#BIGEASThoops NBA Draft Guide
By John Fanta
NEW YORK - The core four of a powerhouse national championship team, a two-way wing who defines lockdown defense, and stellar seniors highlight the BIG EAST storylines on NBA Draft week.
You're going to see a lot of Villanova on draft night, and rightly so. The way that the national champions rolled through the NCAA Tournament with double-digit wins just kept driving the stock of their four stars - Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo and Omari Spellman. For Jay Wright, having four selections is certainly new. The Wildcats have had multiple selections in the Wright era one other time, back in 2006, but it was just two players in Randy Foye and Kyle Lowry.
"It's been very time-consuming, but it's a great thing," said Wright of his new challenge. "Usually, you have one or two guys, but to have four guys going through this at the same time, it takes up a lot of time. They're your guys and you want to spend time with them, while also balancing spending time with the guys that are playing for you next year."
"I'm really impressed with how the four guys that are in this process have handled it," the Villanova head coach added. "They've been really intelligent about it, even Dante and Omari, who had difficult choices to make, but had good options. I think they made the right decisions. Mikal and Jalen were very business-like as usual. I think they both put themselves in great spots. Overall, I feel really good about the way everyone's handled it."
Projections have seen all four Wildcats potentially getting picked in the first round of the draft. All signs point to Mikal Bridges being a lottery pick, with much buzz surrounding the Philadelphia 76ers at the 10th selection.
As for DiVincenzo, his stock has surged to new heights ever since the historic 31-point effort in the Wildcats' national title game win over Michigan. "Big Ragu" is now a consensus first-rounder.
While Brunson's status has ranged in the 20's and early second round, one thing is certain - his decision-making and maturity are the perfect fit for an NBA roster. He's the type of guy that a front office and coaching staff will never have to worry about.
Spellman has not hit his ceiling yet, but sees that as a strength with draft night inching closer.
There's certainly major history that can happen for Villanova on Thursday. The last time a BIG EAST team had four or more draft selections from one school was 2006, when UConn courted five players (Rudy Gay, Hilton Armstrong, Marcus D. Williams, Josh Boone and Denham Brown).
Switching gears to the rest of the NBA Draft prospects, a common theme since BIG EAST reconfiguration, pops up again this week. Creighton once again has a first round hopeful, their third in five years. Khyri Thomas looks to join Doug McDermott (2014, 11th Pick) and Justin Patton (2017, 16th Pick) in that category on Thursday night. A two-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year award winner, Thomas has a 6-foot-10 wingspan that he used at Creighton to guard opposing stars. The evolution of his offensive game is what has built Thomas' stock, and he credits that to playing under Greg McDermott. Boosting his points per game and field goal percentage by three points as a junior for the Jays this past year, Thomas capitalized on the rising hype and entered the draft with an agent.
"They're going to get a guy with an unbelievable motor," said Greg McDermott in an interview with NCAA.com. "What they (NBA teams) see defensively from Khyri in games is what we've seen in practice in each of the last three years. And, he's improved at an incredible level offensively throughout the course of his career."
Two other names that are receiving some draft buzz are Butler's Kelan Martin and Seton Hall's Angel Delgado.
Martin, an All-BIG EAST First Team selection this past year, put together an outstanding senior season. The 6-foot-7 wing was a match-up nightmare, posting 21.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and leading the Dawgs to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. His size has been appetizing to scouts, and it's why Martin, a bucket-getter with range in college, is getting looked at by NBA teams.
Delgado rewrote history at Seton Hall, becoming the all-time BIG EAST rebounder and charging the Pirates to three straight NCAA Tournaments for just the second time in program history. Winning the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award as the best center in college basketball, there is no doubt that Delgado is on teams' radars. The 6-foot-10 big man has worked on getting his perimeter game shaped up for the pro ranks, which is a key question for him going forward. But, what he did at The Hall on the boards is nothing short of incredible, and his passion level speaks for itself.
Follow BIGEAST.com, @BIGEASTMBB on Twitter and the BIG EAST Facebook Page for NBA Draft Coverage all week long, including from Brooklyn on Thursday night. The Draft will be televised on ESPN on Thursday at 7 PM ET.