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Bucks

The NBA announced the 76 players who are expected to attend the 2022 NBA Draft Combine, which is scheduled for May 18-20 at Wintrust Arena and the Marriott Marquis in Chicago.
The 2022 NBA Draft Combine is an important step in the draft process for NBA prospects, leading up to 2022 NBA Draft on June 23.&nbsp;
Players will have interviews with NBA teams and participate in five-on-five games, shooting drills and strength-and-agility drills from May 18-20. Coverage of the 2022 NBA Draft Combine begins Thursday, May 19 on ESPNews from 3-5 p.m. ET and transitions to ESPN2 from 5-7 p.m. ET. The coverage continues on Friday, May 20 from 1-2 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and 2-5 p.m. ET on ESPNews.
Additionally, a select number of standout players from the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-announces-field-of-44-draft-prospects-for-g-league-elite-camp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA G League Elite Camp</a>, which takes place May 16-17 at Wintrust Arena, will be invited to participate in the 2022 NBA Draft Combine.
Here is the complete list of expected attendees for this year's NBA Draft Combine (and check out <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BasketballNews.com's 2022 NBA Mock Draft</a> to see where each player is projected to go):&nbsp;
<table style="font-weight: 400;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="832">
Player (College/Club)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Ochai Agbaji (Kansas)
</td>
<td width="442">
Jake LaRavia (Wake Forest)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Patrick Baldwin Jr. (Milwaukee)
</td>
<td width="442">
Justin Lewis (Marquette)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Paolo Banchero (Duke)
</td>
<td width="442">
E.J. Liddell (Ohio State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Dominick Barlow (Overtime Elite)
</td>
<td width="442">
Bennedict Mathurin (Arizona)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Marjon Beauchamp (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td width="442">
Matthew Mayer (Baylor)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Hugo Besson (New Zealand Breakers)
</td>
<td width="442">
Bryce McGowens (Nebraska)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Malaki Branham (Ohio State)
</td>
<td width="442">
Leonard Miller (Fort Erie Intl. Academy [Canada] )
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Christian Braun (Kansas)
</td>
<td width="442">
Josh Minott (Memphis)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Kendall Brown (Baylor)
</td>
<td width="442">
Aminu Mohammed (Georgetown)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
John Butler Jr. (Florida State)
</td>
<td width="442">
Iverson Molinar (Mississippi State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Julian Champagnie (St. John&rsquo;s)
</td>
<td width="442">
Jean Montero (Overtime Elite)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Kennedy Chandler (Tennessee)
</td>
<td width="442">
Wendell Moore Jr. (Duke)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Max Christie (Michigan State)
</td>
<td width="442">
Keegan Murray (Iowa)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Kofi Cockburn (Illinois)
</td>
<td width="442">
Andrew Nembhard (Gonzaga)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Dyson Daniels (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td width="442">
Scotty Pippen Jr. (Vanderbilt)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Johnny Davis (Wisconsin)
</td>
<td width="442">
Gabriele Procida (Fortitudo Bologna [Italy] )
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
JD Davison (Alabama)
</td>
<td width="442">
Orlando Robinson (Fresno State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Moussa Diabate (Michigan)
</td>
<td width="442">
David Roddy (Colorado State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Ousmane Dieng (New Zealand Breakers)
</td>
<td width="442">
Ryan Rollins (Toledo)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Khalifa Diop (Gran Canaria [Spain] )
</td>
<td width="442">
Dereon Seabron (North Carolina State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Jalen Duren (Memphis)
</td>
<td width="442">
Shaedon Sharpe (Kentucky)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Tari Eason (LSU)
</td>
<td width="442">
Jabari Smith (Auburn)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Keon Ellis (Alabama)
</td>
<td width="442">
Terquavion Smith (North Carolina State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Michael Foster Jr. (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td width="442">
Jeremy Sochan (Baylor)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Collin Gillespie (Villanova)
</td>
<td width="442">
Matteo Spagnolo (Cremona [Italy] )
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
AJ Griffin (Duke)
</td>
<td width="442">
Julian Strawther (Gonzaga)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Jaden Hardy (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td width="442">
Dalen Terry (Arizona)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Ron Harper Jr. (Rutgers)
</td>
<td width="442">
Drew Timme (Gonzaga)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Chet Holmgren (Gonzaga)
</td>
<td width="442">
Jabari Walker (Colorado)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Harrison Ingram (Stanford)
</td>
<td width="442">
TyTy Washington Jr. (Kentucky)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Jaden Ivey (Purdue)
</td>
<td width="442">
Peyton Watson (UCLA)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana)
</td>
<td width="442">
Blake Wesley (Notre Dame)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Nikola Jovic (Mega [Serbia] )
</td>
<td width="442">
Alondes Williams (Wake Forest)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Johnny Juzang (UCLA)
</td>
<td width="442">
Jalen Williams (Santa Clara)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Ismael Kamagate (Paris [France] )
</td>
<td width="442">
Jaylin Williams (Arkansas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Trevor Keels (Duke)
</td>
<td width="442">
Mark Williams (Duke)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Walker Kessler (Auburn)
</td>
<td width="442">
Trevion Williams (Purdue)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Christian Koloko (Arizona)
</td>
<td width="442">
Fanbo Zeng (G League Ignite)
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;

The NBA announced the 76 players who are expected to attend the 2022 NBA Draft Combine, which takes place May 18-20 in Chicago.

