Louisville Basketball: Top 5 NBA Prospects For The Virginia Game
We take a look at Draft Express’ top five NBA prospects in Louisville basketball’s game against the Virginia Cavaliers on Wednesday night.
All the college basketball lights will be shining on the match-up between the Louisville basketball team and Virginia on Wednesday night. The Cavaliers have owned the Cardinals over the past few seasons, but a red-hot Louisville team will be looking to change that in front of their own fans this week.
Draft Express ranked the top NBA prospects from the ACC for this season and there were five that specifically stuck out for this game, not to mention, the Cards dominated their list:
Dec 3, 2016; Charlottesville, VA, USA; Virginia Cavaliers guard Kyle Guy (5) holds the ball as West Virginia Mountaineers guard Teyvon Myers (0) defends in the second half at John Paul Jones Arena. The Mountaineers won 66-57. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
5. Kyle Guy | Virginia Cavaliers | Guard
Draft Express ACC Ranking: 41st
Year: Freshman
Height/Weight: 6-foot-3 & 155 pounds
Kyle Guy has been a freshman scoring sensation for Virginia head coach Tony Bennett. The Cavaliers aren’t really known for having guys that can put up a bunch of points, but this kid can go off if the situation is presented to him.
Here are his highest scoring games of the 2016-2017 season so far:
It should be pretty clear that Kyle Guy can be a different-maker from the perimeter on any given night. The Cards have to play great defense on the perimeter to keep Guy from getting easy looks at the basket on Wednesday night.
Dec 21, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Wenyen Gabriel (32) battles Louisville Cardinals forward V.J. King (0) and forward Ray Spalding (13) for a rebound during the first half at KFC Yum! Center. Louisville defeated Kentucky 73-70. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports
4. VJ King | Louisville Cardinals | Forward
Draft Express ACC Ranking: 20th
Year: Freshman
Height/Weight: 6-foot-7 & 190 pounds
McDonald’s All-American VJ King is currently fifth on the Cards in points scored per game with 7.3. That’s highly impressive since he is averaging at least seven less minutes per game than any Louisville starter.
Rick Pitino hasn’t used King as much as we thought he would this year, but that doesn’t mean he won’t work him more into the game as the season progresses.
He barely played at all versus Kentucky, which was pretty shocking, however he could get more minutes against a Virginia basketball team that isn’t nearly as intimidating as the Wildcats.
Dec 17, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Eastern Kentucky Colonels guard Isaac McGlone (5) and forward Zach Charles (12) pressure Louisville Cardinals forward Ray Spalding (13) during the second half at KFC Yum! Center. Louisville defeated Eastern Kentucky 87-56. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports
3. Ray Spalding | Louisville Cardinals | Forward
Draft Express ACC Ranking: 19th
Year: Sophomore
Height/Weight: 6-foot-9 & 195 pounds
In his second season under Rick Pitino, Ray Spalding is coming along very well. He has been a vital part of a Louisville basketball team is that ranked sixth in the country and has one of the best NCAA Tournament resumes of the 2016-2017 season.
Spalding has actually been more productive in less minutes than the Cards’ starting forward Mangok Mathiang.
According to ESPN, the sophomore forward is currently averaging 7.2 points per game, 5 rebounds per game, and 1.2 blocks per game.
It’s been an impressive season so far for Ray Spalding to say the least.
Dec 21, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals forward Deng Adel (22) reacts during the second half against the Kentucky Wildcats at KFC Yum! Center. Louisville defeated Kentucky 73-70. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports
2. Deng Adel | Louisville Cardinals | Forward
Draft Express ACC Ranking: 16th
Year: Sophomore
Height/Weight: 6-foot-7 & 200 pounds
While Deng Adel isn’t having the season we all expected him to have, his performance against Kentucky will be one that we will remember for a long time. Adel had a season-high 18 points in the Cards’ biggest game of the 2016-2017 season and will be looking to back it up against a very stout Virginia defense.
As of right now, I don’t believe that Adel has done enough in college in order to be drafted in the NBA after this season is over.
If he does elect to stay, the Rick Pitino is going to have one very talented and experienced player in Deng Adel next year.
Dec 21, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Mychal Mulder (11) battles Louisville Cardinals guard Donovan Mitchell (45) for a rebound during the first half at KFC Yum! Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports
1. Donovan Mitchell | Louisville Cardinals | Guard
Draft Express ACC Ranking: 14th
Year: Sophomore
Height/Weight: 6-foot-3 & 210 pounds
We have heard many different commentators talk about Deng Adel being the Cards’ best NBA prospect, but Draft Express has a strong liking for Donovan Mitchell. As Louisville fans, this is obviously one of our favorite players to watch every week.
Mitchell is dominating Louisville’s opponents on the defensive end of the floor and is currently the team’s second leading scorer, just one tiny (0.1) behind Quentin Snider.
It will be important for the Cards to get Mitchell going on the offensive side of the ball on Wednesday night because they will need every point he can get in a low scoring affair.
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