1. Aaron Nesmith, Small Forward
Most often the top mentioned shooter in general in this draft class is the lengthy 6-foot-6 and 215 pound Vanderbilt Commodores small forward Aaron Nesmith. The Charleston, SC, native and often injured former Vanderbilt sophomore does bring a very high ceiling to the table given his two-way wing nature and impressive physical tools.
The problem that most NBA teams that would usually consider drafting Nesmith in the first round this year will be his injury history. Nesmith missed most of last season (only playing in 14 games) due to injury. And he missed a few games during his freshman campaign due to injury, which might not be a great sign of what’s to come.
Last season, Nesmith averaged 23.0 points per game, 4.9 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.9 blocks. He shot an impressive 51.2 percent from the field, 52.2 percent from beyond the arc, and 82.5 percent from the free-throw line. That was good for a 65.9 effective field goal percentage and and sparkling 68.5 true shooting percentage.
Nesmith is a high volume shooter from three-point range, as his career three-point attempt rate from his two years in college sat at 58.5 percent. And his free-throw attempt rate also sat at an impressive 28.8 percent. There were few players that showed as much spark in their shot selection and shooting percentages that Nesmith before he was injured last season.