NBA announces 76 prospects who will attend 2022 NBA Draft Combine

Ever since Artūras Karni&scaron;ovas and Marc Eversley took over the Bulls&rsquo; front office two years ago, Chicago has been one of the most aggressive teams in the NBA. Their fingerprints are all over this roster, with notable acquisitions such as DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic, Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso.
These moves have translated to on-court success, as the Bulls posted their best winning percentage since the 2014-15 season and ended their four-year playoff drought. This year, Chicago was 46-36 &mdash; more wins than they had in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons combined. (Zach LaVine and Coby White are the only remaining players from that 2019-20 squad).
The Bulls entered the playoffs as the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference while boasting the NBA's 11th-ranked offense (scoring 111.0 points per 100 possessions) and 23rd-ranked defense (allowing 111.1 points per 100 possessions).&nbsp;
While this season marked a step in the right direction, the Bulls&rsquo; first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks showed that there&rsquo;s still plenty of work to be done. Despite Milwaukee losing their second-best player, Khris Middleton, to a sprained MCL in Game 2, the Bucks completed a gentleman's sweep against the Bulls. Chicago wasn&rsquo;t at full strength either, with Ball sidelined due to a knee injury and LaVine (COVID-19) and Caruso (concussion) each missing Game 5. Still, the reigning champions were a good litmus test.
Entering the offseason, where does Chicago go from here? Are big changes coming?
RE-SIGNING ZACH LAVINE
Entering this offseason, Chicago&rsquo;s top priority should be re-signing LaVine, who is set to hit unrestricted free agency. The 27-year-old has emerged as a perennial All-Star, earning a spot on the Eastern Conference squad in each of the last two seasons.&nbsp;
This year, LaVine averaged 24.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.8 threes, while reducing his turnovers to 2.6 per game and shooting 47.6% from the field, 38.9% from three and 85.3% from the free-throw line.&nbsp;
LaVine will certainly expect a maximum contract from the Bulls, which would <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/bulls-offseason-preview-zach-lavines-free-agency-nikola-vucevic-extension-more/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pay him</a> $212.3 million over five years. The most he could receive from another team is $157.4 million over four years. This is a relatively weak free-agent class, so it seems very likely that LaVine will get a max deal from some team.&nbsp;
The Bulls would be wise to re-sign their star shooting guard, as replacing his production would be difficult, and the team would certainly take a step back if LaVine signed elsewhere.
"I plan to enjoy free agency," LaVine said recently. &ldquo;We're going to have to experience A through Z without making any fast decisions. I think that's something me and [Rich Paul] are going to go through and experience."
LaVine was asked if the Bulls are the front-runners to sign him, but he wouldn&rsquo;t say.
"You guys have been a really, really soft spot in my heart," LaVine said to the Chicago media. "I have to do this as a business decision, as a man, to not just be viewed one way and be like, 'I'm automatically coming back,' or, 'I'm automatically leaving.'"
In multiple interviews, LaVine has reiterated that he wants to be paid what he feels he deserves.
"I just want my respect. I think that's the main thing," LaVine <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bulls/zach-lavine-prepares-olympic-quarterfinal-bulls-free-agency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> last August. "I outplayed my contract; I've been very loyal to Chicago, I like Chicago. I just want my respect."
FREE AGENCY
Aside from LaVine, the bulk of Chicago's core is under contract for the foreseeable future.&nbsp;
The Bulls have $103,181,950 in guaranteed salaries on the books for next season, spread across nine players: DeRozan, Vucevic, Lopez, Caruso, White, Patrick Williams, Javonte Green, Ayo Dosunmu and Marko Simonovic. Projections set next year&rsquo;s salary cap at $122 million and the luxury tax at $149 million.
Derrick Jones Jr.,Tristan Thompson and Matt Thomas will be unrestricted free agents. Tony Bradley has a player option worth $2,036,318, so he could opt out and test the market as well.
The team will have three restricted free agents (assuming Chicago extends a qualifying offer to each): Troy Brown Jr. ($7,228,448 QO), Tyler Cook ($1,576,305) and Malcolm Hill ($1,576,305).
Last year, the Bulls were very aggressive in free agency, making splashy moves left and right. Given their cap situation, it seems unlikely that Chicago will be able to go star hunting, but they&rsquo;ll likely try to improve their depth and add certain specialists. For example, Chicago could use a rim protector, as they averaged just 4.0 blocks per game (which ranked 27th in the NBA). Can they afford Mitchell Robinson? Could they throw an offer sheet at or sign-and-trade for a restricted free agent like Nic Claxton or Mo Bamba? Can they add a veteran like JaVale McGee or Hassan Whiteside?&nbsp;
In addition to a rim protector, it would make sense to add other defensive reinforcements as well (especially if Jones signs elsewhere). Caruso and Ball give Chicago a strong defensive backcourt, but they need some help if the Bulls want to improve their 23rd-ranked defensive rating (113.2). Some of the top defensive role players who are hitting the market include Bruce Brown, Gary Payton II and PJ Tucker. Lu Dort and Jae'Sean Tate each have a team option, but it seems unlikely that either will be available given their bargain contracts.
The Bulls will look to add a contributor or two using the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which is worth $10,349,000. Last offseason, that is how Chicago was able to sign Caruso to a four-year, $37 million deal, which ended up being a terrific addition. Other players who signed for the non-taxpayer MLE last offseason include McGee (Phoenix Suns), Tucker (Miami Heat), Reggie Bullock (Dallas Mavericks) and Khem Birch (Toronto Raptors).
It will be interesting to see what the Bulls do in free agency. However, keep in mind that some of Chicago&rsquo;s biggest additions in recent years were acquired through trades.
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TRADES
After watching the Bulls&rsquo; front office trade for Vucevic, DeRozan and Ball, fans are understandably thinking big when it comes to Chicago&rsquo;s trade targets entering the offseason.
Myles Turner has been mentioned as a possible target for the Bulls since he could solve their rim-protection issues, but the window on acquiring Turner may have slammed shut as a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/despite-trade-talks-the-pacers-want-to-keep-myles-turner-longterm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent report</a> suggested that the Indiana Pacers are now expected to keep the 26-year-old long-term.
Another dominant shot-blocker who may become available is Rudy Gobert. The Utah Jazz just had another season end in disappointing fashion, and there has already been a <a href="https://twitter.com/realOCsports/status/1521141215411941376" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> that the Jazz will be forced to choose between Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. If Utah opts to keep their young shooting guard, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year and five-time All-Defensive First-Team selection could suddenly be obtainable.
If that happens, the Bulls should at least reach out and start a conversation. Our Evan Sidery recently <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trade-destinations-for-rudy-gobert" target="_blank" rel="noopener">broke down potential destinations for Gobert</a> and listed Chicago as the top landing spot. Here&rsquo;s what he wrote:
Imagine the possibilities for Chicago with Gobert patrolling the paint with Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso hawking the perimeter. It&rsquo;s the perfect complement to offensive dynamos Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan. Chicago&rsquo;s new starting lineup of Ball, Caruso, LaVine, DeRozan and Gobert would seemingly have no holes in it from a two-way perspective. I absolutely love this idea for Chicago, and they should be blowing up the Jazz&rsquo;s phone this summer if it seems plausible.
Jazz receive: Nikola Vucevic, Patrick Williams, Coby White, draft compensation Bulls receive: Rudy Gobert
It remains to be seen if either side would do this, but it&rsquo;s an intriguing idea.
With that said, if the Bulls are committed to Vucevic and don&rsquo;t want to trade for a new big man, HoopsHype&rsquo;s Yossi Gozlan <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/bulls-offseason-preview-zach-lavines-free-agency-nikola-vucevic-extension-more/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">points out</a> that an extension for Vooch could make sense this offseason.
If that happens, perhaps Chicago just looks for a complementary shot-blocker who can play behind Vucevic like one of the free agents we mentioned above or more of a minor trade target such as New York&rsquo;s Nerlens Noel or Minnesota&rsquo;s Jarred Vanderbilt.
It&rsquo;s also worth noting that the Bulls have a $5,000,000 trade exception that expires on July 7, 2022, from their Daniel Theis deal.
DRAFT
The Bulls have the No. 18 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. In BasketballNews.com's <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Mock Draft</a>, our senior NBA Draft analyst Matt Babcock has Chicago selecting Ohio State forward <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/ej-liddell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EJ Liddell</a>.&nbsp;
The 6-foot-7, 21-year-old junior is a well-rounded, NBA-ready player who makes sense for a Bulls team that wants to win now. Last season, Liddell averaged 19.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.6 blocks, 1.4 threes and 0.6 steals, while shooting 49.0% from the field, 37.4% from three and 76.5% from the free-throw line.
&ldquo;Although he is a bit undersized for the position, the Buckeyes often used Liddell as a 4 or 5 in their lineups,&rdquo; Babcock noted in his scouting breakdown. &ldquo;He is physical and versatile on both ends of the floor, scoring both inside and out. He appears more comfortable in the mid-range and paint, which works well for his college system but raises questions in regards to his translatability to the NBA. Liddell filled up the box score and played with great effort and toughness. He has certainly carved out a spot for himself in the 2022 NBA Draft.&rdquo;
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Other players who are projected to be available in that range are G League Ignite wing <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/marjon-beauchamp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MarJon Beauchamp</a>, Baylor forward <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/kendall-brown" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kendall Brown</a>, LSU forward <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/tari-eason" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tari Eason</a>, Notre Dame guard <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/blake-wesley" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Blake Wesley</a>, G League Ignite guard <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/jaden-hardy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jaden Hardy</a>, Serbian forward <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/nikola-jovic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nikola Jovic</a> and Tennessee guard <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/kennedy-chandler" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kennedy Chandler</a>.&nbsp;
If the Bulls aren&rsquo;t interested in any of these prospects, or if Karni&scaron;ovas and Eversley continue to be aggressive on the trade market, Chicago could look to deal the No. 18 pick as part of a win-now move.
It&rsquo;s worth noting that Chicago must forfeit their next-available second-round pick after an NBA investigation revealed that they contacted Ball prior to the start of the NBA&rsquo;s free-agency period. As it stands, the Bulls&rsquo; next-available pick is the team&rsquo;s 2026 second-rounder, but Chicago can&rsquo;t acquire a second-round pick before then because they&rsquo;d have to forfeit it.
***
After a few rough years, the Bulls seem to be back on the right trajectory, and there&rsquo;s no question that this team has the talent to be a perennial playoff squad in the East. Winning 46 games despite trying to get so many new players acclimated is impressive, especially when you factor in the injuries to Ball, Caruso, Williams, etc.
Even if the Bulls bring back largely the same roster, they will benefit from that continuity and improved chemistry. However, given what we&rsquo;ve seen from this front office in recent years, don&rsquo;t be surprised if they look to wheel-and-deal in order to take the roster to the next level.

After winning 46 games and losing in the first round, where will the Bulls go from here? Alex Kennedy previews Chicago's summer.

