2016 NBA Mock Draft: Predictions and Projections for Top Senior Prospects

Eric Gay/Associated Press

In the one-and-done era, many collegiate stars never make it through four years before they leave school, but the 2016 NBA draft ^[1] features several seniors who should be selected in the first round.

In the 2015 draft, Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky, Notre Dame's Jerian Grant, Utah's Delon Wright and Wyoming's Larry Nance Jr. were the only seniors taken in Round 1. The year before, five seniors heard their names called within the first 30 picks.

This year's crop should result in a similar number of seniors picked in Round 1, with Oklahoma's Buddy Hield expected to lead the way. Take a look at the projected first round, with seniors being highlighted, along with a brief breakdown of the top senior prospects.

2016 First-Round NBA Mock Draft
Pick	Team	Player	Team
1	Philadelphia 76ers	Ben Simmons	LSU
2	Los Angeles Lakers	Brandon Ingram	Duke
3	Boston Celtics (from Brooklyn)	Dragan Bender	Maccabi Tel Aviv
4	Phoenix Suns	Jaylen Brown	California
5	Minnesota Timberwolves	Jamal Murray	Kentucky
6	New Orleans Pelicans	Buddy Hield (Sr.)	Oklahoma
7	Denver Nuggets (from New York)	Jakob Poeltl	Utah
8	Sacramento Kings	Kris Dunn	Providence
9	Toronto Raptors (from Denver)	Henry Ellenson	Marquette
10	Milwaukee Bucks	Demetrius Jackson	Notre Dame
11	Orlando Magic	Domantas Sabonis	Gonzaga
12	Utah Jazz	Denzel Valentine (Sr.)	Michigan State
13	Phoenix Suns (from Washington)	Deyonta Davis	Michigan State
14	Chicago Bulls	Timothe Luwawu	Mega Leks
15	Denver Nuggets (from Houston)	Furkan Korkmaz	Anadolu Efes
16	Boston Celtics (from Dallas)	Taurean Prince (Sr.)	Baylor
17	Memphis Grizzlies	Marquese Chriss	Washington
18	Detroit Pistons	Tyler Ulis	Kentucky
19	Denver Nuggets (from Portland)	Wade Baldwin IV	Vanderbilt
20	Indiana Pacers	Stephen Zimmerman	UNLV
21	Atlanta Hawks	Malik Beasley	Florida State
22	Charlotte Hornets	Skal Labissiere	Kentucky
23	Boston Celtics	DeAndre' Bembry	St. Joe's
24	Philadelphia 76ers (from Miami)	Cheick Diallo	Kansas
25	Los Angeles Clippers	Juan Hernangomez	Estudiantes
26	Philadelphia 76ers (from Oklahoma City)	Malachi Richardson	Syracuse
27	Toronto Raptors	Ben Bentil	Providence
28	Phoenix Suns (from Cleveland)	Dejounte Murray	Washington
29	San Antonio Spurs	Diamond Stone	Maryland
30	Golden State Warriors	A.J. Hammons (Sr.)	Purdue

Bleacher Report

Buddy Hield, Oklahoma

Hield could have left early for the NBA ^[2] after his junior year, but he returned to Oklahoma and was absolutely tremendous. He averaged 25 points per game and won ^[3] the Naismith Award while leading the Sooners to a Final Four appearance.

Hield established himself as an elite shooter, hitting 50.1 percent of his field-goal attempts and 45.7 percent of his threes. It is rare to see a player with such high scoring averages be so efficient with his shooting percentages, particularly for a guard.

This was on display when Hield ravaged VCU for 36 points to push Oklahoma to the Sweet 16, courtesy of NCAA.com:

Watch his ability to break down defenses off penetration to go along with his consistency shooting from the outside. He was unstoppable.

Hield is not exceptionally quick or as athletic as other top guards like Providence's Kris Dunn, but he has a natural ability to score. In today's NBA, where spacing and outside shooting is at a premium, expect Hield to go within the first 10 selections.

Denzel Valentine, Michigan State

Denzel Valentine will never be the fastest or biggest guy on the court, but he is ruthlessly efficient and a versatile offensive contributor.

Valentine led Michigan State in scoring and assists, averaging 19.2 points and 7.8 assists per game, and he was second in rebounding with 7.5 boards per contest. He also led the Spartans to the No. 2 assist-to-turnover ratio in the country at 1.73.

He is a top-notch passer while still making great decisions. Utah Jazz broadcaster David Locke compared his dishing skills to a former top-two draft selection:

Watching Denzel Valentine - super passing. Amazing vision. Felt that way about DeAngelo Russell last year and then never saw it in the NBA
— David Locke (@Lockedonsports) May 21, 2016 ^[6]

While being able to fill up the stat sheet, Valentine is quietly a solid shooter. He hit just under 41 percent of his threes during his career, so there is not much this guy cannot do.

Valentine may not be a great fit for an uptempo, transition-focused team. Yet, he is phenomenal in the half court, which should not drop him outside of the lottery.

Taurean Prince, Baylor

He may be small for a power forward at 6'8", but Taurean Prince makes up for it with brute strength and exceptional athleticism.

Prince led Baylor with 15.9 points per game and finished second with 6.1 rebounds. He also routinely made highlight reels with these sorts of plays, courtesy of NCAA.com:

Prince is a nightmare to defend in transition and is tough to keep off of the glass. He compares favorably to Denver's Kenneth Faried ^[9], another former first-rounder with freakish athletic ability who creates havoc around the rim at both ends of the floor.

According to MassLive.com's Jay King, Prince appears likely to go in the middle of the first round:

Taurean Prince on his rebounding description to reporter after Yale game: "everybody liked it. So I guess I liked it too."
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) May 18, 2016 ^[10]

He is not a bad perimeter shooter, but with a field-goal percentage of 43.2 and a three-point percentage of 36.1 last season, Prince is not scaring anybody from the outside at this point. He will be drafted in the first round as an energy guy, but he could certainly develop into a consistent NBA starter down the road.

A.J. Hammons, Purdue

At this point, A.J. Hammons is the most polished and NBA-ready big man in this year's draft class.

He was a key contributor for four seasons at Purdue and is a 7-footer who makes an impact on both ends of the floor.

Last season, Hammons notched 15.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. He was also named ^[11] the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Year.

What makes him so effective offensively is that he can dominate in the post while still being able to step out and hit outside jumpers. Hammons shot 59.2 percent from the field in 2015-16 and hit six of 11 three-point attempts. He also hit 70.9 percent of his free throws.

ESPN's Fran Fraschilla (via ESPN's Gianina Thompson ^[12]) believes Hammons is a fringe lottery talent:

A.J. Hammons, there will be good buzz about him as long as his interviews check out and the background stuff checks out, because it's hard to find a guy that's seven feet tall that does what he does defensively.

Even though he's a four-year player, and we talk about the speed and space game, you still need a number of big guys on your roster, and A.J. I think is a perfect guy in the middle of that first round.

Hammons compares favorably to Golden State's Marreese Speights as a big man who can score from anywhere, but the Purdue product is a much better defender. However, Hammons' potential is limited, as there does not appear to be much room for his game to drastically improve.

With the NBA valuing potential in the draft, Hammons will likely fall toward the end of the first round. The team that drafts him will add an immediate contributor who should be playing in the league for the next decade.

Individual statistics are courtesy of ESPN.com ^[13]. Team statistics are courtesy of NCAA.com ^[14].