touches, given the depth of Kentucky's frontcourt, he's going to have a tough time making a No. 1 overall case.
But in flashes, we continue to see Towns' superior upside fueled by strong athleticism, inside-out versatility and an aggressive mentality as a rebounder and shot-blocker.
Grade Versus Louisville: B+
Grade for the Year: B+
Montrezl Harrell, Louisville, 6'8", PF, Junior
2 of 10
Stats vs. Kentucky: Nine points, 4-of-9 shooting, eight rebounds, two steals, one block, two turnovers
Montrezl Harrell brought his usual energy and intensity, but at 6'8", he struggled to make much of an impact against Kentucky's NBA-sized front line.
He converted just four shots, though a few of them were fairly impressive. Harrell opened up the game by hitting a beautiful running hook over Karl-Anthony Towns. And he later sunk a catch-and-shoot jumper at the foul line.
In the second half, Harrell activated power mode and finished a contested shot inside through both Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein.
He did a nice job on the glass as well, and at one point, he showed off his textbook box-out technique by sealing off Towns for a rebound while the two were isolated under the boards.
His motor and athleticism also translated to two blocks (I counted one more than the box score did), one of which was of the chase-down variety. On the second, he came from the weak side to swat a Cauley-Stein up-and-under move.
But Harrell ultimately struggled to get post position all afternoon, particularly against Cauley-Stein, who fronted him on numerous possessions.
And when he did get an opportunity, he had trouble finishing over Kentucky's twin towers throughout. "This is the kind of length Montrezl Harrell will see in the NBA, boys and girls," ESPN's Fran Fraschilla tweeted after Cauley-Stein and Towns practically blanketed him on an inside attempt.
Overall, Harrell has been a beast all season at both ends of the floor. From an NBA perspective, you have to love his athleticism, body and willingness to use it. Plus his scoring attack has improved within 10 feet.
But at 6'8" without a very convincing jumper, he has some limitations that could cause general managers to hesitate with a top-10 pick.
The top 20 probably seems like a safer draft projection at this stage.
Grade versus Kentucky: C+
Grade for the Year: A-
Willie Cauley-Stein, Kentucky, 7'0", C, Junior
3 of 10
Stats vs. Louisville: Five points, 2-of-5 shooting, six rebounds, three steals, zero blocks
It's never about the numbers for Willie Cauley-Stein, who continues to impact games from angles the box score doesn't account for.
He played a big role in Montrezl Harrell's fairly quiet afternoon. Cauley-Stein barely even let him catch the ball—he consistently took away the post by fronting Harrell and ultimately forced Louisville's ball-handlers to look for different options.
You could have summed up Cauley-Stein's activity and presence for the season on one second-half play— he deflected an inbounds pass intended for Harrell back to half court, then beat him to it and finished the breakaway dunk.
This was Cauley-Stein's eighth multi-steal game of the year. He's been all over the place for Kentucky, and it's led to turnovers and stops on defense, as well as easy buckets on offense.
Not only is he emerging as a National Player of the Year candidate, but he also has to be rising up NBA draft boards. Viewed as a borderline lottery pick a year ago before choosing to return as a junior, Cauley-Stein seems to have cemented himself in the 2015 top-10 conversation.
You could argue his rise might ultimately take him into the top five if his motor stays revved from here on out.
Grade versus Louisville: B
Grade for the Year: A+
Terry Rozier, Louisville, 6'1", PG, Sophomore
4 of 10
Stats vs. Kentucky: 5-of-18 shooting, 15 points, eight rebounds, zero assists, two steals
The production was there from Terry Rozier—just not in all the right places.
In a game where Louisville was desperate for playmaking, Rozier finished with zero assists and 13 missed shots.
On the bright side, he racked up 15 points, played solid defense and did a nice job on the glass. He really goes after rebounds and gets up awfully high to pull them down.
