NBA Draft Big Board 2.0: The Top 30 players in the draft

5 of 11

Johnny Davis, Wisconsin Badgers. Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images /

NBA Draft Big Board 2.0: No. 10-12

10. Tari Eason, Forward, LSU

The next two players on the big board may end up being the best defensive players in this class. He is constantly moving with a tremendous motor, banging bodies in the post or sliding in front of guards on the perimeter. He averaged a wild number of steals and blocks last season as the captain of LSU’s defense. He is a plus athlete who draws fouls but is likely best suited for a secondary or tertiary offensive role at the next level. If he is an All-Defense candidate that will work out just fine for whatever team drafts him.

11. Jeremy Sochan, Forward, Baylor

If Eason is not the best defender from this class in five years, it may be because Jeremy Sochan has taken the league by storm. He is big, fast, lateral smooth and strong; in other words, he can defend all five positions, with the speed to recover to shooters or glide in for blocks at the rim. He is a good finisher and solid passer, but his shaky jumpshot will be the swing skill. Does he end up as Michael Kidd-Gilchrist or as Dorian Finney-Smith? Maybe a little Draymond Green mixed in? The defensive upside is star-level; what comes along on offense?

12. Johnny Davis, Wing, Wisconsin

Johnny Davis fits the profile of a college prospect you want to fade in the NBA Draft, the prolific scorer who was relatively inefficient and got even worse as the season went on. Even so, Davis may be the exception to that rule, as he was injured down the stretch and he isn’t just a ball-stopping chucker; he fights on defense every possession, with a good frame and length to be a plus defender. The more I look into his game the more he starts to creep back up the draft board.