2022 NBA offseason preview: What's next for the Chicago Bulls?

With March Madness behind us and the NBA Draft lottery odds set, we're now into the next phase of the scouting season.
BasketballNews.com Sr. NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock transitioned our 2022 NBA Draft Big Board into <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">our first NBA Mock Draft of the year</a>. As teams, scouts and analysts gather intel, this mock serves as an early peek into what draft night could look like in June.
Babcock discussed his latest projections, some early storylines to monitor in the spring, prospects who shined in the NCAA Tournament, and more in the following Q&amp;A.
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What makes Jabari Smith the pick for the Rockets at No. 1?
The Houston Rockets only won 20 games this season, but it's not all doom and gloom. They're in rebuild mode, and they've already gotten a good group of young players together. In last year's NBA Draft, they selected Jalen Green with the second pick, and it looks as if he could emerge into a primetime scorer who they can build around. 
They also drafted Alperen Sengun, Usman Garuba and Josh Christopher,&nbsp; selected KJ Martin with a late second-round pick the year before, and added Kevin Porter Jr. via trade. All of the players mentioned above are younger than 21 years old. They've struggled to win games up to this point, but they have a young nucleus to work with as they look to build for the future.
Regarding this year's draft, it's pretty close among the top prospects, and it seems as if everyone has their unique argument as to who are the top prospects and why &mdash; which I appreciate, as I think there usually tends to be too much groupthink in the draft space. Anyway, Jabari Smith Jr. is my No. 1 guy, and he has been for a while now. At 6-foot-10, Smith is an absolute sniper from the perimeter as a stretch four, and with time I think he will also prove that he has much more in his bag as a scorer. 
On the defensive end, Smith has a chance to be special. He's about as switchable as it gets, and he's tough. His versatility on both ends of the ball will provide a lot of lineup flexibility to whatever team selects him. In addition to possessing perhaps the most upside of any player projected to be in the 2022 NBA Draft, he can essentially co-exist with just about any group of players. Therefore, I believe that Jabari Smith Jr. would be the right pick for the Rockets if they indeed win the NBA Draft Lottery.&nbsp;
Which teams could shake up the draft selections if lottery luck lands them in the top-3?
My first tier includes Jabari Smith Jr., Jaden Ivey, Chet Holmgren and Paolo Banchero this year. Of that group, Jaden Ivey is the only guard. Due to his style of play, I'm not sure he's a great fit with several teams potentially selecting towards the top, including Houston, Orlando, Indiana and San Antonio -- they're all pretty guard-heavy at the moment. If any combination of these teams lands in the top-3, I wouldn't be surprised to see Ivey sliding back a touch. 
Another thing worth noting is that I'm also not sure Paolo Banchero would fit well with teams like New York or New Orleans. On the flip side, Jabari Smith Jr. and Chet Holmgren fit in pretty seamlessly with most teams. I think these are a few elements that could potentially dictate how the first few picks unfold.
What inspired Mark Williams' rapid rise to the No. 12 overall pick?
I'll admit the 12th pick is on the high side for Mark Williams, but I like the fit, and I don't think it's too much of a stretch. Williams had a terrific season at Duke this year, and he's continued to grow on me. His performance versus Gonzaga in Las Vegas in November was one of the best showings I saw in-person all season. I think he has a chance to develop into becoming a solid starting center as a rim running and rim-protecting 5-man. I wouldn't be surprised to see him have a long and productive NBA career. 
In our most recent simulated mock draft, Oklahoma City selected Paolo Banchero with the fourth pick and Mark Williams with the 12th pick, coincidentally Duke's frontcourt this past season. The Thunder have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander locked up on a long-term deal and Sam Presti's lottery selection last year, Josh Giddey, looks like a star in the making. So it seems their backcourt of the future is solid. Adding Bancero and Williams would bolster their frontcourt, giving OKC's roster shape moving forward.
Which other prospects benefited most from their March Madness performances?
He was already rated super high, but I think Paolo Banchero finished strong. Ochai Agbaji was terrific versus Villanova in Kansas' Final Four game. Benedict Mathurin had a couple of outstanding games in the tournament, and Kennedy Chandler was good for Tennessee. I think all of those players helped themselves in March.
What is one of your favorite later-round team-player fits?
A few picks in the second round that stand out are David Roddy from Colorado State to the Pacers, Jake LaRavia from Wake Forest to the Hawks, and Colin Gillespie from Villanova to the Pelicans. None of those players necessarily blow me away with their talent or tools, but I think all three could become excellent complementary players.
What makes G League Ignite prospects Dyson Daniels, MarJon Beauchamp and Jaden Hardy worthy of first-round status?
They're all very different players from one another, but they're all talented in their own right. Daniels and Beauchamp showed well this season and have moved up the ranks. Hardy came into the season projected to be a high pick and the highest of this group, but he didn't do quite as well as most people had hoped, myself included.&nbsp;
Daniels has terrific size and versatility on both ends of the ball, Beauchamp is very athletic, plays with a great pace, and makes a lot happen. Hardy might have struggled a bit this season, however, he still has a lot of raw talent as a scorer and shot-maker with deep range. I expect all three to be selected in the first round.
While many of us were focused on March Madness, have any draft-eligible international players made waves recently?
Ousmane Dieng, a player from France currently playing for the New Zealand Breakers in the Australian League, is the player that comes to mind in regards to someone who has been making waves recently on the international scene. Dieng has terrific size for an on-ball playmaker, and I think he possesses a lot of upside as a versatile point forward. He has a good chance of becoming a first-round pick.
After the success of last year's first Tampa Bay Pro Combine, what should we expect from the event this spring?
It's been great to see some of our guys who participated in the Tampa Bay Pro Combine last year find success quickly in their careers. I mean, Terry Taylor and Brandon Williams signed NBA contracts, but they also played significant minutes for their teams. Jordan Goodwin and Micah Potter had opportunities with NBA teams too. It was incredible to see!&nbsp;
We've changed the format this year. First, we cut the number of invited players from nearly 50 to 24 this year. Instead of just playing five-on-five games all week, we decided to host simulated NBA pre-draft workouts the first two days, where we'll have six players on the court at a time and 12 per day. The main reason for this change was to comply with NBA guidelines so that NBA scouts could attend. Anyway, we have another great group of guys set to fly out and compete. It should be a great week!
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Ethan Fuller checks in with Matt Babcock after the unveiling of his first 2022 NBA Mock Draft.

2022 NBA Draft: Q&A with Matt Babcock on first mock, notable risers

G League Ignite star Dyson Daniels officially announced that he's entering for the 2022 NBA Draft.
"I'm all in for the draft," Daniels told <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33751931/australian-guard-dyson-daniels-no-10-prospect-espn-100-enter-2022-nba-draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN</a>. "I feel more than ready for this next step in my career and I'm excited for this process to begin."
Last season, the 19-year-old from Australia averaged 11.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.1 threes in 15 games. BasketballNews.com's Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock believes that Daniels could end up being a lottery pick when all is said and done.&nbsp;
"Dyson Daniels spent last season with the G League Ignite after being at the NBA Global Academy in Canberra, Australia," Babcock wrote. "The 6-foot-6 wing excels at getting downhill and attacking the basket, relying on his athleticism and body control for finishing, while occasionally employing a floater.
"Daniels&rsquo; outside shooting is still a work in progress, but he is a disruptive defender with quick feet and instincts. Daniel's progression as a playmaker was notable during the G-League season, and he made a solid case for himself as a lottery pick."
Babcock currently has Daniels projected at No. 13 overall to the Charlotte Hornets in <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BasketballNews.com's latest 2022 NBA Mock Draft</a>. He has Daniels as the first G League Ignite player off the board, followed by&nbsp; &nbsp;(No. 17), Jaden Hardy (No. 23) and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/michael-foster-wont-be-stopped-from-turning-nba-dream-into-reality" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michael Foster</a> (No. 49).
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Last season, the 19-year-old from Australia averaged 11.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.1 threes in 15 games

