Cavs Draft Viewing Guide: Stock Watch; 3 players to watch in UNC-UCLA
The last five or six days have been heaven on earth for a college basketball and Cleveland Cavaliers fan like myself. The Cavs scored two huge wins over the weekend, beating the Detroit Pistons and Denver Nuggets in their home stand, with the Nuggets one being a thrilling game won in overtime. On top of that, the NCAA Tournament started last Thursday, so I have been watching basketball non-stop up until Monday night’s Cavalier loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The loss to LeBron and the Lakers definitely didn’t end the weekend on a high note, but right now I’m here to talk a little bit about the NCAA Tournament, the top prospects, and three players you should be watching closely when North Carolina and UCLA meet on Friday in the Sweet Sixteen. So let’s not get too down on the Cavaliers before their huge game against the Toronto Raptors on Thursday.
In the mean time, let’s take a look at some prospects whose stock either sky-rocketed or took a hit during the first weekend of the tournament.
Stock Up
Bennedict Mathurin, Forward, Arizona
In what has to be the game of the tournament so far, Mathurin led his Arizona Wildcats to an overtime victory over TCU to earn a birth in the Sweet Sixteen. Mathurin was the leading scorer on Sunday night with 30 points. He also scored 18 points in their opening round win versus 16-seed Wright State. Mathurin has been a top-10 prospect for me all season.
So you’d understand I was shocked when I pulled up Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz of ESPN’s latest mock draft (subscription required), where they had Mathurin going 11 to the New York Knicks. In my opinion, Mathurin could potentially be a top-five pick come draft time.
The sophomore has an NBA-ready frame, standing at 6-foot-6 and weighing 210 pounds. He doesn’t have incredible length, but 6-foot-9 is nothing to laugh about. On top of that, he’s been one of the most consistent players all season. He averaged nearly 18 points over the course of the season, while shooting 46% from the field, and an impressive 37% from three. His defense isn’t anything to write home about, but with more effort he could be a good perimeter defender. His explosion and athleticism have gotten better as the season went along too, and his poster dunk against TCU was pretty amazing.
If Mathurin does end up falling in the 2022 NBA Draft, and the Cavs unfortunately somehow miss the playoffs, they should absolutely consider trading up for him. He’s a perfect fit for the Cavaliers, being able to create his own shot, while also being a good outside shooter. Mathurin will lace em’ up at least one more time this season when Arizona takes on Houston in the Sweet Sixteen on Thursday night at 9:59 PM ET, on TBS.
Chet Holmgren, Center, Gonzaga
Holmgren faced off with another one of this year’s top prospects in Jalen Duren on Saturday night. While the big man wasn’t dominant, he posted a respectable nine-point, nine-rebound, four-block game. However, the bigger stat there is that he was +18 on the night. In a game that was decided by four points, that’s very impressive.
Overall, I still like Jabari Smith as the top prospect in this class, but, Holmgren has pretty much solidified his spot at number two in my opinion. I know Darius Garland called Evan Mobley a “unicorn” about a month ago, but Holmgren is really a unique prospect.
We’ve never seen a 7-footer with the guard skills he has, while also being ahead of his age when it comes to rim-protecting. After watching him play against Memphis, I have no doubt in my mind he could play on an NBA team tomorrow, and be a great rim protector and post defender. He’s that good, and he is still going to put on a decent amount of muscle.