2018 NBA Draft: Cavs select Alabama PG Collin Sexton at No. 8
June 21, 2018So who really is the newest Cavalier, Collin Sexton?
June 22, 2018For the first time since 2015, an Ohio State Buckeye has been taken in the NBA Draft. Although he had to wait quite a bit longer than D’Angelo Russell, who was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers selected with the No. 2 overall pick three years ago, former Buckeye star Keita Bates-Diop heard his name called Thursday night when he was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 48th overall pick.
The 6-foot-7, 190-pound forward joins a Minnesota squad that features Jimmy Butler, Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, and Jeff Teague, among others. The Timberwolves made the playoffs this past season, finishing with a 47-35 record.
Named the Big Ten Player of the Year following the 2017-18 season, the redshirt junior had a standout year, to say the least. After being limited to just nine games 2016-17 season due to a number of injuries that include a stress fracture in his left leg, Bates-Diop had a standout year last season, to say the least. In 34 games, he averaged 19.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 48 percent from the floor and 35.9 percent from beyond the arc in 33.1 minutes a night. Along with the Big Ten honors, the forward was also named one of 20 finalists for the Wooden Award, along with having a shot at taking home the AP Player of the Year award as well. He didn’t take home either award, but it’s a great example of the jump that Bates-Diop made his redshirt junior year.
In just one season, the 22-year-old went from being a player that wasn’t even considered in many mock drafts to being a guy that will for sure be selected, vaulting all the way up to the first round. It’s the main reason why he decided to forego his final year of eligibility and declare for the draft. It was an opportunity he just couldn’t pass up.
“Weighing all my options, talking to my family, the coaches, former pro teammates currently, I think it was the best decision for me,” he said at his draft declaration press conference on March 26.
For a reason that many don’t know, Bates-Diop slid way down in the draft, much farther than any mock draft had him getting selected. Although he was the Big Ten Player of the Year this past season, the forward was the fifth member of the Big Ten selected in the draft, behind Michigan State’s Jaren Jackson (fourth overall), Spartans’ Miles Bridges (12th), Maryland’s Kevin Huerter (19th), Michigan’s Moritz Wagner (25th), and Terps’ Justin Jackson (43rd).
He will be missed in the scarlet and gray, but what an opportunity for Bates-Diop. Hopefully he can stay healthy and have a successful (and long) NBA career while proving that he should have been drafted much higher than 48th overall.