G League Ignite's Dyson Daniels enters 2022 NBA Draft

The NBA announced the Clorox Rising Stars challenge rosters after undergoing a four-team draft, coached and headlined by captains and NBA legends - Jon Barry, Gary Payton, Isiah Thomas and James Worthy.
Here is the official release from the NBA:
"The 2022 Clorox Rising Stars rosters have been announced following a player pool draft conducted by 75th Anniversary Team members and Rising Stars coaches Jon Barry, Gary Payton, Isiah Thomas and James Worthy. The 2022 All-Star Weekend event will be highlighted by some of the league&rsquo;s best young talent, including leading Kia Rookie of the Year candidates Evan Mobley and Cade Cunningham and sophomore stars LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards.
In a new format, 28 players &mdash; comprising 12 rookies, 12 sophomores and four members of the NBA G League Ignite developmental squad; see roster below &mdash; were drafted onto four teams to compete in three games on Friday, Feb. 18 (9 p.m. ET, TNT).
Each game will be played to a Final Target Score, ending with a made basket or free throw instead of with the clock running out. It will be a &ldquo;Race to 75&rdquo; to celebrate the league&rsquo;s 75th anniversary season &mdash; Games 1 and 2 will be played until a team reaches 50 points; Game 3 will be played until a team reaches 25 points."
Clorox Rising Stars Rosters:
 TEAM BARRY
Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons Dyson Daniels, G League Ignite Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers Isaac Okoro, Cleveland Cavaliers Alperen Sengun, Houston Rockets Jae&rsquo;Sean Tate, Houston Rockets Franz Wagner, Orlando Magic
 TEAM ISIAH
Precious Achiuwa, Toronto Raptors Desmond Bane, Memphis Grizzlies Saddiq Bey, Detroit Pistons Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves Tyrese Haliburton, Sacramento Kings Jaden Hardy, G League Ignite Isaiah Stewart, Detroit Pistons
 TEAM PAYTON
LaMelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets Scottie Barnes, Toronto Raptors Ayo Dosunmu, Chicago Bulls Chris Duarte, Indiana Pacers Scoot Henderson, G League Ignite Jaden McDaniels, Minnesota Timberwolves Davion Mitchell, Sacramento Kings
 TEAM WORTHY
Cole Anthony, Orlando Magic MarJon Beauchamp, G League Ignite Josh Giddey, Oklahoma City Thunder Jalen Green, Houston Rockets Herbert Jones, New Orleans Pelicans Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers Jalen Suggs, Orlando Magic
 Tournament Bracket
&nbsp; &nbsp; Game 1: Team A vs. Team B &nbsp; &nbsp; Game 2: Team C vs. Team D &nbsp; &nbsp; Game 3: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2
"In addition, a timed shooting competition called the Clorox Clutch Challenge will take place between Games 2 and 3 of Clorox Rising Stars. A total of eight NBA and NBA G League Ignite players will be divided into four teams of two and compete to make shots from five locations on the court tied to iconic shots made in the NBA Playoffs.
&bull; Teams will break down as follows:
&mdash; Desmond Bane/Tyrese Haliburton &mdash; Scottie Barnes/Chris Duarte &mdash; Josh Giddey/Evan Mobley &mdash; Michael Foster Jr./Fanbo Zeng (G League Ignite)
&bull; Each team will compete with one shared ball and its players must alternate shots so no player shoots two times consecutively. Team 1 is given 1 minute and 30 seconds (1:30 counting down) to make a shot from each of the five locations in any order. Team 1&rsquo;s time is then the marker for Team 2. If Team 1&rsquo;s time is 1:15, then Team 2 will have a 1:15 countdown clock to complete the competition. Each team that establishes a new standard sets the clock for the next team competing, and the fastest finisher will win the Clorox Clutch Challenge."

The Clorox Rising Stars challenge has been set after the conclusion of a 4-team draft.

Clorox Rising Stars rosters set after 4-team draft

During the 2022 NBA All-Star Weekend in Cleveland, there will be a new-look Rising Stars game.
This year, the Clorox Rising Stars will feature four seven-player teams competing in a mini-tournament consisting of three games. Each game will be played to a Final Target Score, meaning that a game will end with a made basket or a made free throw instead of with the clock running out.
The 24 first- and second-year NBA players for Rising Stars were selected by NBA assistant coaches, with each of the league&rsquo;s 30 teams submitting one ballot per coaching staff. The four NBA G League Ignite players were selected by NBA G League head coaches. Here are this year's participants:
ROOKIES: Franz Wagner (Orlando Magic), Scottie Barnes (Toronto Raptors), Evan Mobley (Cleveland Cavaliers), Alperen Sengun (Houston Rockets), Davion Mitchell (Sacramento Kings), Herb Jones (New Orleans Pelicans), Cade Cunningham (Detroit Pistons), Chris Duarte (Indiana Pacers), Josh Giddey (Oklahoma City Thunder), Ayo Dosunmu (Chicago Bulls), Jalen Green (Rockets), Jalen Suggs (Magic)
SOPHOMORES: Precious Achiuwa (Toronto Raptors), Cole Anthony (Magic), LaMelo Ball (Charlotte Hornets), Desmond Bane (Memphis Grizzlies), Saddiq Bey (Pistons), Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves), Tyrese Haliburton (Sacramento Kings), Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia 76ers), Jaden McDaniels (Timberwolves), Isaac Okoro (Cavaliers), Isaiah Stewart (Pistons), Jae'Sean Tate (Rockets)
G-LEAGUERS: MarJon Beauchamp, Dyson Daniels, Jaden Hardy, Scoot Henderson
NBA legends who were named to the league&rsquo;s 75th Anniversary Team and assistant coaches from the 2022 NBA All-Star Game coaching staffs will comprise the combined coaching staffs for Clorox Rising Stars. The coaches will select their team rosters in the upcoming Rising Stars Draft. Each team will select seven players, including one NBA G League Ignite player.
The Clorox Rising Stars tournament will be televised by TNT on Friday, Feb. 18 (9 p.m. ET) during NBA All-Star Weekend.

During the 2022 NBA All-Star Weekend in Cleveland, there will be a new-look Rising Stars game.

