JT Toppin tore his ACL, which is devastating for his season and for his team but he is young enough that it shouldn’t be too bad for his long term career. He’ll move down some just because he becomes slightly riskier long term and should still be injured at the time of draft.
Caleb Wilson broke his left hand. Reports have that he actually may return soon.
Richie Saunders also tore his ACL. Unfortunately for him, being 24 and having this injury will probably end much hope for an NBA career. I hope for his sake I am wrong but we should move him to the bottom of our list or completely off.
This time of year is where we are going to see the wear and tear of the season take it’s toll. These are special athletes and young but they’re human and many care about their college careers but some are being extra cautious not to have a college injury hurt NBA chances. I don’t doubt Darryn Peterson’s injuries but I suspect the amount of time he sits out is more than someone who has the same injuries but isn’t guaranteed NBA playing time. Simply said, he’s already load managing and at his age and ability it rubs a lot of people the wrong way.
That being said, he gets rave reviews from people who work with him in the gym, including terrific player development coach Phil Beckner who we know holds players to a very high standard. For now he remains our number 1 rank but Dybantsa has been putting on a show and has been available so there’s more evidence he should take over the top spot if questions remain about Peterson’s availability.
Kingston Flemings has moved up the charts with consistent production and an explosive 42 point game a month ago. He has probably been under-ranked for awhile.
We also finally moved Keaton Wagler up to the 11th ranking. It’s not that we were skeptical, we just wanted to see more of body of work. He’s proved he deserves being a lottery pick.