Predicting Mountain West NBA Draft Declarations
Taking a stab at which players will declare for the NBA Draft
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Which Mountain West players will test the NBA Draft waters this spring?
Now that the season has wrapped up for most Mountain West basketball teams, it’s time to start transitioning to the offseason. We’ll see plenty of announcements of coaching changes and transfers over the coming weeks and months as well as NBA Draft declarations.
There are four Mountain West players I expect will test the waters and declare for the NBA Draft this season. Check out my predictions below.
Derrick Alston, Boise State
Bio: Forward; 6-8, 185 pounds; sophomore
24/7 Sports recruiting rating: none
Season stats: 33 G, 21 GS, 13.4 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 48.5 FG%, 38.4 3P%
Advanced stats: 113.9 ORtg, 14.2 turnover rate, 71.6 at-rim FG%
The Athletic NBA Mock Draft 2.0: not ranked
The Boise State forward came to campus as a preferred walk-on but has the ability to play his way into the position of becoming at least a G-League once he’s done with school. Alston is lanky and still needs to fill out his frame, but he certainly represents a player that can morph into a NBA-type stretch forward. He knocked down four three-pointers in Boise State’s loss to Nevada in the Mountain West Tournament quarterfinals. He’s the son of former NBA player Derrick Alston.
Gone-o-meter:✌️✌️
Jordan Brown, Nevada
Bio: Forward; 6-11, 210 pounds; freshman
24/7 Sports recruiting rating: 5*, 0.9933 composite rating, 19th in class
Season stats: 32 G, 1 GS, 3.1 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 50.6 FG%
Advanced stats: 97.2 ORtg, 5.5 block %, 75.0 at-rim FG%
The Athletic NBA Mock Draft 2.0: not ranked
Nevada’s McDonald’s All-American didn’t see a ton of playing time this season but he still has the promise of becoming a stud and going to the next level. The former five-star recruit was shuffled behind Trey Porter and Tre’Shawn Thurman in the Wolf Pack frontcourt this season but did show off signs of why NBA scouts are interested in him throughout the year. Brown likely returns to Reno, and could have a major sophomore breakout with added playing time.
Gone-o-meter:✌️
Neemias Queta, Utah State
Bio: Center; 6-11, 240 pounds; freshman
24/7 Sports recruiting rating: none
Season stats: 34 G, 34 GS, 11.9 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 2.4 BPG, 62.7 FG%
Advanced stats: 25.9 defensive rebounding %, 10.7 block %, 5.0 fouls drawn per 40
The Athletic NBA Mock Draft 2.0: not ranked
Definitely the most intriguing prospect on the list, Neemias Queta was a relatively unknown commodity until the second half of this season. The Portuguese import was a late addition to the Utah State roster in August as a lightly-recruited big man and now all we can wonder is how a guy of his stature and ability slipped through the cracks. Queta was both the Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the conference this season, and could be an excellent defensive-first big man at the next level.
https://twitter.com/JHoyNBA/status/1080679742527946753
Gone-o-meter:✌️✌️✌️
Jalen McDaniels, San Diego State
Bio: Forward; 6-10, 195 pounds; sophomore
24/7 Sports recruiting rating: 4*, 0.9266 composite rating, 120th in class
Season stats: 34 G, 34 GS, 15.9 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.1 SPG, 46.6 FG%
Advanced stats: 27.9 usage %, 22.7 defensive rebounding %, 4.7 fouls drawn per 40
The Athletic NBA Mock Draft 2.0: 31st overall (Brooklyn)
Jalen McDaniels is the most NBA-ready of the bunch. The Aztec forward has continually developed his game into what will be more comparable at the next level, including working on filling out his frame, improving defensively, and extending the range on his jumper. All of these things have been made true this year, and you have to wonder now how much time McDaniels has left in college. His brother, Jaden, a top five recruit for 2019, is considering San Diego State for next season, making things that much more interesting to see what happens with the McDaniels bros.
Gone-o-meter:✌️✌️✌️✌️
Eli Boettger is the lead basketball writer at Mountain West Wire. He’s covered Mountain West basketball since 2015 and his work has been featured on Bleacher Report, NBC Sports, SB Nation, Yahoo Sports, MSN, and other platforms. Boettger is a current USBWA member.