NBA announces 2022 Clorox Rising Star participants

The college basketball calendar has turned over to a new year and a new stage of the season as conference play gets underway.&nbsp;
With stakes ramping up towards March Madness, top prospects are expected to accordingly step up their games. But already, we've seen star-level talents and breakout players make waves. Matt Babcock and the Basketball News Draft Team recently updated their <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Draft Big Board</a>, with Jabari Smith notably swiping the top spot. Babcock fielded some questions about the ranking, as well as players to watch over the next few months.
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1. What inspired the move to place Jabari Smith atop your Big Board?
To be completely honest with you: Last year, I was tempted to put Evan Mobley at No. 1 pretty much all year, but I didn&rsquo;t, and now I regret it. I am probably as high on Jabari Smith as I was on Evan Mobley at the same stage, and I didn&rsquo;t want to make the same mistake twice.
Jabari Smith checks so many boxes and his upside is through the roof. I&rsquo;ve gone on record saying that if everything clicks for him, he could become a prototypical stretch four. I mean, if I think a player can be prototypical at any position, how do I not put him at No. 1? So I&rsquo;m high on Jabari Smith. However, I do think there are reasonable arguments that can be made for both Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren as the top prospects. For the time being, though, I&rsquo;m rolling with Jabari Smith.
2. What is fueling the momentum carrying Bennedict Mathurin to No. 5?
I was intrigued by Mathurin last year, and I think he would have had a chance to be a first-round pick had he declared for the draft. I became somewhat concerned with his lack of ball skills early in this season and dropped him some, but he&rsquo;s recently elevated his game. He has good size, is a big-time athlete, and is tough &mdash; he&rsquo;s an alpha, for sure. He&rsquo;s shooting the ball with range and seems to be expanding his offensive arsenal to where he can be considered a three-level scorer.
On top of all of that, I think he has a chance of being an effective defender. He&rsquo;s a great example of a young prospect that is likely going to benefit significantly by betting on himself and returning to school for an extra year to continue developing. It&rsquo;s sure looking like he&rsquo;s about to cash out big.
3. Has Jaden Ivey separated himself as the top lead guard in the class? Who could challenge him?
Jaden Ivey has been terrific this season, and so has the Purdue team. I love watching them play! Regarding Ivey separating himself from other lead guards, I&rsquo;d say that he has on some level or another. It also depends on how you interpret the classification &ldquo;lead guard.&rdquo; There&rsquo;s no denying that he&rsquo;s an incredibly dynamic player with the ball in his hands. However, I see his role ultimately being more along the lines of Dwyane Wade or Donovan Mitchell. They both generated a lot of offense on the ball, but were usually paired with another ball handler.
As for other prospects that could challenge Ivey, I&rsquo;m still intrigued by Jaden Hardy&rsquo;s raw talent. Many of us expected him to step into the G League Ignite and dominate, myself included. Well, he hasn&rsquo;t done that. It seems as if he&rsquo;s been going through some growing pains. I still think he has a chance to be selected high, though.
I&rsquo;m also very high on Alabama&rsquo;s J.D. Davison, Tennessee&rsquo;s Kennedy Chandler, and Kentucky&rsquo;s TyTy Washington. What I find interesting is that all five of those prospects that I listed are very different. That order could very well be determined by the style of play each team selecting prefers.
4. Which college freshmen have you seen start to find their footing recently?
The first name that comes to mind is A.J. Griffin from Duke. We projected him as a lottery pick going into the season. He had a slow start, but he was coming off of an injury, and he hadn&rsquo;t played much the last couple of seasons. I think he just needed a little time to get his footing. However, he&rsquo;s looked tremendous in the last couple of games. He has such an impressive physical profile for a wing, and his shot-making and creating abilities are off the charts. We currently have him at No. 12, but I could easily see us moving him up even higher if he keeps progressing.
5. Who has been the biggest surprise star in college so far?
Johnny Davis from Wisconsin has been the biggest surprise so far. He wasn&rsquo;t even on our priority watch list going into the season. He&rsquo;s a tough, strong scoring wing. He reminds me of former NBA player Arron Afflalo. He&rsquo;s a good athlete and talented, but he doesn&rsquo;t necessarily blow you away with his tools. He&rsquo;s just a tough-nosed player who&rsquo;s going to get it done. I&rsquo;m scheduled to see him live in a few weeks when they play at Nebraska. I&rsquo;m looking forward to that game.
6. What changes for you when college basketball transitions to conference play?
The way I typically put together my schedule, conference play gets a little easier for me. Strategically, I travel aggressively in November and December to get my bases covered. Then I can pick and choose my spots to travel to in between regional conference games. I&rsquo;ve seen most of our high-priority prospects in person this year already, and I feel like I have a pretty good grip on the bulk of the draft at this point. The way I look at it, we&rsquo;ve already done a lot of the necessary work.
Now, I can switch gears to get into more of a track mode, where I focus more on monitoring players rather than becoming familiar with them. I make more of an emphasis to gather intel in January and February too.
7. What is behind the rise of MarJon Beauchamp with G League Ignite?
I first met and saw MarJon work out a couple of years ago when he was training with my good friend Frank Matrisciano. At the time, MarJon was physically weak, and he had a reputation for having a selective motor and bad body language. He&rsquo;s gotten so much stronger in two years, and his motor and attitude have gone from being questionable to now being two of his strengths. I&rsquo;m not sure that I appreciate anything more than a player addressing his issues to accomplish their goals. Hats off to MarJon; he has done just that.&nbsp;
8. On the international front, has any particular prospect seriously raised their stock abroad?
No, not necessarily. Actually, regarding international prospects, it&rsquo;s not looking like there will be nearly as many selected this year as we initially thought. For one, a lot of the top prospects in Europe aren&rsquo;t playing that much, which makes it challenging to evaluate them. Also, one of our favorites, Roko Prkacin, is out for the season due to injury, unfortunately.
On the other hand, we are still very excited about the upside of Nikola Jovic, who&rsquo;s playing in Serbia with Mega, and Ousmane Dieng, a French player currently playing for the New Zealand Breakers. Keep in mind that many of the top international prospects that we are high on are young and will have the option of withdrawing their names from the draft, or not even entering at all. Both seem to be more of a common practice by international players and agents in recent years.
Check out BasketballNews.com's latest <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Draft Big Board</a>.

Matt Babcock gives an update on the top 2022 NBA Draft prospects as the new year gets started.

2022 NBA Draft: Q&A with Matt Babcock as conference play tips off

The first calendar month of NCAA action is drawing to a close, and there were no shortage of prospect fireworks throughout the early nonconference slate.&nbsp;
Freshmen like Jabari Smith and Kendall Brown have consistently turned heads with their play, while returning stars such as Jaden Ivey showed tremendous growth. Of course, Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren also dominate the conversation, culminating with their thrilling matchup on Nov. 26 in Las Vegas.
Matt Babcock was on hand for that game and many others. He and his scouting team recently updated <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">our 2022 NBA Draft Big Board</a>. Babcock answered a few of my questions about his board and his observations so far.
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What has Paolo Banchero done to solidify his No. 1 ranking on your Big Board?
Matt Babcock: I have seen Banchero in-person twice this season &mdash; on opening night in New York at the State Farm Champions Classic, and then just recently in Las Vegas versus Gonzaga. He was terrific in both games. The main thing for me that gives Banchero an edge over Jabari Smith and Chet Holmgren is his ability to create offense on his own. Don&rsquo;t get me wrong, he has a well-rounded game, but his ability to get buckets is something teams can build around. I envision Banchero being a big-time scorer in the NBA.&nbsp;
What has inspired you to move Jabari Smith up to second on your Big Board?
Matt Babcock: I recently watched Jabari Smith in Tampa, Florida when Auburn played South Florida. He didn&rsquo;t even have a great game, but he showed his talent and I was blown away. He does just about everything I&rsquo;d want from a versatile stretch four. He shoots the ball extremely well with range. He&rsquo;s teased his ability to score on three levels, and I think he has the potential to become an elite switchable defender. From an upside standpoint, Jabari Smith might have the highest ceiling of any prospect this year.
Aside from Banchero and Holmgren, who else stood out to you from the Duke vs. Gonzaga matchup?
Matt Babcock: That game was unbelievable! I feel lucky to have been in the building. From a scouting standpoint, it was almost overwhelming because between the two teams, there were so many NBA prospects. However, one player that really stood out was Wendell Moore from Duke. I&rsquo;ve watched Moore since he was in high school. He&rsquo;s gotten so much better. I initially thought he was just a tough, slashing player. In that game in Las Vegas, he showed so much more versatility than he has in the past. He actually showed some point guard skills, which surprised me. It was also very clear that he is the leader of that team. I have a lot of confidence in Moore right now. We decided to include him on our most updated Big Board as an early second-round pick.&nbsp;
Duke&rsquo;s sophomore center, Mark Williams, made a major impact in that game, too. He&rsquo;s so big and really uses his length to be a great defensive anchor and finisher around the rim. He&rsquo;s trending up in my book for sure.
I also thought Gonzaga&rsquo;s point guard, Andrew Nembhard, showed well. He isn&rsquo;t the quickest player, but he has good size and is just a solid floor general. I think he&rsquo;s improved quite a bit.
What makes Kendall Brown one of the hottest early risers in the class so far?
Matt Babcock: I&rsquo;m very high on Kendall Brown. He has positional size and is about as good of an athlete as I&rsquo;ve ever seen. He&rsquo;s already producing at a high level as a freshman for a very good Baylor team. I don&rsquo;t think he&rsquo;s ever going to be a guy that&rsquo;s going to create a ton of offense on his own, but his elite athleticism and motor allow for him to make plays all over the court.
Which other freshmen have made significant impressions early in the season?
Matt Babcock: There are a lot of talented freshmen. Of course there are the players that we expected to be near the top of the draft, like Banchero, Smith, Holmgren, and Duren, but a few guys that have really caught my attention early on have been Moussa Diabate from Michigan, Max Christie from Michigan State, Matthew Cleveland from Florida State, and Bryce McGowens from Nebraska.
Which collegiate returners have shown significant growth from last year?
Matt Babcock: Coincidentally, the two names that come to mind first are both from the Big Ten: Jaden Ivey from Purdue and Keegan Murray from Iowa.
Ivey is a dynamic guard who is so athletic. He&rsquo;s a hawk on the ball defensively and is constantly attacking the rim with the ball in his hands. He&rsquo;s really improved as a playmaker, too. He&rsquo;s really an exciting player. Keep an eye out for his highlights.
As for Keegan Murray, he doesn&rsquo;t do one thing that blows you away, as his game is pretty simple. He&rsquo;s a stretch four who has a non-stop motor. The guy just makes things happen all game long by playing smart and hard. He&rsquo;s having an incredible season so far for the Hawkeyes. Murray is averaging over 25 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and a steal per game. At this point, I have a hard time envisioning him slipping too far in the draft, as I think a lot of teams could use him.
I was actually planning to see both of these players in-person later this week when their teams play each other Friday night at Purdue, but I couldn&rsquo;t fit it into my schedule, unfortunately. I need to lock in a couple of dates so I can see both of them sometime soon.
Who's a player you would like to see more from before conference play gets started?
Matt Babcock: My schedule really came together nicely this season. I&rsquo;ll have seen most of the real high-priority prospects by the New Year. I&rsquo;d say the area where I feel least confident, at the moment, is with international prospects. I&rsquo;m heading out to Europe for a couple of weeks in January, though, so I will have an opportunity to see a lot of top guys then. There are also some prospects playing in Australia, whose league is just getting going right now. I likely won&rsquo;t be traveling there this season. I don&rsquo;t even know if I could go if I wanted to. But it will be nice to get some fresh film to watch and get caught up on those prospects.
What other non-NCAA prospects have made strong statements recently?
Matt Babcock: I think G League Ignite players Dyson Daniels, MarJon Beauchamp and Michael Foster are all doing a nice job. Jaden Hardy hasn&rsquo;t been playing as well as I had hoped he would, but I think it&rsquo;s just a matter of time for him to work through the kinks and become more comfortable. Also, Scoot Henderson has been incredible since he came back from an injury. He&rsquo;s not draft eligible this year, but next year, watch out &mdash; he&rsquo;s coming!&nbsp;
I&rsquo;m also planning to go to Atlanta in the next couple of weeks to see Jean Montero and the rest of the players with Overtime Elite. I worked for Overtime Elite as a scouting advisor for about six months. I helped get their scouting operations in order and their initial group of players set. So in addition to seeing Montero and the rest of the players there, I&rsquo;m looking forward to seeing all of my former co-workers and their brand new arena.

