Checking in with 2022 NBA Draft top prospects before March Madness
By Rylan Stiles
Where does the rest of the NBA Draft stand after the top four starlit prospects?
Kennedy Chandler, Point Guard, Tennessee, 6’0 172
Okay, I will be honest, despite being an awful fit for the Oklahoma City Thunder franchise I had to include Kennedy Chandler who is one of my favorite prospects in the 2022 NBA Draft. The Tennessee Volunteer is an elite cutter, elite shooter off dribble hand-offs, undersized, and shoots 40-percent on spot-up shots. Despite being undersized, Chandler is a scrappy defender ranking in the 77th percentile.
Patrick Baldwin Jr, Forward, Milwaukee, 6’10 205
What a puzzling prospect Patrick Baldwin Jr is for the 2022 NBA Draft. Out of high school, he was an elite prospect that went to a small school at Milwaukee University to play for his father. Some high school prospect evaluations had Baldwin Jr at four in the 2022 class. Well, the same ankle injury that has plagued him since high school has now cut his college season short as his father announced on Sunday his season is likely over. His final college game came on February 9th and participated in just 11 games all season.
Patrick Baldwin Jr wraps up his college season, and likely his college career, scoring 12 points per game, six rebounds per game, an assist, block, and steal per contest as well. He will be 20 years old within the first month of his NBA career.
in those 11 games, Baldwin struggled shooting the ball (34-percent from the floor, 26-percent from three), saw two turnovers per game, poor assists numbers, and did not get downhill and to the free-throw line.
How much of that was due to his lingering ankle injury? How much of that was due to playing at a smaller school without fellow top prospects? Who knows. Though, with an impressive combine, pre-draft workouts, and interviews Patrick Baldwin Jr could be a good target with the L.A. Clippers pick wherever it lands.
Shaedon Sharpe, Guard, Kentucky, 6’5 200 pounds
Alright, time to throw your hands up, papers in the air, and collectively shrug and sigh together. I have to include Sharpe in this article because of how interesting the reclassified 18-year-old freshman is at Kentucky despite not stepping foot on the college hardwood.
It is unclear if the Canadian guard will enter the NBA Draft without playing a single college game for the Wildcats, but if he does throw his name in the 2022 NBA Draft, many place Sharpe in the top-five without even seeing him on the college stage!
Watching his high school highlights is jaw-dropping, it is step-back triples, massive slams space creation, logo shots, a nice mid-range package, and elite body control and mobility being able to finish through contact with a full head of steam at the rim.
While Shaedon Sharpe as a bonafide bucket getter would make the Oklahoma City Thunder one of the most exciting teams in the entire NBA next to Josh Giddey and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, it is fair to question how these highlights against pimple-faced high schoolers worried about their algebra test the next day will translate to the biggest basketball stage in the world.