NBA Stock Watch: March, 2010

By Matt Tait     Mar 5, 2010

This much we know: Tyshawn Taylor and Marcus Morris will be in Kansas uniforms when the 2010-11 season rolls around.

Although neither player was a real threat to leave college after this season, both saw their names pop up in the NBA Draft conversation and both have seen their stock rise and fall throughout the 2009-10 season.

A recent look at a handful of the mock draft sites out there, however, shows that Taylor could be a hot prospect for the 2011 draft. DraftExpress.net has Taylor headed to the Boston Celtics at pick No. 13. That’s lottery. And that’s reason enough to stay around for another year — not that he was going anywhere anyway.

Morris, despite his sensational numbers in Big 12 play this season, has not even popped up on the boards for 2011. That, I’m sure, will change in the coming months. But for now, it seems to be an absolute certainty that both players will be back next season.

One player we know won’t be back is Sherron Collins and the KU senior’s stock has seen an increase in the past month. Despite struggling with his shot lately, Collins’ game is getting respect around the mock draft sites. After coming in with an average positioning of 32nd in February, Collins is up to 26th this month. It’s hard to pinpoint the exact reason for this, but winning has to be a part of it. If there’s one thing that will help NBA scouts look past any physical limitations a player might have it’s wins. Sherron has led his team to plenty this season and the NBA draft sites out there appear to have taken notice.

As for Aldrich, his stock continues to be high but is actually down two spots (in average position) from February. Perhaps that’s why Aldrich hinted to reporters that a fourth season at KU might not be out of the question.

Anyway, here’s a closer look at the current status of these players as we head toward the home stretch of the 2009-10 season.

COLE ALDRICH: JR., CENTER, 6-11, 245 pounds
Stock Assessment: After a stellar sophomore season at Kansas, Aldrich surprised some by returning to school for the 2009-10 season. The Bloomington, Minn., almost certainly would have been a lottery pick in last year’s draft and he entered his junior season as a sure-fire lottery pick and a preseason All-American.
Average Mock Draft Position: 8th (down from 6th in February)
Current High: 5th (MyNBADraft.com)
Current Low: 14th (NBADraft.net)
Overall Movement: **- Down -** After a slow start to the season, Aldrich enjoyed a rebirth in late January and early February but his stock appears to have leveled off again. His average draft position this month is down two spots — from 6th to 8th — in the latest mock drafts and one site even has Cole on the brink of falling out of the lottery altogether. I can’t imagine that scenario. It’s my guess that his laboring offensive nights lately have contributed to this small dip, but that should be irrelevant. Aldrich’s bread and butter — now and in the NBA, whenever that comes — will be defense. In that area, he’s the best in the nation and figures to be a beast at the next level.

XAVIER HENRY: FR., GUARD/FORWARD, 6-6, 220 pounds
Stock Assessment: Xavier came to Kansas as the school’s first legitimate threat to be a one-and-done player. He arrived on campus with an NBA-ready body and had a deadly shooting touch and natural knack for scoring to go with it. As with any player, it’s likely that another year or even two in college would help polish his all-around game, but there’s no doubt that NBA scouts are drooling over his potential already.
Average Mock Draft Position: 13th (down from 12th in February and 11th in January)
Current High: 7th (DraftSite.com)
Current Low: 19th (NBADraft.net)
Overall Movement: **- Down -** Kansas fans sure have enjoyed the fact that Henry’s shot and overall offensive game have returned after going AWOL for most of February. However, for the second straight month Henry’s average draft positioning has slipped a spot. It’s no secret that X has the raw tools to be drafted. But I wonder if teams are starting to notice his lack of polish and overall inconsistency. The kid is still a freak athlete and has the potential to be a great scorer. But it’s my contention that one more year of college would do wonders for his game and his draft potential.

SHERRON COLLINS: SR., POINT GUARD, 5-11, 205 pounds
Stock Assessment: For all the talk of Collins leaving Kansas early last season, saying goodbye really would not have made much sense. Last year’s draft was ultra-deep for point guards and Collins, primarily because of his lack of size, had not wowed the NBA enough to guarantee himself a first-round selection. With that in mind, and with visions of a second national championship in his head, Collins returned to school for his senior season, where he entered the year as a fringe first-rounder.
Average Mock Draft Position: 26th (up from 32nd in February and January)
Current High: 26th (HoopsHype.com)
Current Low: 33rd (MyNBADraft.net)
Overall Movement: **+ On The Rise +** As mentioned above, Sherron’s a winner and NBA coaches and scouts like winners. The senior has led the Jayhawks to 28 wins in 30 tries this season and has been the leader and driving force for the team’s offense, grit and effort. As we all know, most of the memories that stick with people come from March. For Collins, that means a solid postseason will solidify his spot at the end of the first round in the NBA Draft in June.

TYSHAWN TAYLOR: SOPH., GUARD, 6-3, 180 pounds
Stock Assessment: Of the Jayhawks with the NBA on their radar, Taylor entered the season as the long shot of the bunch. There’s no doubt that someday Taylor will probably don an NBA uniform. But unless he were to turn in a monster sophomore season, it probably would not be in 2010.
Average Mock Draft Position: Incomplete (only listed on 1 of 5 boards)
Current High: 113th (DraftSite.com)
Current Low: Not Listed (HoopsHype.com, NBADraft.net, DraftExpress.com and MyNBADraft.net)
Overall Movement: **- Down -** Being benched didn’t help and his overall inconsistency hasn’t helped either. Although Taylor has returned to the starting lineup and has started to play with more poise and patience lately, it’s highly unlikely that he’ll be able to do anything the rest of the way to breathe life into his 2010 draft stock.

MARCUS MORRIS: SOPH., FORWARD, 6-8, 225 pounds
Stock Assessment: Morris entered the season on the heels of a pretty decent freshman season but with no real designs on making a name for himself with the NBA brass for at least another season. He spent the first half of the season playing at an up-and-down pace but has taken off lately and has become one of KU’s most consistent performers night-in and night-out.
Average Mock Draft Position: Incomplete (not listed on any boards)
Current High: N/A
Current Low: Not Listed (all five boards)
Overall Movement: **• Holding Steady •** Maybe it’s because Kansas already has three potential first-round draft picks on its roster. Maybe it’s because the NBA scouts simply don’t think Morris is ready yet. Whatever the case, his name continues to stay off of the draft boards despite him averages of 12.4 points per game, 6.1 rebounds per game and 56 percent shooting from the floor. Like with Taylor, it’s almost impossible to imagine a scenario that puts Morris into the draft discussion for 2010. If he turns in another offseason like last year and follows up his sophomore campaign with a stellar junior year, the 2011 Lottery is not out of the question for Morris.

Draft sites used for the player positioning portion of this blog include: NBADraft.net, DraftExpress.com, HoopsHype.com, DraftSite.com and MyNBADraft.com.

PREV POST

Townsend explains giving out KU tickets

NEXT POST

34811NBA Stock Watch: March, 2010

Author Photo

Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.