Matt Babcock explains some of the updates to his Big Board and highlights some of the top prospects he's scouted.

2022 NBA Draft: Q&A with Matt Babcock on early-season risers

College basketball is just around the corner, and when the season tips off on Nov. 9, the scouting season will truly kick into high gear.
BasketballNews.com Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock and his team of scouts have already been watching prospects in U.S. professional programs (G League Ignite and Overtime Elite) as well as abroad, and have made stops at college pro days and exhibition games. So even though the collegiate season has yet to start, they have already been hard at work scouting some must-watch players.
I asked Babcock some questions about what he has observed in the collegiate preseason, what he expects from the early stretches of play, and more. Be sure to also check out the BasketballNews.com <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Draft Big Board</a>.
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1. From a scouting perspective, how much do you take away from college basketball preseason?
Well, I evaluate hundreds of prospects every year. I&rsquo;m in the information-gathering business, and there is an extensive process to be able to gather enough information and come to a conclusive evaluation of a player prior to their draft. During the preseason &mdash; depending on who I&rsquo;ve seen before &mdash; I know some players better than others, how many times I&rsquo;ve seen them and in what setting. If I&rsquo;m seeing a player for the first time, it&rsquo;s the first step in my evaluation process.&nbsp;
In those cases, I&rsquo;m really just trying to get a feel for the player&rsquo;s skill set, body type, movements and personality &mdash; essentially creating a platform to work off in order to be able to do a deeper dive on the player. If I already know the player decently, I try to get a pulse of where they&rsquo;re at in their development. Both scenarios are important to me. I carefully put together my travel and my day-to-day efforts to make sure I gather enough information on all of the relevant prospects by draft night. To make a long story short, I value seeing prospects in all different types of settings, including practices and scrimmages during the preseason.
2. What were the most significant changes you made to your recently updated Big Board?
I&rsquo;d say the biggest change was including some additional freshmen who I&rsquo;m somewhat on the fence about. I recently included Max Christie from Michigan State, Moussa Diabate from Michigan, and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield from Tennessee. Projecting how a true freshman will do right off the bat can be extremely challenging. I spend a lot of time evaluating high-school prospects in an effort to get a head start on the evaluation process.&nbsp;
I&rsquo;m confident that all of the freshmen we currently have on our Big Board have the tools to be NBA prospects this year, but there are so many variables that can affect their imminent draft status: How will they adapt to their new setting? What role will they play for their team? Different things along those lines. I make it a point to track freshmen closely because oftentimes it can go either way.
3. What opening week games would you consider to be must-watch for scouts?
I&rsquo;m kicking the season off with a bang. I&rsquo;m heading to New York City for the State Farm Champions Classic to see Kansas versus Michigan State, and then Kentucky versus Duke at Madison Square Garden. Obviously it&rsquo;s great from a scouting standpoint because I&rsquo;ll see a bunch of top prospects. But even just as a basketball fan, I&rsquo;ll get to see some of the best coaches in the country go head-to-head: Bill Self versus Tom Izzo, and then John Calipari versus Coach K. It doesn&rsquo;t get any better than that.
4. After seeing Kentucky and TyTy Washington recently, what type of impact do you expect from him?
I&rsquo;ve spent a lot of time watching TyTy over the course of the last year. I feel like he&rsquo;s one of those players who I&rsquo;m constantly higher on than the consensus. My latest trip to Kentucky kept that idea intact. In fact, I walked away even higher on him than I was before. Kentucky had a brutal season last year, but I&rsquo;m expecting for them to bounce back this season &mdash; and I think TyTy is going to lead the charge for them. They&rsquo;ll go as TyTy goes. That said, I think he&rsquo;s going to be a star player for them and subsequently become a lottery pick come June.
5. Which prospects moved the needle the most this preseason?
There are a few guys in my book who have impressed me and helped themselves recently &mdash; Max Christie from Michigan State, Oscar Tshiebwe from Kentucky and MarJon Beauchamp from the G League Ignite.
6. What college freshman not currently on your Big Board could possibly be included sometime soon?
I&rsquo;ve got my eye on a few. Nolan Hickman and Hunter Sallis from Gonzaga, Harrison Ingram from Stanford, Trevor Keels from Duke and Bryce McGowens from Nebraska. There are some others too, but those are names that come to mind first.
7. How does this year&rsquo;s G League Ignite team compare to last year&rsquo;s?
Last year, the Ignite produced two lottery picks in Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga. This year, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/babcock-takeaways-from-the-g-league-ignites-season-opener" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I&rsquo;m expecting</a> Jaden Hardy to be a high lottery pick, but I don&rsquo;t expect any of the other guys to be taken quite that high. However, I think they have more depth and overall talent top-to-bottom. We are currently projecting that Dyson Daniels will be a first round pick, Michael Foster is not far off and MarJon Beauchamp is doing some really good things early for them too.
8. Which international prospects have risen for you in recent weeks?
One player to keep an eye on is Ismael Kamagate, who is playing for Paris. He&rsquo;s a big, athletic rim-protector and rim-runner. Our international scout, and a former NBA scout, Jason Filippi, recently watched Kamagate and had the chance to interview him. <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-nba-draft-qa-french-big-man-ismael-kamagate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">His Q&amp;A is up on BasketballNews.com</a>. Jason walked away impressed with Kamagate. He&rsquo;s not currently on our Big Board but I wouldn&rsquo;t be surprised if we ultimately included him.

Ethan Fuller checks in with Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock ahead of the 2021-22 college basketball season.

