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.
Vaughn, McCullough, Mickey, Andrew Harrison, Tokoto, Christmas, Frazier See Draft Stock Rise After Combine; Cliff Alexander, Aaron Harrison Plummet
Kentucky Wildcats guard Aaron Harrison (2) saw his draft stock plummet after the NBA Draft Combine while his brother Andrew Harrison (5) saw his rise.: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
Rashad Vaughn, Chris McCullough, Jordan Mickey, Andrew Harrison, J.P. Tokoto, Rakeem Christmas and Michael Frazier all saw their NBA Draft stock rise following this week’s combine in Chicago.
Kansas’s Cliff Alexander, meantime, fell out of the first round, while Aaron Harrison fell off the draft board completely.
According to DraftExpress.com, which covered the combine extensively, the 6-foot-5 Vaughn, a one-and-done shooting guard out of UNLV, moved into the first round at No. 29 from No. 41.
McCullough, a 6-10 one-and-done forward from Syracuse who is recovering from ACL surgery and did not do any activities at the combine, moved into the first round to No. 30 from No. 33.
Mickey, a 6-7 sophomore forward from LSU who played well in the 5-on-5 games in Chicago, jumped 14 spots to No. 31 from No. 45.
Harrison, the 6-5 sophomore point guard from Kentucky who also performed well in front of NBA personnel in Chicago, moved up 11 spots to No. 32 from No. 43.
Tokoto, a 6-6 shooting guard from North Carolina, advanced 12 spots to No. 34 from No. 46.
Christmas, a 6-9 junior big man from Syracuse, jumped 20 spots to No. 36 from No. 56.
And Frazier, a 6-4 shooting guard from Florida, moved up to No. 47 from No. 55.
Among the biggest losers were Alexander, the 6-9 Kansas freshman who missed time down the stretch as NCAA investigated his mother’s ties to a financial firm specializing in pre-draft loans for athletes.. He dropped out of the first round to No. 41 after being at No. 27. In February, he was the projected No. 17 pick.
After a poor combine showing, Aaron Harrison dropped from the No. 60 spot and is no longer on the draft board.
“I didn’t shoot the ball well at all,” Harrison, who made 5 of 21 shots (1 of 7 from 3) in two games in Chicago, told beat writer Jerry Tipton.
The NBA Draft lottery is Tuesday and the Draft is June 25 at Barclays Center.
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.
