Nine Big 12 Players Listed in TheAthletic’s 2024 NBA Mock Draft
The Big 12 Conference is known for featuring some of the nation’s bright young stars and NBA prospects, and this season is no different.
Nine members from the Big 12 Conference were listed in TheAthletic’s 2024 NBA Mock Draft with four representatives from two current teams, and five from future Big 12 teams.
The first current member listed in the piece was Baylor guard Ja’Kobe Walter, who TheAthletic’s Sam Vecenie listed as the eighth pick to the Houston Rockets.
“Walter is a good investment,” Vecenie said. “He’s an athletic, 6-5 wing who can be run off movement into tough shots. He rarely makes mistakes, has a strong feel for the game, and plays well within a team concept. There’s a split about Walter’s overall upside? Most scouts don’t see him as a star, but they disagree on whether he’s a starter long-term or more of a rotation player. Evaluators who believe he’s closer to the latter, such as a few team scouts, may have him more in the No. 15 range. Those who buy into his shooting and think he can improve his shaky defense could even see him landing in the top six. This ranking splits the difference.”
The next player to check in on the list was another outstanding freshman in Kansas‘ Johnny Furphy. The Australia native has been impressive for Bill Self in his first season with the Jayhawks, averaging 8.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game on 56% shooting from the field.
“Furphy is the big riser on the board, as he’s emerged over the last month into a critical cog on an excellent Kansas team,” Vecenie writes. “Furphy has a lot of what NBA teams look for across the landscape when trying to identify interesting projects in whom to invest. At 6-9, with legitimate athleticism in the open court, Furphy is a potential one-and-done who was not even really on the radar this time last year. Over the last 18 months, the Australian has exploded. At the Center of Excellence in Australia, he was always seen as an interesting upside swing due to his athleticism and shooting ability. Still, he didn’t always know how to impact the game when he was out there. Now, Furphy has earned serious minutes and consistently hits the score sheet with his rebounding, and he forces teams to run in transition with Kansas because of how much pressure he puts on the rim.”
The second representative for the Baylor Bears on the list came in the form of freshman center Yves Missi. Missi has developed into a star in league play under Scott Drew, with NBA scouts comparing his game to that of Joel Embiid and Clint Capela.
“Missi is a project, but he’s one who might end up hearing his name called much earlier than this on draft night if the right team falls in love with his tools,” Vecenie said. “He might have the best frame of any low-usage center prospect in the class, at a legitimate 7-foot tall with a 7-5 wingspan. He’s a terrific athlete who moves his feet fluidly in space and also has hops to be able to sky for impressive lobs and dunks, both in transition and the dunker spot. He blocks shots well, finishes far above the rim and has potential to stick with guards for multiple slides on defense.”
The fourth and final current member listed is senior guard Kevin McCullar, who has been incredibly impressive in his last season of eligibility. Vecenie projects McCullar to wind up in Milwaukee playing for the Bucks after being selected with the 35th overall pick.
Future members of the Big 12 Conference were also listed with Colorado’s Cody Williams (No. 4), Tristan da Silva (No. 33), and K.J. Simpson (No. 56). The final two league representatives both check in as members of the Arizona Wildcats with Pelle Larsson (No. 47) and Keshad Johnson (No. 50).
The 2024 NBA Draft kicks off on Wednesday, June 26th, in Brooklyn.
