11. Tyrese Maxey, Combo Guard
Current Team: Kentucky
At some point in the coming months, this deep draft class of combo guards will start to separate itself at the top. A former five-star combo guard recruit that was pursued by blue bloods all across the country, Tyrese Maxey, will have his chance in the spotlight to make a good case to be a top 10 draft pick.
Kentucky got mixed results, to say the very least, through less than five games this season. They had by far the most mind-boggling upset loss at home so far this college hoops season. When Kentucky was ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll last week, they managed to fall short against a massive underdog at home in Lexington at the hands of unranked Evansville.
Maxey didn’t do a whole lot to separate himself in the combo guard conversation for this draft class in that massive upset loss to Evansville.
Altogether, averaging 16.0 points per game, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists on a team that has as many talented offensive weapons as Kentucky sounds great. But shooting 40 percent from the field and 26.3 percent from beyond the arc highlight a couple of Maxey’s faults. He’s also turning the ball over too much (has just as many turnovers per game as assists).
Head coach John Calipari should continue to let Maxey operate as a primary ball handler and develop his efficiency as Kentucky’s floor general. Be a little bit more efficient in shot selection and assisting his teammates and Maxey will catapult up draft boards.
Maxey can also be stout on defense, with quick hands averaging one steal per game. He’s very quick in general, which you can witness whenever he drives through the lane and gets to the rim. That also leads to a plethora of free-throw attempts for Maxey (averaging 6.8 per game while shooting better than 85 percent from the line).