5 leap worthy prospects (chad ford espn)

Chris Williams/Icon SMI
One scout believes Malcolm Lee could be the best PG in the country.

School is back in session, which means the top college prospects in the country are spending more time in class than working on their games at the moment. But the draft cycle keeps moving forward.

We’ve already chronicled who helped and hurt their draft stock this summer at various camps and in FIBA competition. So, without a huge body of work to fill out our Stock Watch, I asked five top NBA scouts to give me one player to keep an eye on at the start of the season.

Here are the criteria:

1. The player could, with a breakout season, potentially be a top-10 pick.
2. The player was not ranked among the 15 best prospects in our Top 100.
3. The player could, if he struggles this season, slip into the second round or out of the draft completely.
4. Freshmen aren’t eligible for the list.

Here were the five names they gave me (in alphabetical order), along with a quote from one of the scouts. None of these guys are sure things, but each brings some intriguing potential to the table:

Alec Burks, G, So., Colorado
Burks wasn’t hotly recruited coming out of high school but went on to have a terrific freshman season at Colorado, averaging 17.5 ppg. While most scouts have stayed on the fence about Burks, one spoke up more decisively after watching him play in camps this summer.

“I’m usually skeptical about the kids that aren’t tagged by the high school scouting services,” the scout said. “They do a great job and it’s pretty rare when a kid slips past their radar — especially one who won Gatorade Player of the Year honors in Missouri. But this kid is for real. He’s got the ability to play both guard positions, is an NBA-caliber athlete and can really get to the basket. If he can really fine-tune that jump shot, add some muscle and show he can play some point, I think he could go really, really high.”

Wally Judge, PF, So., Kansas State
Judge was considered one of the top incoming freshmen in the country but played spot minutes for the Wildcats last season. He cracked double digits in scoring only three times. However, if you watched him, it was hard not to be intrigued.

“He’s a big-time NBA athlete and he’s got the type of body that you want an NBA 4 to have,” a scout said. “He’s really raw as an offensive player, but he’s got really great energy and he will attack the boards. His biggest challenge last year was just staying on the floor. He was one of the most foul-prone players in the country. If he overcomes that, there is just a ton of talent there. He’s far from a guaranteed thing, but Kansas State is probably the best team in the Big 12 this year. If Judge has a big year, he could easily go top-5.”

Malcolm Lee, G, Jr., UCLA
The junior combo guard went into last season with a considerable amount of hype. With the success of Russell Westbrook fresh in everyone’s minds, many scouts thought Lee could be his heir apparent. A terrible season for UCLA as a whole, combined with an uneven performance from Lee, hurt his stock. He did impress some with his play as a counselor at the Adidias Nations camp and at least one scout walked away convinced he could blow up this season.

“I’m not betting against a Ben Howland point guard. All of them haven’t necessarily wowed you on the court. But he’s a great teacher and when they get into the league, they’re really ready to play — Westbrook, Darren Collison, Jrue Holiday. Howland teaches them how to defend and play within the team. They don’t get to show off offensively, but when they get to the NBA, suddenly they look great. You look at Lee’s size, his great athleticism and how he improved his playmaking skills as the season went on, and I think we could be in for a big jump. His numbers may not wow you, but we’re tracking him really closely. It may be a stretch, but I think he has the potential to be the best point guard in the country this year.”

Chris Singleton, F, Jr., Florida State
Singleton is coming off a terrific summer where he impressed scouts at both LeBron’s camp and scrimmaging against Team USA. He’s been ranked in our top 30 on numerous occasions over the past two years. Is this the year he finally breaks out?

“He’s really got everything, physically, you want in a player,” a scout said. “He’s athletic, long, can guard multiple positions, is an emerging shooter, runs the floor well. He just hasn’t produced at Florida State. After watching him this summer, I think it’s partly a product of the system. He’s out of position and just hasn’t found a rhythm. But I’m telling you right now, if he can put it all together, he’ll be a high, high draft pick next summer.”

Rodney Williams, F, So., Minnesota
Williams may be the biggest athletic freak of the group. He’s a jump-out-of-the-gym athlete who started off with a couple of big games as a freshman before being benched for most of the season by Tubby Smith.

“I’m not sure what kind of player he is, but if you want me to just give you a name based on pure raw potential, Williams is the guy,” another scout said. “I watched him early and I thought, ‘Wow.’ Now Tubby isn’t going to let him play the way he wants to play and that will probably hurt his production. But he’s a special physical specimen. He’s a crazy athlete, flies up and down the floor and he’s got a little jumper too. In Tubby’s halfcourt game, he’s pretty limited until he figures out how to create his own shot. But let him run and … wow.”

Want to see how the rest of this draft class compares? Check out our recently updated Top 100.