Fresh off being named the tournament MVP of the FIBA Americas U18 Championship, incoming Washington wing Markelle Fultz has been installed as the projected No. 1 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by DraftExpress.com.
“Ridiculous, way too early,” one NBA scout said.
Incoming Duke forward Harry Giles, who had been the previous No. 1 pick, is now at No. 2, followed by fellow Duke forward Jayson Tatum at No. 3 and incoming Kansas wing Josh Jackson at No. 4.
In the end, all four of those players figure to be in the mix for the No. 1 pick in 2017.
“Early mocks are nothing but great discussion points,” a second NBA scout said. “[Fultz] was a great high school player and MVP of the Under 18 championship tourney. The PAC-12 and the college season await. He is way up on most NBA boards but there is a long way to go till Draft night next June.”
On July 23, the 6-foot-5 Fultz went for a team-high 23 points on 10-for-16 shooting to go along with five assists and five rebounds as the U.S. got a 99-84 win over Canada in the U18 final in Valdivia, Chile.
Michael Porter Jr., who committed to Washington for 2017 and is a projected lottery pick in 2018, added 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the gold medal game.
As for the 2017 mock, Duke has three of the projected Top 10 picks in Giles, Tatum and fellow incoming big man Marques Bolden at No. 8. Junior shooting guard Grayson Allen is also at No. 24, giving the preseason favorites to win the NCAA championship four projected first-round picks.
Kentucky features players projected at No. 10 (Bam Adebayo), No. 12 (De’Aaron Fox) and No. 21 (Malik Monk).
N.C. State has the projected No. 6 (Dennis Smith) and No. 18 (Omer Yurtseven) picks.
Indiana has players projected No. 7 (Thomas Bryant) and No. 17 (Ogugua Anonoby).
Arizona will have players projected at No. 14 (Lauri Markkanen) and No. 38 (Allonzo Trier).
North Carolina has players projected No. 34 (Justin Jackson) and No. 50 (Kennedy Meeks).
