2017 NBA Mock Draft: Latest Post-NCAA Championship Predictions

The NCAA men's college basketball tournament isn't the sole evaluator of a player's NBA potential, but it can often provide a nice bump to a player's draft stock in the spring.

Shabazz Napier is one of the biggest examples in recent years of a star playing his way into the first round in the Big Dance. Without the Connecticut Huskies winning a national title—and a complimentary tweet from LeBron James—Napier likely would've heard his name much later on draft night.

Buddy Hield and Trey Burke also helped themselves by playing a starring role on national semifinalists in their final years of college.

Of course, all three of those players have already moved teams after underwhelming starts in the NBA, which illustrates why it's never a good idea to put too much weight in a player's NCAA tournament performance—be it good or bad.

Below is a mock for the first 30 selections of the 2017 draft, followed by a breakdown for three players destined for the mid-to-late stages of the first round and how the NCAA tournament impacted their stock.

2017 NBA First-Round Mock Draft

Pick	Team	Player	School/Country
1	Boston Celtics (via Nets)	Markelle Fultz, G	Washington
2	Phoenix Suns	Josh Jackson, F	Kansas
3	Los Angeles Lakers	Lonzo Ball, G	UCLA
4	Orlando Magic	Dennis Smith, G	NC State
5	Philadelphia 76ers	Jayson Tatum, F	Duke
6	New York Knicks	De'Aaron Fox, G	Kentucky
7	Sacramento Kings	Malik Monk, G	Kentucky
8	Minnesota Timberwolves	Miles Bridges, F	Michigan State
9	Dallas Mavericks	Lauri Markkanen, F	Arizona
10	Sacramento Kings (via Pelicans)	Frank Ntilikina, G	France
11	Detroit Pistons	Jonathan Isaac, F	Florida State
12	Charlotte Hornets	John Collins, F	Wake Forest
13	Denver Nuggets	Jarrett Allen, F/C	Texas
14	Indiana Pacers	OG Anunoby, G/F	Indiana
15	Portland Trail Blazers	Zach Collins, F	Gonzaga
16	Chicago Bulls	Rodions Kurucs, F	Latvia
17	Miami Heat	Ivan Rabb, F	California
18	Atlanta Hawks	Isaiah Hartenstein, F	Germany
19	Milwaukee Bucks	TJ Leaf, F	UCLA
20	Portland Trail Blazers (via Grizzlies)	Edmond Sumner, G	Xavier
21	Oklahoma City Thunder	Terrance Ferguson, G	Australia
22	Brooklyn Nets (via Wizards)	Harry Giles, F/C	Duke
23	Toronto Raptors (via Clippers)	Justin Jackson, F	North Carolina
24	Orlando Magic (via Raptors)	Tyler Lydon, F	Syracuse
25	Utah Jazz	Donovan Mitchell, G	Louisville
26	Brooklyn Nets (via Celtics)	Luke Kennard, G	Duke
27	Portland Trail Blazers (via Cavaliers)	Jonathan Jeanne, F/C	France
28	Los Angeles Lakers (via Rockets)	Jawun Evans, PG	Oklahoma State
29	San Antonio Spurs	Caleb Swanigan, F/C	Purdue
30	Utah Jazz (via Warriors)	Semi Ojeleye, F	SMU

Justin Jackson, F, North Carolina

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Justin Jackson shunned the NBA a year ago, and as ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman argued, it was a smart decision by the North Carolina star:

Jackson's scoring average climbed from 12.2 points per game in 2015-16 to 18.3 in 2016-17, and he averaged nearly one rebound more per game between last year (3.9) and this year (4.7).

However, The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor highlighted one area in which Jackson's development stagnated a bit more:

"

Justin Jackson shot 28.9% on 76 3-pointers over his last 10 games. He can do a lot else (as he showed) but it's crucial his shot translates.

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) April 4, 2017"

The junior forward was a 37-percent shooter from three-point range, but his decline late in the year, coupled with his underwhelming first two seasons, raise a level of concern.

Jackson is a versatile enough player that he can be an NBA rotation option even without consistent three-point shooting. He's a solid rebounder who can score from inside the paint or mid-range.

Should a team select him in the middle part of the first round, though, an NBA team will likely expect Jackson to demonstrate solid range on a regular basis. His junior season represented progress, but he still has some questions to answer. 

TJ Leaf, F, UCLA

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TJ Leaf wasted little time declaring for the 2017 draft. Less than a week after UCLA's defeat to Kentucky, Leaf made his plans for the future known.

In the Bruins' three tourney games, Leaf averaged 17.0 points and 6.7 rebounds. Those solid numbers might have given the freshman forward the confidence necessary to make the jump now rather than wait at least another year—arguably the wiser decision.

Still, Leaf's value as a scorer is enough for him to warrant first-round status. He shot 61.7 percent from the field and 46.6 percent from three-point range. His ability to stretch the floor will be coveted at the next level.

Leaf can also crash the glass, grabbing 8.2 boards a night.

The Bruins star would be a particularly good addition for teams who already have a dominant rim protector.

Zach Collins, F, Gonzaga

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Przemek Karnowski and Nigel Williams-Goss received a lot of plaudits as Gonzaga reached its first national championship, and rightfully so. Without the contributions of the two, the Zags would've been bounced well before the title game.

Zach Collins' contributions off the bench shouldn't be overlooked, though. The freshman center was especially good in the Final Four against South Carolina, when Karnowski was in foul trouble. In 23 minutes in the Bulldogs' 77-73 victory, Collins scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.

The 7-footer averaged 10.0 points and 5.9 rebounds a game over the season. He was also a solid rim protector, blocking 4.1 blocks per 40 minutes, according to Sports-Reference.com.

In an interview with Vice Sports' Sam Vecenie, Collins said defense was an area Gonzaga focused on after he joined to the team:

"

I don't think I was always a great rim protector, but when [Gonzaga] recruited me they said they were going to work on it with me to get me better at it. A lot of it is timing. I'm lengthy, I'm athletic, so that part comes naturally. They talked to me a lot about timing—when to go up, when to help up, how not to help up too early, just little tricks so that when I'm in the air I don't foul and use my length as well as I can.

"

Collins is still far from the finished product, but he gave NBA scouts a taste of what he could do in the NCAA tournament.

At the next level, Collins could have a career similar to Steven Adams. While Adams isn't among the league's best big man, he's clearly a valuable member of the Oklahoma City Thunder's frontcourt with his multifaceted game.