Now that we have seen an extended stretch of college basketball, there is a new player who has emerged as the projected No. 1 overall pick.
Auburn’s Jabari Smith has surpassed Duke’s Paolo Banchero and Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren for the pole position on our mock draft. Additionally, we’ve got movement in the lottery with debut appearances from Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis as well as Baylor’s Jeremy Sochan and Iowa’s Keegan Murray.
Mock drafts are incredibly reactionary and reflect the exact moment in time that they’re published, however, which means these rankings are fluid and I’m confident we’ll have significantly more movement as the season progresses.
Note that several notable prospects (e.g. Michigan’s Caleb Houstan, UCLA’s Peyton Watson, Kentucky’s Daimion Collins, Florida State’s Matthew Cleveland) were excluded from this mock. I certainly don’t expect any of them to go undrafted if they turn pro. However, at this point, I’m predicting that they return to college to improve their draft stock like Jaden Ivey or Bennedict Mathurin did this past season.
Of course, we don’t know who actually will declare for the draft. But until then, based on my intel and evaluations, this is how I project both rounds will unfold.
Draft order is pulled from Tankathon and accurate as of Jan. 4, 2022. All stats are from Sports-Reference unless noted otherwise.
