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In just a few weeks from now, Markelle Fultz, Lonzo Ball and Lauri Markkanen will expect to be drafted in the first 16 picks of the 2017 NBA Draft.
Until then, I will breaking down the Pac-12’s NBA prospects for this year, but I wanted to begin by taking a look at what recent Pac-12 pros have accomplished.
The first graph shows each Pac-12 draftee since 2012, with its college win shares per season and NBA win shares per season. There is some correlation to college success, but not nearly as much as I anticipated.
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Also, in table format.
Pac-12 NBA players, 2012-2016
| Year | Name | Team | Pick | College WS/Season | NBA WS/Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Name | Team | Pick | College WS/Season | NBA WS/Season |
| 2016 | Jaylen Brown | California | 3 | 2.7 | 1.5 |
| 2016 | Marquese Chriss | Washington | 8 | 3.1 | 1.7 |
| 2016 | Jakob Poeltl | Utah | 9 | 5.5 | 1.3 |
| 2016 | Dejounte Murray | Washington | 29 | 2.8 | 0 |
| 2016 | Tyrone Wallace | California | 60 | 2.7 | N/A |
| 2015 | Stanley Johnson | Arizona | 8 | 5.7 | 0.5 |
| 2015 | Delon Wright | Utah | 20 | 7.9 | 0.9 |
| 2015 | Rondae Hollis-Jefferson | Arizona | 23 | 5.4 | 1.8 |
| 2015 | Kevon Looney | UCLA | 30 | 4.8 | 0.8 |
| 2015 | Anthony Brown | Stanford | 34 | 3.5 | -0.2 |
| 2015 | Joseph Young | Oregon | 43 | 4.6 | -0.1 |
| 2015 | Norman Powell | UCLA | 46 | 2.8 | 1.9 |
| 2014 | Aaron Gordon | Arizona | 4 | 5.4 | 3.2 |
| 2014 | Zach LaVine | UCLA | 13 | 2.5 | 1.7 |
| 2014 | Jordan Adams | UCLA | 22 | 5.6 | 0.2 |
| 2014 | CJ Wilcox | Washington | 28 | 3.9 | 0.3 |
| 2014 | Kyle Anderson | UCLA | 30 | 4.7 | 2.1 |
| 2014 | Spencer Dinwiddie | Colorado | 38 | 4.1 | 0.9 |
| 2014 | Nick Johnson | Arizona | 42 | 4.5 | -0.1 |
| 2013 | Shabazz Muhammad | UCLA | 14 | 3.7 | 1.9 |
| 2013 | Solomon Hill | Arizona | 23 | 3.8 | 2.2 |
| 2013 | Andre Roberson | Colorado | 26 | 4.6 | 2.7 |
| 2013 | Allen Crabbe | California | 31 | 4.5 | 2.4 |
| 2013 | Carrick Felix | Arizona St | 33 | 2.4 | 0 |
| 2013 | Grant Jerrett | Arizona | 40 | 2.3 | -0.1 |
| 2013 | Arsalan Kazemi | Oregon | 54 | 5.1 | N/A |
| 2012 | Terrence Ross | Washington | 8 | 3.7 | 2.9 |
| 2012 | Jared Cunningham | Oregon St | 24 | 3.2 | 0.1 |
| 2012 | Tony Wroten | Washington | 25 | 3.2 | -0.3 |
So what does that mean for this season? Here are each of the Pac-12 pro prospects that were listed in DraftExpress’ latest mock draft, with win shares per season also recorded.
- Markelle Fultz, Washington, 3.8 WS/Season
- Lonzo Ball, UCLA, 6.8
- Lauri Markkanen, Arizona, 6.7
- Ivan Rabb, California, 4.9
- TJ Leaf, UCLA, 5.8
- Jordan Bell, Oregon, 3.8
- Dillon Brooks, Oregon, 4.4
- Kobi Simmons, Arizona, 2.4
- Kyle Kuzma, Utah, 2.7
Lonzo Ball leads the way with 6.8 win shares, just narrowly edging out Lauri Markkanen’s 6.7. UCLA’s TJ Leaf also appears to be a fairly valuable pick later on in the draft.
Who do you expect will be the most surprising player in this year’s draft class? Leave a comment below or send a tweet to @boettger_eli and @PacificTakes.
(All stats used in this article are courtesy of Sports Reference)