This article is part of our The Prospect Post series.
This brings us to Ben Simmons, who is one of the two best players in college basketball (shoutout to Kris Dunn), and could go No. 1 in the 2016 NBA Draft.
Skal Labissiere and Brandon Ingram could challenge to go No. 1 overall in almost any other draft, and they may still play their way into the mix.
Well, it is time to give more than just a shoutout to Dunn, and to discuss Ingram, who, unlike Labissiere, has ever so slightly narrowed the gap between himself and Simmons in the race to go No. 1 overall in next year's draft.
Dunn is an absolute joy to watch. It would be understandable for someone to not be glued to the TV for Providence basketball games, but he is the type of college basketball player who is worth making time for - even in December. College basketball junkies know all about Dunn, of course, but the NBA crowd may not be as aware, as he is not a super-hyped freshman that idiots on the Internet compare to LeBron James.
The 21-year-old point guard would have been a lottery pick in last year's draft, but so far returning to school has proven to be a good decision, as he has not only improved his draft stock, but he almost
This brings us to Ben Simmons, who is one of the two best players in college basketball (shoutout to Kris Dunn), and could go No. 1 in the 2016 NBA Draft.
Skal Labissiere and Brandon Ingram could challenge to go No. 1 overall in almost any other draft, and they may still play their way into the mix.
Well, it is time to give more than just a shoutout to Dunn, and to discuss Ingram, who, unlike Labissiere, has ever so slightly narrowed the gap between himself and Simmons in the race to go No. 1 overall in next year's draft.
Dunn is an absolute joy to watch. It would be understandable for someone to not be glued to the TV for Providence basketball games, but he is the type of college basketball player who is worth making time for - even in December. College basketball junkies know all about Dunn, of course, but the NBA crowd may not be as aware, as he is not a super-hyped freshman that idiots on the Internet compare to LeBron James.
The 21-year-old point guard would have been a lottery pick in last year's draft, but so far returning to school has proven to be a good decision, as he has not only improved his draft stock, but he almost singlehandedly has the Friars on track to make the NCAA tournament, with a chance to advance to the second weekend. Here are his numbers from last year and through 10 games this year:
| Age | MPG | FG% | 3PT% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
| 20 | 34.0 | 47.4 | 35.1 | 68.6 | 5.5 | 7.5 | 2.7 | 0.3 | 4.2 | 15.6 |
| 21 | 31.0 | 45.6 | 23.1 | 71.7 | 6.1 | 6.9 | 3.4 | 1.1 | 2.9 | 16.8 |
At 6-foot-4, 205 pounds and a 6-9 wingspan, his body is almost identical to John Wall's, though he has a bit more muscle. What he does not share with Wall, however, is that lightning-fast top speed. Wall is at home in transition, while Dunn operates better in the halfcourt. This is not necessarily even a bad thing, especially when the NBA playoffs come around.
View post on imgur.comView post on imgur.comDunn will be a consideration in the first five picks of the draft if he continues to dominate. His three-point shooting is way down compared to last year, but the sample is too small to read much into that. All he will need to be in the NBA is a 30-32 percent three-point shooter right away. Most point guards improve in that area over time. He is quite easily the top point guard prospect in the country, making the Bucks, Pelicans, and Celtics the three most obvious landing spots.
The one thing Dunn and Ingram share, besides the fact that they could both be top-five picks, is that they are very difficult players to find comparisons for. I think John Wall is a decent physical comp for Dunn, but their games are different enough that I feel uneasy about it. A lot of what Dunn does between the free-throw lines reminds me of Jrue Holiday, and they are also quite similar physically, except that Dunn has two inches on Holiday in the wingspan department, as well as five or 10 pounds of muscle. However, below the free-throw lines, Dunn can block shots on one end and post up at the other.
Ingram is even trickier to comp, because he is so wiry that it seems like he needs to be compared to another skinny guy. However, very few players with his body type have been able to shoot like he can at this age. A long-term comp that I could get on board with would be Tracy McGrady.
| Age | Ht w/o shoes | Weight | Wingspan | FG% | 3PT% | FT% | |
| Tracy McGrady | 18.0 | 6'7" | 205 | 7'2" | 45.0 | 34.1 | 71.2 |
| Brandon Ingram | 18.0 | 6'8" | 196 | 7'3" | 48.2 | 35.9 | 60.4 |
It is pretty clear, however, that Ingram needs to bulk up. He has already reportedly added around 20 pounds of muscle since arriving at Duke, and he should add another 10 or 15 before a McGrady comp starts to make sense. That said, they are similar athletes, and Ingram has a similar scorer's profile to McGrady.
Here is a good look at Ingram's all-around offensive game against Indiana this year:
McGrady would have certainly approved of this play:
View post on imgur.comAnd this one:
View post on imgur.comOne more:
View post on imgur.comOne area where Ingram probably edges out McGrady is the defensive end of the court. The Duke freshman is averaging 1.3 steals and 1.4 blocks in 27.3 minutes per game, and, most importantly, he should be able to guard at least three positions in the NBA. There will be some point guards he could feasibly stick with, and some power forwards he will be able to hang with, thanks to his elite athleticism. Two guards and small forwards should be a breeze. This will allow him to switch on almost all pick-n-rolls - a trait that every NBA team covets in their frontcourt players.
If I had to handicap it, I would say Simmons has a 90 percent chance of being the No. 1 overall pick, with Ingram having a 7.5 percent chance and the rest of the field 2.5 percent. One thing is for sure: Ingram and Dunn have the potential to be top-50 fantasy picks annually in their prime years, which is something very few college players in this year's class can claim.
