Update on potential Bulls prospects after the first weekend of the NCAA Tourney
By Luke Askew
Last week I wrote about five players from each region in the NCAA Tournament that Chicago Bulls fans should watch with the draft in mind. Now that the first weekend of the tournament is over, let’s recap how some of those players have performed thus far.
Who struggled?
Michael Porter Jr. had many college basketball and NBA fans (including myself) excited to see what he could do in the tournament for Missouri. I personally thought he would elevate Missouri to an Elite Eight appearance but boy was I wrong. Porter looked rusty and Missouri lost big. It makes sense that he looked rusty, I mean he missed almost the entire season due to a back injury. But still, I wanted to see more from him. Instead, we’ll go into the draft with hype and potential instead of college film.
But maybe that’s good for the Bulls? Porter finished the game with 16 points and 10 rebounds to go along with 3 steals. That doesn’t seem to bad but he shot a poor 4-12 from the field and he looked out of shape. Maybe this means he’ll fall a little in the draft and the Chicago Bulls can snag him later than he was initially projected to go?
Speaking of guys with the last name Porter who struggled, his brother Jontay didn’t have his best game ever either. Potential first-round pick Jontay Porter finished the game with only 2 points and 6 rebounds and shot 1-7 from the field.
The last guy that I thought really struggled in the tourney that the Bulls might have their eye on is Arkansas forward/center, Daniel Gafford. Gafford would be a potential middle to late first-round pick for the Bulls but he finished with a mere 7 points and 5 rebounds on 2-9 shooting. Arkansas also got bounced in the first round so that’s our last memory of him going into the draft. The silver lining? He did put up a nice 3 blocks.
Who played well?
Marvin Bagley III has Duke rolling. Duke has won both of their games by more than 20 points and Bagley is averaging 22 points and 8 rebounds in those two games. He’s also shooting an incredible 75 percent from the field. We’re yet to see someone who can stop him in the tourney, so continue to keep an eye on the potential top-three pick that the Bulls (sadly) probably won’t get.
Trae Young also had a really nice game in the tournament. Despite getting bounced by Rhode Island in the first round, he played incredibly well. He handled the pressure around him and finished the game with an impressive 28 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds while shooting a nice 50 percent from the field. Keep me on the two-point-guard lineup bandwagon featuring Trae Young and Kris Dunn. It’s hard to explain and might not make much sense, but I hope it happens.
The last guy from my list that I’ve noticed has played extremely well is Mikal Bridges from Villanova. Nova won their first game by 26 points and their second game by 23 points. While their first game was against Radford (sorry Radford but this wasn’t a surprise), their second game against Collin Sexton and Alabama was sure to be a tougher test. Villanova only had a five-point lead at halftime but then came the Mikal Bridges show.
Next: Cameron Payne has been playing well for the Bulls
In the second half, Bridges poured in 22 points to completely overwhelm Alabama. He looked like a surefire lottery pick and someone the Chicago Bulls should definitely be watching.