Alabama Basketball: Drafted or not Davison and Ellis made right decision

Thursday’s NBA Draft will be nerve-wracking for former Alabama basketball players Keon Ellis and J.D. Davison. Neither can be sure they will be drafted. More on that below.

Due to a couple of team forfeits, the 2022 NBA Draft will be 30 players in the first round and 28 players in the second round. Neither Ellis or Davison are expected to be first-round selections.

Every college basketball season there is so much chatter about players who are ‘sure’ first-rounders, a false impression is given. In months and years in advance of the NBA Draft, most players labeled by college basketball pundits as first-round locks – are not locks. Some of them end up not getting drafted at all.

Getting drafted by the NBA is hard and in the last several years it has become harder for two reasons. Those reasons are the professional minor leagues and the impact of international players. A fair guess is in the 2022 NBA Draft, half a dozen slots will go to G League or Overtime Elite players. Another half dozen or so of the 58 selections will be taken by international players.

Another challenge for Draft hopefuls, on the cut line of the second half of the second round, is close scrutiny. Between the NBA Combine and workouts for individual teams, draft prospects are under a microscope. The teams look for player potential, but while doing so, flaws and weaknesses are discovered.

Alabama Basketball, NBA Draft-dreamers

That leads back to the three Alabama basketball, NBA Draft-dreamers. It is impossible to find any objective source that states Jaden Shackelford will be drafted.

If Davison or Ellis are drafted, look for them to go late in the second round. Check out this recent two-round mock.

J.D. Davison was once, one of the one-and-done, ‘first-round lock’ guys. Instead, J.D.’s game is not ready for the NBA. At this point, he is a good but not great shooter and is too often loose with the ball. He also did not match the 6’3″ height he was listed as by Alabama.

Davison, drafted or not, will end up on a G-League team. The same is true for Keon Ellis, though Keon is less likely to be drafted than J.D.

Ellis has a chance to become a good NBA player but needs to add bulk. He has a size discrepancy too. Always listed by the Crimson Tide at 6’6″, various teams have measured him at under 6’4″ and certainly not 6’5″. He can be an NBA wing at that height, but he will need more weight and muscle first.

Some Alabama basketball fans are now saying both needed another season of college ball. A more realistic response is the two will develop quicker and better playing in the G-League – and that is no knock on Nate Oats.

On Thursday, former SEC players should do well in the NBA Draft. Around ten former SEC guys are expected to be drafted.