19. Isaac Okoro, Small Forward
Current Team: Auburn
The Auburn Tigers basketball program is starting to become a factory that regularly churns out quality forwards and wings. Next up for the Tigers could be the 6-foot-6 and 215 pound true freshman small forward Isaac Okoro. How Auburn finishes out this season will play a large role to where Okoro goes in next year’s draft.
Dating back to the days of former SEC Player of the Year and NBA Hall-of-Famer Charles Barkley, Auburn tends to churn out forwards that are tough and well-rounded on both ends of the floor. Okoro could wind up fitting right into that mould since he is a bit undersized for a small forward, at 6-foot-6, but he does have insane strength and leaping ability.
However, Okoro isn’t the most NBA ready prospect in the world and his inconsistent production might only be further highlighted at the outset of SEC play. While he is shooting a solid 60 percent from the field, he’s sub-60 percent from the free-throw line and a dismal sub-20 percent from beyond the arc.
The physical tools, high two-way ceiling (averaging 1.4 blocks and 1.1 steals per 40 minutes), and high floor once he gets more maturity to his game should give Okoro an first round draft billing almost no matter what. He might be a prospect that waits until the 2021 NBA Draft, but he could still be a mid-to-late first round pick in 2020.