I'm surprised nobody has started this yet.
Heading into the college basketball season, there appears to be two top contenders for the #1 pick.
The consensus #1 seemed to be Chet Holmgren, who was the #1 rated recruit coming out of high school and is now at Gonzaga. There really hasn't been a player like him, and his measurables kind of tell the story: 7'1" and generously listed 195lbs. Holmgren is either the future of basketball, or a bust waiting to happen. He plays mostly on the wing, sharing the court with Drew Timme at Gonzaga will ensure that, and is an excellent overall player skill-wise for his size. Good shooter with good form and quick release; can handle the ball extremely well for his size, can pass. Soft touch around the rim even though dunking is so easy for him. Has the potential to be the best defensive player in the NBA one day due to his length, agility and timing. Can switch out on the perimeter and also protect the rim; and isn't afraid to challenge guys and get dunked on. So far he has been pretty blah at Gonzaga, but that can happen as a freshmen playing on a loaded team. To me the skills and how he adjusts to the increased physicality of the college game is more interesting than what his counting stats look like.
The other contender, and perhaps he has leaped past Chet already thanks to a great start to his college career at Duke, is Paolo Banchero. Banchero is drawing early comparisons to Carmelo, but Banchero is bigger than Carmelo and a superior athlete. He reminds me a bit of Michael Porter Jr. without the injury concerns, but bulkier at 6'10 and 250lbs. Banchero has always looked like he was playing with people younger than him, just a man amongst boys with a refined game that breaks down defenses and makes difficult shots. He's a great athlete as well and can score at all three levels. Concerns would be he turns the ball over a lot, and he did recently get jammed up in a DUI issue (he wasn't drunk driving but was in a car with someone who was) but other than that, he seems like a safer #1 pick than Holmgren, with Holmgren offering perhaps a higher ceiling.
There are plenty of other players; Jabari Smith, Jalen Duran, two Jaden's (Hardey and Ivey), Caleb Houston and many others who I am sure will be discussed a lot between now and next June.
Heading into the college basketball season, there appears to be two top contenders for the #1 pick.
The consensus #1 seemed to be Chet Holmgren, who was the #1 rated recruit coming out of high school and is now at Gonzaga. There really hasn't been a player like him, and his measurables kind of tell the story: 7'1" and generously listed 195lbs. Holmgren is either the future of basketball, or a bust waiting to happen. He plays mostly on the wing, sharing the court with Drew Timme at Gonzaga will ensure that, and is an excellent overall player skill-wise for his size. Good shooter with good form and quick release; can handle the ball extremely well for his size, can pass. Soft touch around the rim even though dunking is so easy for him. Has the potential to be the best defensive player in the NBA one day due to his length, agility and timing. Can switch out on the perimeter and also protect the rim; and isn't afraid to challenge guys and get dunked on. So far he has been pretty blah at Gonzaga, but that can happen as a freshmen playing on a loaded team. To me the skills and how he adjusts to the increased physicality of the college game is more interesting than what his counting stats look like.
The other contender, and perhaps he has leaped past Chet already thanks to a great start to his college career at Duke, is Paolo Banchero. Banchero is drawing early comparisons to Carmelo, but Banchero is bigger than Carmelo and a superior athlete. He reminds me a bit of Michael Porter Jr. without the injury concerns, but bulkier at 6'10 and 250lbs. Banchero has always looked like he was playing with people younger than him, just a man amongst boys with a refined game that breaks down defenses and makes difficult shots. He's a great athlete as well and can score at all three levels. Concerns would be he turns the ball over a lot, and he did recently get jammed up in a DUI issue (he wasn't drunk driving but was in a car with someone who was) but other than that, he seems like a safer #1 pick than Holmgren, with Holmgren offering perhaps a higher ceiling.
There are plenty of other players; Jabari Smith, Jalen Duran, two Jaden's (Hardey and Ivey), Caleb Houston and many others who I am sure will be discussed a lot between now and next June.