Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
DraftExpress.com has moved the Harrison twins to its 2015 Mock Draft from the 2014 draft.
Aaron Harrison is projected as the No. 14 pick in 2015, while Andrew Harrison is listed at No. 22 in 2015 — one spot behind Syracuse point guard Tyler Ennis.
The DraftExpress mock drafts, maintained by Jonathan Givony, are fluid and moving the Harrison twins is his response to how they are playing right now.
“With him struggling as much as he has this season, NBA guys don’t have a whole lot to go off so far,” Givony explained to SNY.tv regarding Andrew Harrison. “They say they know he’s supposed to be a really good prospect since he was rated so highly by the recruiting services, but he simply hasn’t done much to show that to them so far.”
“It’s very early at this stage still and he’s got plenty of time to turn things around.”
At one point, Andrew was listed as a top-5 pick in 2014.
“They both should stay in school for sure,” one NBA executive told SNY.tv. “Based on what we have seen from both of them so far this season, they are not ready to compete at the NBA level night in and night out. They are not even dominating right now at the college level.”
One NBA GM recently told SNY.tv that Andrew Harrison “is a mid-first-round pick” in 2014 while expressing concerns about Aaron Harrison’s NBA future altogether.
“The draft is about future potential and based off the way Michael Carter-Williams is playing for Philly, I’d have to say big guards have a bright future in the NBA,” one Eastern Conference NBA assistant coach told SNY.tv of Andrew.
DraftExpress.com still lists Kentucky’s Julius Randle as the No. 2 pick in 2014, Willie Cauley-Stein at No. 9, James Young at No. 15 and Alex Poythress at No. 30.
Randle and Young are freshmen, and Cauley-Stein and Poythress are sophomores.
There would be huge implications if both twins opted to stay in school another year. Not only would it improve their draft stock, but it would presumably give Kentucky one of the deepest backcourts in the country with the arrival of 2014 guards Tyler Ulis and Devin Booker.
Ulis is a 5-foot-8 point guard out of Chicago, while Booker is a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Moss Point, MS.
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.