Many prospects have already declared for June's NBA Draft and while the national headlines have given Oklahoma's Trae Young most of the spotlight after leading the nation in points and assists, some scouts seems to think his game-changing antics won't translate into the league.
Collin Sexton, an Alabama freshman point guard that declared for the draft earlier this week has managed to impress scouts more than Young, having made a statement during hard-nosed competition to finish his first collegiate season. Sexton put up an average of 24.2 points through five postseason games between SEC competition and the NCAA Tournament — giving him the upper edge over Young.
“Sexton has the NBA body, NBA athleticism and he plays both ends of the court,” one scout told Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report. “It depends on the team picking, but he's bigger, stronger and more athletic than Young. He definitely has a chance to go before him.”
Scouts have become wary of the circumstances in which Young's production had become inflated, starting the season with averages of 30-plus points and 10-plus assists per game, one which slowly reduced to his 27.4 points and 8.7 assists average for his freshman season.
Yet a frail 6-foot-2, 180-pound body has raised questions that such wizardry could prove as effective in the league.
Young has delighted fans and scouts with his NBA-ready range, his natural passing instincts, panache, and his innate ability to score the basketball — but he has also disappointed with a high turnover rate (a whopping 5.2 per game), making his willingness to dish the ball a lot less appealing.
The Norman, Oklahoma native will have to face quicker, stronger, and more athletic competition than he did in college, likely causing him to cough the ball up even more than he did playing in Division I, while Sexton has the identity of a scoring guard from the get-go, but has proven to have playmaking potential with a more capable surrounding core around him.
Sexton is currently slated to be drafted eighth overall, which would fall to the Chicago Bulls in the latest ESPN mock draft, while Young is floating at the middle of the first round and could drop further, depending of his combine evaluations.
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