#22 UConn squares off against #19 Auburn in a prospect preview with players all over the draft board. Will these prospects be able to increase their draft stock and who comes away with the win?
Auburn and UConn faceoff today as the only game on the slate featuring two ranked teams. Both enter the day undefeated and looking to add a signature win to their resume. After the loss of James Bouknight to the NBA ranks, UConn has still found themselves in a position to compete within their conference and deep into March. Auburn has added a five star prospect in Jabari Smith to offset the loss of Sharife Cooper. It feels like in a season that has so many questions both of these teams will give strong consistent performances. Both extremely well coached, expect the Huskies and Tigers to go down to the final buzzer today.
UConn Huskies: As previously mentioned, Hurley and company lost their star James Bouknight to the draft last season. However, their ability to program build and develop their young talent has put them in a position to compete once again. Looking to remain undefeated in non-conference play, this will be the first real test on the Huskies schedule. After defeating their last four opponents by forty one points, on average, this game should be much tighter and give a the nation a real idea of how good UConn can be this year. Expect the team to lean on their defense and the leadership of Sanogo, Martin and Cole.
Andre Jackson: Jackson’s first season was derailed by injury and he is slowly getting back to who we thought he could be. Already starting more games than he did last year, he has taken a large step forward in the box score. While some may contend it is hard to measure his year over year performance because of his injury history he does have all the makings of a solid NBA prospect. Jackson has good size for a guard and while he isn’t taking many shots from the floor his shooting splits are 47/50/80. An explosive athlete he should continue to make progress this year. I believe he has a chance to be drafted this year based on his potential ceiling. Jackson should test the NBA waters but I believe will ultimately return to school next year to increase his draft stock. With solid prospects with more than two years of experiences have found success being drafted, usually in the second round, age isn’t impacting solid prospects as negatively compared to a few years ago. If Jackson can continue on his current trajectory expect him to be a second round prospect in the next two years.
MIP Projection: Second Round Pick 2023
Auburn Tigers: The Auburn Tigers are undefeated on the year but not as convincingly as UConn. In their most recent game, moving to 3-0, the team barely escaped against USF. Auburn is a good team but they are still working on their chemistry and it has shown. UConn should be a solid test for the team but win or lose I wouldn’t panic. The Tigers are a team that will only get better as the season goes on and with the SEC seemingly wide open, I wouldn’t be surprised if they challenged for the regular season title. A lock for March the team has both experience and NBA talent on the roster.
Walker Kessler: Kessler can be considered an NBA prospect because of what he could do, not necessarily what he has done over the last two years. The 7-1 big man transferred to Auburn after one season with UNC where he averaged 4 points, 3 rebounds and 1 block shooting 57/25/54. Kessler is a more traditional big man even though he is working on finding his range from outside. In his first three games at Auburn he is shooting a higher percent from inside the arc but with an increased volume in three point shooting his overall field goal percentage has dropped year over year. A question mark at the free throw line and a lack of offensive results is a bit concerning for Kessler. If he is able to find a rhythm outside and continue to improve his offensive game, a team may be interested in taking a flyer on Kessler in the undrafted free agent market. In my opinion, like Jackson, unless Kessler makes a major jump he should stay one more year at Auburn and hope he can make a massive leap before the 2023 draft. MIP Projection: Undrafted 2022, Late Second/Undrafted 2023
Allen Flanigan: We wrote about Flanigan last year and the jump he made between his freshman and sophomore season. Even though he will not be playing anytime soon, due to an Achilles injury that is projected to sideline him for 12-14 weeks, he should still be considered a NBA draft prospect. This season felt like it would be Flanigan’s breakout year, the 6-6 215lb guard was poised to make another statistical leap and now we will have to wait until at least mid December to see him debut. There will be obvious questions about his health when he returns but if he is able to stay healthy the rest of the season it should remind everyone that he can play at the next level. In my opinion, Flanigan could have come out last year and found himself in the G-League but he instead chose to stay. Regardless of his injury he has shown a consistent development and should get first round consideration this year. MIP Projection: Late First Round/Early Second Round
Jabari Smith: A top five prospect and a presumed top five pick, it is hard to think of someone so uncovered by the media like Jabari Smith. It feels like the, deserved, hype of Banchero, Holmgren and Bates has overshadowed the best recruit/prospect Auburn has had in a longtime. Even with the emergence of Sharife Cooper last year and Isaac Okoro the year before that, Smith isn’t receiving the coverage he deserves. What can’t Smith do? Through three games he is averaging 13/9/2 with shooting splits of 43/47/70 while also adding two steals and a block. He is 6-10, 220 pounds and he has shown he can space the floor, run in transition and play point forward while handling the ball. At 18 years old he does have portions of his game to work on, additional weight will help him become a more willing post player as he prefers to take jumpshots. For someone his size he has only taken six shots around the rim but I believe that will come with his development. He is bigger and can be stronger than most college athletes and the same remains true for the NBA. Smith has a frame that he can build on and as he gains more confidence in himself, interior scoring should follow. With a solid shooting stroke his ability to expand his scoring game to the post and inside will not only help him be more dangerous on the break but also in the half court. Obviously there are a few areas of improvement for an already polished Smith but it is hard to find something necessarily “wrong” with the eighteen year old Tiger. I expect him to lead the Tigers to March and then move on to the NBA and rightfully so. If he is able to address the areas of improvement in his game he will elevate his already high NBA draft status. MIP Projection: Top 5
Prediction: UConn 73 – Auburn 68