Following the advice of his agent, Billy Preston scratched at the last minute from the five-on-five portion of the NBA combine.
Considering he never played in a game for Kansas and was hurt after a few games in Bosnia, Preston stood to gain as much as anybody by scrimmaging. Yet, he was told to scratch.
It makes so little sense that it makes me wonder if Preston’s agent wants him to get drafted.
Maybe he figures Preston can get a better deal as a free agent than as a second-round pick with a non-guaranteed contract. That way he can try to figure out which team has the most need for a player of his size and skill set.
Otherwise, scratching just doesn’t make any sense.
Looking at the top 11 listed in the Rivals Class of 2017 recruiting rankings, three players have faded the most: Preston was ranked No. 11 and is projected to go No. 59 by The Athletic.
Mitchell Robinson, who had committed to Western Kentucky but decided to bypass college and spend the year preparing for the draft, was ranked No. 9 and is projected No. 39. Duke point guard Trevon Duval was ranked No. 5 and is projected to go 50th.
The cases of Robinson and Preston show that NBA General Managers give credit to players who show they can handle school, hard coaching and blending in with teammates. General managers didn’t get to see that with Preston and Robinson so it makes picking them a little riskier.
But all it takes is one GM willing to go off what he saw in high school.
A look at the top 11 Class of 2017 prospects ranked by Rivals:
| Player | School | Rivals rank | The Athletic mock draft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Porter Jr. | Missouri | 1 | 8 |
| Marvin Bagley III | Duke | 2 | 2 |
| DeAndre Ayton | Arizona | 3 | 1 |
| Mohamed Bamba | Texas | 4 | 5 |
| Trevon Duval | Duke | 5 | 50 |
| Jaren Jackson Jr. | Michigan State | 6 | 4 |
| Wendell Carter | Duke | 7 | 7 |
| Collin Sexton | Alabama | 8 | 11 |
| Mitchell Robinson | None | 9 | 37 |
| Kevin Knox | Kentucky | 10 | 9 |
| Billy Preston | Kansas | 11 | 59 |