At the top of that zone, Rozier's pressure and quickness undoubtedly contributed to Andrew and Aaron Harrison's nightmare afternoon (combined 3-of-16 shooting, seven turnovers).
Offensively, he nailed a three, a floater and a pull-up, but with every make came a brick. He threw up a bunch of them on jumpers, and late in the game, he forced a reckless drive resulting in a wild air-ball layup.
Rozier's shot selection can be erratic, while his ability to facilitate also remains a question mark. On the year, he has 26 assists and 26 turnovers.
From an NBA standpoint, his athleticism, defense and rebounding ability for the position will keep him in the NBA draft conversation. But without any sign of point guard potential and a shaky perimeter game, his status as a first-round option remains up in the air.
Unless he's the next Eric Bledsoe, it's just tough to imagine teams reaching on a 6'1" scorer.
Grade versus Kentucky: B
Grade for the Year: B
Trey Lyles, Kentucky, 6'10", PF, Freshman
5 of 10
Stats vs. Louisville: Six points, 3-of-6 shooting, nine rebounds, four assists, one steal
Trey Lyles was as good as anyone on the floor Saturday afternoon, even if it didn't show up in the scoring column.
He pulled in six offensive rebounds, which should probably make scouts salivate, considering he projects as a 4 at the NBA level, even though he's been forced into playing the 3 at Kentucky.
Active inside throughout, Lyles looked smooth on the perimeter as well, where he hit three mid-range jumpers with textbook mechanics and fluidity.
He also dished out four assists, three of which highlighted his quality basketball IQ. The first was a quick pass from the wing to a cutting Dakari Johnson in the lane. The second was a skip pass to an open Devin Booker, who drained a three. And the last was a heads-up outlet pass off a defensive rebound that resulted in an uncontested fast-break dunk for Booker once again.
"I tell you who else was really good today: Trey Lyles. I mean, wow," said coach John Calipari following the game (via Dan Bodner of Kentucky Sports Radio).
Lyles isn't a standout athlete, but between his polished skill set, face-up mobility for a 6'10" big and all-around poise, it's hard to ignore his NBA-role-player potential.
I'm still not sure he leaves for the pros after one season, but whenever he does, chances are he'll earn some first-round consideration.
Grade versus Louisville: A-
Grade for the Year: B
Andrew Harrison, Kentucky, 6'6", PG, Sophomore
6 of 10
Stats vs. Louisville: Three points, 1-of-6 shooting, four assists, six turnovers, three rebounds, zero steals
Andrew Harrison just never found a rhythm against Louisville's quicker, more athletic backcourt. He turned the ball over a whopping six times, as the pressure defense got to him on multiple occasions.
At one point, he was called for a carrying violation at half court. He also got stripped on a couple of drives by help defenders.
In the first half, he tossed up a lob that nobody grabbed and then put his head down in disappointment while Louisville quickly took it the other way and nailed a three in transition.
If there was a bright spot for Harrison, it was his effectiveness in the drive-and-kick game. His penetration led to three assists, two of which resulted in open three-point makes (one to his brother, Aaron, the other to Tyler Ulis).
But despite all the success Kentucky has had as a group, the Wildcats are simply a more efficient and threatening team when Ulis, who finished with 14 points, two assists and zero turnovers, is in the game.
With Harrison struggling to string together consistency for the second straight year in college, it's just tough to imagine him offering much at the most competitive NBA position. He's fallen out of the first-round conversation, again, and will need to play some convincing high-level ball moving forward to find his way back in it.
Grade versus Louisville: C-
Grade for the Year: C
Marcus Lee, Kentucky, 6'9", PF, Sophomore
7 of 10
Stats vs. Louisville: 1-of-1 shooting, two points, three rebounds, three blocks
Marcus Lee only needed 10 minutes to make an impact. He blocked three shots in that span, including a big one on Montrezl Harrell.
He also pulled in two offensive boards, including a putback slam.
