Svi Mykhailiuk and BC Igokea rookie Billy Preston both are 20 years old, so neither one is a finished product.
At 6-foot-10 and 240 pounds, Preston is two inches taller, 35 pounds heavier and has an estimated five-inch greater wingspan.
So which player too young to be served a legal beverage would you select first if you were in best-available-player mode?
A native of Cherasky, Ukraine, Mykhailiuk has the emotional-maturity advantage after four years of coaching, bonding with college teammates, and negotiating his way through a full course load in his second language.
Preston, from Inglewood, has a more NBA-ready physique.
Svi projects as a shooting guard or small forward, Preston as a small forward or stretch four. Preston only played in exhibition games. Svi has played in 119 college games, starting 53 of them.
Svi has one exceptional tool: his long-range shooting. He also is a skilled passer, but no easy answer jumps to mind to the question of what NBA position he can guard.
Preston is an exciting prospect because he handles the ball well for a man his size, has a nice shooting touch and is an exceptional athlete.
Svi steadily has improved, as his year-by-year scoring averages indicate: 2.8, 5.4, 9.8, 17. Svi has a better chance of helping the team that drafts him, but Preston’s tools suggest he has a higher ceiling, even he doesn’t come close to reaching it until he’s with his second or third organization in his fifth or sixth season.
If I had the pick, I would draft Svi and follow Preston’s development in the G League, looking for signs of maturity and improvement.
Svi, by the way, passed Terry Brown on KU’s career 3-pointers made list, setting into seventh place.
Kansas basketball top 10 in career 3-pointers made:
| Player | Years | 3-pointers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 – Jeff Boschee | 1999-2002 | 338 |
| 2 – Billy Thomas | 1995-98 | 269 |
| 3 – Devonte’ Graham | 2015-present | 251 |
| 4 – Kirk Hinrich | 2000-03 | 236 |
| 5 – Sherron Collins | 2007-10 | 232 |
| 6 – Brandon Rush | 2005-08 | 205 |
| 7 – Svi Mykhailiuk | 2015-present | 201 |
| 8 – Terry Brown | 1990-91 | 200 |
| 9 – Frank Mason | 2014-2017 | 185 |
| 10 Mario Chalmers | 2005-08 | 180 |
Svi has made five or more 3-pointers in nine games this season and has scored 20-or-more points in 6 of 9 conference games, including each of the past three.