2022 NBA Draft: NCAA basketball season preview with Matt Babcock

In the G League Ignite&rsquo;s inaugural season last year, the program produced several notable NBA Draft picks: Jalen Green (No. 3 overall, Houston Rockets), Jonathan Kuminga (No. 7 overall, Golden State Warriors) and Isaiah Todd (No. 31 overall, Washington Wizards). Former five-star recruit and UCLA commit Daishen Nix didn&rsquo;t hear his name called, but was signed to a two-way contract shortly after the draft. Despite the complications and challenges the Ignite faced with the pandemic last season, I&rsquo;d say it was a success overall.
This past weekend, I traveled to Des Moines, Iowa to see the new-look Ignite take on the Iowa Wolves (the Minnesota Timberwolves affiliate) in their 2021-22 season opener.
The young Ignite struggled mightily early on versus a talented Wolves team, having trailed 65-34 at halftime. However, with things looking bleak, newly-appointed head coach Jason Hart impressively kept the energy level high. His team subsequently chipped away at the deficit, closing the gap to make it a competitive game in the second half despite ultimately falling, 98-87.&nbsp;
Although the young prospects started off their pro careers with that common &ldquo;deer in the headlights&rdquo; look, I found the game to be very fruitful from a scouting perspective, nonetheless. Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Rod Strickland have done a terrific job of carrying over the momentum they created last season, and it&rsquo;s great to see that they have put together another very talented group of young NBA prospects.&nbsp;
Prior to attending the game in Iowa, I had previously crossed paths with the American prospects &mdash; Jaden Hardy, Michael Foster and MarJon Beauchamp &mdash; multiple times. I have also watched an extended amount of film on Australian prospect Dyson Daniels, who our very own <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-little-guy-from-bendigo-dyson-daniels-game-is-unlike-anyone-elses" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Spencer Davies interviewed this summer</a> too. So I didn&rsquo;t go into that game starting my evaluations from scratch, and had a decent level of familiarity with these young men. That said, this was the first time I was able to see them in their new professional setting &mdash; naturally, the next step in my evaluation process.
Here are my thoughts on each of the Ignite&rsquo;s top prospects:
Jaden Hardy
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 85%; height: 66px; border-style: none;" border="0">
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<td style="width: 48.1356%; height: 22px;">Height: 6-4</td>
<td style="width: 48.1356%; height: 22px;">Position: Guard</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.1356%; height: 22px;">Weight: 198</td>
<td style="width: 48.1356%; height: 22px;">Draft Day Age: 20.1</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.1356%; height: 22px;">Wingspan: 6-9</td>
<td style="width: 48.1356%; height: 22px;">Nationality: USA</td>
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</tbody>
</table>
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Jaden Hardy is already well-known as a dynamic scorer. I might even go as far as to call him a potentially-elite scorer. However, in this specific game, he was not. Hardy&rsquo;s game generally starts from the outside. He is a terrific outside shooter with limitless range, which subsequently opens things up for him and allows him to use his explosiveness and finishing abilities at the rim. He clearly wasn&rsquo;t feeling it in Iowa, as his outside shots weren&rsquo;t falling, which seemed to put some additional pressure on him to create more off the dribble and get to the hole. Despite only shooting 1-of-8 from three-point range, Hardy still ended up with 12 points and 6 assists. To be clear, I&rsquo;m not concerned with one off shooting night at all. I have no doubt that the kid can fill it up.
I&rsquo;m intrigued to watch Hardy more and get a better feel as to whether he can play some point guard, or if he will be limited to strictly playing as a shooting guard primarily as a scorer. If he is limited to only playing off the ball, I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s necessarily a huge knock on his evaluation; it just changes the outlook as to what his long-term role will be.&nbsp;
I&rsquo;m also going to be keeping an eye on his defensive fundamentals and discipline. I can&rsquo;t say that I was overly alarmed, but he has a lot of room for growth on that end of the floor. At the same time, similar things were said about Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball and Jalen Green at the same stage in their development &mdash; and they&rsquo;re all just fine.
We currently have Jaden Hardy at No. 3 on our <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Draft Big Board</a>, and I am comfortable with him in that spot for now. At this point, I believe that, in some type of order, Chet Holmgren, Paolo Banchero and Hardy are the &ldquo;Big Three&rdquo; of the 2022 draft class.
Dyson Daniels
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 89.6695%; height: 75px; border-style: none;" border="0">
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<tr style="height: 25px;">
<td style="width: 48.1356%; height: 25px;">Height: 6-6</td>
<td style="width: 48.1356%; height: 25px;">Position: Guard/Forward</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 25px;">
<td style="width: 48.1356%; height: 25px;">Weight: 198</td>
<td style="width: 48.1356%; height: 25px;">Draft Day Age: 19.3</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 25px;">
<td style="width: 48.1356%; height: 25px;">Wingspan: 6-7</td>
<td style="width: 48.1356%; height: 25px;">Nationality: Australia</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
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As opposed to most NBA prospects who I track for years and see in live action before they step into their pre-draft season, this was the first time I had seen Dyson Daniels in person. As mentioned before, I had spent time watching film on him, but I find it hard to get a great grip without seeing a prospect with my own two eyes.&nbsp;
At first glance, Daniels more than passes the eye test. At 6-foot-6 and 199 pounds, he looks like an NBA player. Interestingly, Daniels started at point guard as Scoot Henderson &mdash; who will be eligible for the 2023 NBA Draft &mdash; was out with a minor injury. Although Daniels looks like he&rsquo;d be an athletic and slashing wing, his greatest strength is his ability to get to his spots off the bounce. My early impression is that, regardless of what position he plays, his ability to create is what appeals the most.
Daniels showed flashes of major upside as a versatile guard with terrific positional size, but was unassertive, which seemingly led to a lack of production. It was only his first game with the Ignite, so I&rsquo;m not going to overreact here, but I would like to see him break out of his shell a bit moving forward.&nbsp;
We will be tracking Daniels very closely moving forward, as he has a lot of talent. He is currently ranked 21st on our <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Big Board</a>.
Michael Foster
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 85%; border-style: none; height: 66px;" border="0">
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<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.1356%; height: 22px;">Height: 6-8</td>
<td style="width: 48.1356%; height: 22px;">Position: Forward</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.1356%; height: 22px;">Weight: 250</td>
<td style="width: 48.1356%; height: 22px;">Draft Day Age: 19.4</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.1356%; height: 22px;">Wingspan: 6-11</td>
<td style="width: 48.1356%; height: 22px;">Nationality: USA</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
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I have seen Michael Foster play in-person many times. There&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/michael-foster-wont-be-stopped-from-turning-nba-dream-into-reality" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a lot to like about him</a> &mdash; his physical profile, tools and raw skill set are undeniable. He played hard and was terrific on the boards in the game vs. the Wolves, but offensively he left me wanting more, as he has done before. Actually, his lack of self-awareness on the offensive end has made me increasingly frustrated.&nbsp;
When evaluating Foster, I can&rsquo;t help but think about a scene from an old Vince Vaughn movie named, &ldquo;Swingers.&rdquo; In the scene, Vaughn&rsquo;s character said something along the lines of:
You&rsquo;re a big bear with big claws and fangs, and there&rsquo;s like this little bunny just cowering in the corner. You&rsquo;re looking at these claws, and you&rsquo;re thinking to yourself, &lsquo;I don&rsquo;t know how to kill the bunny.&rsquo;
Although I&rsquo;ll admit the analogy is a bit off the wall, I think it fits. Foster has the physical tools and skills to be such a physical force, but regularly chooses to be a finesse player.
If I were coaching Foster, I would set him on a two-dribble limit and only give him the green light to shoot jumpers off the catch; my hope would be that it would force him to simplify his game. I&rsquo;d like to see Foster turn himself into a rebounding machine who is constantly looking to tear the rim down, while also being able to hit an open shot from the perimeter. He&rsquo;s certainly capable of doing these things, but he needs to choose to play that way.
I&rsquo;m not giving up on Foster as a prospect, but I think he needs to make the next steps in his development in order to even come close to maximizing his talent.
MarJon Beauchamp
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 89.6695%; height: 100px; border-style: none;" border="0">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.1356%; height: 22px;">Height: 6-6</td>
<td style="width: 53.6301%; height: 22px;">Position: Guard/Forward</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.1356%; height: 22px;">Weight: 199</td>
<td style="width: 53.6301%; height: 22px;">Draft Day Age: 20.8</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.1356%; height: 22px;">Wingspan: 7-0</td>
<td style="width: 53.6301%; height: 22px;">Nationality: USA</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
MarJon Beauchamp (<a href="https://twitter.com/Marjon32?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Marjon32</a>) putting his explosion &amp; athleticism on full display with a couple monster dunks, including this one that fired up the Ignite bench. <a href="https://t.co/SiZf3d0IBn">pic.twitter.com/SiZf3d0IBn</a>
&mdash; Derek Murray (@DMurrayHoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/DMurrayHoops/status/1454247282271039490?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2021</a></blockquote>
A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to spend some time with MarJon Beauchamp and watch him work out after he joined trainer Frank &ldquo;Hell&rsquo;s Trainer&rdquo; Matrisciano&rsquo;s Chameleon BX (now Stealth X Athletics). It seems as if the pandemic really threw a wrench in the program&rsquo;s plans, as MarJon has not gotten much exposure since I first saw him. However, as soon as he took the court in Des Moines, it was instantly noticeable that he had transformed his body. Once a skinny kid, Beauchamp now looks like a grown man physically. And you know what? He played like one too.
Tallying 18 points and 8 rebounds, Beauchamp utilized his athleticism to execute various slashing moves, throw down some impressive dunks and contribute on the boards. If he&rsquo;s able to prove to be reliable enough as an outside shooter, I think he&rsquo;ll find a place for himself in the NBA.
Following my trip to Des Moines, I&rsquo;m not sure any player helped himself more than Beauchamp did. As a result, we have moved him up our <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Big Board</a>. He is currently ranked No. 48.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Today is November 1, and the NBA Draft is set to take place on June 23, 2022. The NBA Draft process is exactly that &mdash; a process. As an NBA Draft Analyst, I spend years evaluating prospects, starting when most are at the high school level. My personal approach is to not be overly concerned with being the first to be right about a prospect, but rather to organize my schedule and my efforts to make sure that I&rsquo;m able to gather the proper amount of relevant information to be able to come to a conclusive evaluation by draft night.
I&rsquo;ve now shared my candid thoughts with you as to where I stand with each of the G League Ignite&rsquo;s prospects at this particular point in the process. One thing I really like about evaluating prospects early in the season is that there is still plenty of time for the prospects to change the narrative &mdash; for better or worse.&nbsp;
And for that reason, I&rsquo;ll continue to watch closely.