Lee essentially has three jobs to focus on when entering a game, and they all fall under the same umbrella—finishing, shot blocking and crashing the offensive glass.
He offers tremendous interior activity, and given his athleticism, nose for the ball and motor, you get the feeling it could translate to the NBA level in a specialist role that allows him to stick to his strengths.
Without much of a post game or jumper, I'd imagine Lee might stay in school for his junior year, where he'll have more touches to show off his ball skills. Either way, he's established himself as a draftable prospect for any team looking to inject some above-the-rim bounce and electricity to its frontcourt.
Grade versus Louisville: B+
Grade for the Year: B
Devin Booker, Kentucky, 6'6", SG, Freshman
8 of 10
Stats vs. Louisville: Nine points, 3-of-5 shooting, 1-of-2 three-pointers, two rebounds
Devin Booker scored a quiet nine points against Louisville, taking only the good shots that found him within the offense.
He nailed a big spot-up three-pointer with Kentucky up one and 30 seconds left in the first half.
In the second, he demonstrated some impressive body control on a tough finish in traffic and then picked up an easy bucket on the break after leaking out off a defensive rebound.
He did have one "oh-no moment" when he fouled a three-point shooter up eight with only a minute-and-a-half to go. But Booker generally made good decisions, and luckily, Wayne Blackshear missed two of three ensuing free-throw attempts.
The NBA appeal to Booker ultimately stems from his elite shooting stroke—46 percent from downtown on the year—and 6'6" size for the 2-guard position.
He's a bit limited as a scorer inside the arc, and he isn't the greatest athlete. But Booker's ability to space the floor, knock down shots and make the right play speak to his NBA role player potential.
Hopefully he returns as a sophomore to continue expanding his offensive game, but as a shooting specialist, he could attract NBA attention in a projected 2015 field that lacks shooters.
Grade versus Louisville: B
Grade for the Year: B
Dakari Johnson, Kentucky, 7'0", C, Sophomore
9 of 10
Stats vs. Louisville: Two points, 1-of-2 shooting, nine rebounds, four turnovers, zero blocks
It wasn't the most glamorous performance from Dakari Johnson, who finished with twice as many turnovers as points.
He still lacks fluidity in the post, where he was called for a travel, got stripped and got blocked on three separate occasions.
Johnson's one bucket was nice, though—a floater from the foul-line area, which is essentially about as deep of a shot as you'll see him take.
He did grab nine rebounds, and against Mangok Mathiang, he came up with a good one-on-one stop while isolated in the post.
On the year, Johnson's improved body has led to extra easy-bucket opportunities, as he's making more shots and shooting a better percentage from the floor.
And while he's a force around the rim as a scorer, rebounder and shot-blocker, his inability to threaten the defense away from it weighs down his NBA ceiling. Best-case scenario, we're probably looking at a backup center in the NBA, which could be enough to generate some late-first-round interest.
Grade versus Louisville: B-
Grade on the Year: B
Aaron Harrison, Kentucky, 6'6" SG, Sophomore
10 of 10
Stats vs. Louisville: Seven points, 2-of-10 shooting, 2-of-7 three-pointers, three rebounds, one assist, two steals
I hate to say it, but Aaron Harrison might be falling out of the NBA draft conversation altogether.
He finished with seven points and eight misses against Louisville and now finds himself shooting just 37 percent from the floor on the year.
Harrison continues to just settle for jumpers (1.8 free-throw attempts per game) because of his lack of burst off the dribble. Only he isn't making many of them.
He missed five of seven from downtown Saturday afternoon, and he air-balled his first mid-range jumper of the game.
At this point, Harrison's NBA sales pitch as a perimeter scorer isn't very convincing, considering he's only shooting 27.2 percent from downtown.
A below-average playmaker with an erratic jumper, Harrison doesn't seem like a future pro guard at the moment.
Grade versus Louisville: C
Grade for the Year: C
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