Matt Babcock provides his thoughts on each of the G League Ignite’s top NBA Draft prospects after seeing their pro debuts in Iowa.

Babcock: Takeaways from the G League Ignite’s season-opener

WALNUT CREEK, Calif., Oct. 28, 2021 &ndash; NBA G League Ignite has added six veterans who will aid in the development of the team&rsquo;s elite youth prospects, the team announced today. The veteran group brings years of valuable playing experience ranging from the NBA to college and international professional leagues, and includes Dakarai Allen, Jessie Govan, Amauri Hardy, Pooh Jeter, Amir Johnson and Malik Pope.
&ldquo;We have a special group of veterans who have been super helpful and encouraging,&rdquo; said head coach Jason Hart. &ldquo;The group is led by Pooh Jeter, a consummate pro contributing to our younger players&rsquo; growth.&rdquo;
Additionally, Ignite&rsquo;s coaching staff has been finalized with assistant coaches Rod Baker and C.J. Williams, on-court player development coach Thomas Scott and video coordinator Nick Hamilton joining Hart&rsquo;s staff.&nbsp;
IGNITE VETERAN BIOS
Johnson and Govan return for their second stints with Ignite after joining the team for NBA G League single-site competition in the team&rsquo;s inaugural season. Johnson averaged 8.7 points and 3.3 rebounds with Ignite last season, while Govan added 7.8 points and 2.6 rebounds through eight games before suffering a season-ending injury.
Jeter, who spent time with the Sacramento Kings and in the NBA G League, also brings a wealth of international experience from a prolific career spanning the globe, including time in Spain, Israel, China, France, Turkey and the Ukraine.
The 2017 Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year, Allen&rsquo;s experience includes NBA G League stops with the Salt Lake City Stars (2017-18), Agua Caliente Clippers (2018-19) and Grand Rapids Drive (2019-20). He averaged 7.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists in his season with the Drive.
Pope, who played with Allen at San Diego State, joined the Los Angeles Lakers for 2018 Summer League action before moving to Greece to play in the PAOK organization. He played for the NBA G League&rsquo;s Greensboro Swarm in 2019, averaging 6.7 points and 4.5 rebounds, and also spent time in NBA G League single-site competition earlier this year, joining the Austin Spurs in Orlando.
Hardy, who joins his younger brother Jaden, a 2022 NBA Draft Prospect, on Ignite&rsquo;s roster, was a four-star recruit who played four years of college basketball, including three seasons at UNLV and one at Oregon. He was a third team all-Mountain West selection as a junior after averaging 14.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists.
2021-22 NBA G LEAGUE IGNITE ROSTER
NO &nbsp; &nbsp;NAME &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; POS &nbsp; &nbsp;HT &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;WT &nbsp; &nbsp; DOB &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Hometown &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Prior to Ignite
4 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Dakarai Allen &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; G &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;6-5 &nbsp; &nbsp; 193 &nbsp; &nbsp; 2/4/95 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Sacramento, Calif. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Salt Lake City Stars
14 &nbsp; &nbsp; MarJon Beauchamp &nbsp; &nbsp; F &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 6-6 &nbsp; &nbsp; 199 &nbsp; &nbsp; 10/12/00 &nbsp; Yakima, Wash. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Yakima Valley Junior College
3 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Dyson Daniels &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;G &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;6-6 &nbsp; &nbsp; 199 &nbsp; &nbsp; 3/17/03 &nbsp; &nbsp; Bendigo, Australia &nbsp; &nbsp; NBA Global Academy
11 &nbsp; &nbsp; Michael Foster Jr. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;F &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 6-8 &nbsp; &nbsp; 250 &nbsp; &nbsp; 1/16/03 &nbsp; &nbsp; Milwaukee, Wisc. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Hillcrest Prep (AZ)
15 &nbsp; &nbsp; Jessie Govan &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; C &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 6-10 &nbsp; 252 &nbsp; &nbsp; 7/25/97 &nbsp; &nbsp; Queens Village, N.Y. Indios de Mayag&uuml;ez (Puerto Rico)
7 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Amauri Hardy &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;G &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;6-1 &nbsp; &nbsp; 200 &nbsp; &nbsp; 4/3098 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Detroit, Mich. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; University of Oregon
1 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Jaden Hardy &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;G &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;6-4 &nbsp; &nbsp; 198 &nbsp; &nbsp; 7/5/03 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Detroit, Mich. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Coronado HS (NV)
0 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Scoot Henderson &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;G &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;6-2 &nbsp; &nbsp; 195 &nbsp; &nbsp; 2/3/04 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Marietta, Ga. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kell HS (GA)
5 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Pooh Jeter &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; G &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;5-11 &nbsp; 175 &nbsp; &nbsp; 12/2/83 &nbsp; &nbsp; Gardena, Calif. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; BC Dnipro (Ukraine)
00 &nbsp; &nbsp; Amir Johnson &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; F &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 6-9 &nbsp; &nbsp; 253 &nbsp; &nbsp; 5/1/87 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Los Angeles, Calif. &nbsp; &nbsp; Philadelphia 76ers
21 &nbsp; &nbsp; Malik Pope &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; F &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 6-10 &nbsp; 215 &nbsp; &nbsp; 7/25/96 &nbsp; &nbsp; Elk Grove, Calif. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Austin Spurs
12 &nbsp; &nbsp; Fanbo Zeng &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; F &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 6-11 &nbsp; 199 &nbsp; &nbsp; 1/11/03 &nbsp; &nbsp; Harbin, China &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Windermere Prep (FL)
COACHING STAFF
Head Coach: Jason Hart
Assistant Coaches: Rod Baker, CJ Williams
On-Court Player Development Coach: Thomas Scott
Performance Coach: Ernest DeLosAngeles
Video Coordinator: Nick Hamilton
About NBA G League Ignite
NBA G League Ignite is a first-of-its-kind team dedicated to developing top young prospects in preparation for the NBA Draft. &nbsp;Based in Walnut Creek, Calif., the roster includes elite players who are eligible for the NBA Draft as well as NBA and NBA G League veterans who serve as mentors to the team&rsquo;s young talent. &nbsp;The program focuses on high-level competition and accelerated on-court development for players who are beginning their professional careers. &nbsp;Additionally, the team provides life skills training that includes financial literacy education, community service involvement and scholarship opportunities. &nbsp;While Ignite is not a traditional NBA G League team, competition includes games against NBA G League opponents and exhibitions against international teams.

NBA G League Ignite has added six veterans who will aid in the development of the team’s elite youth prospects.

G League Ignite announces veteran additions, coaching staff

WALNUT CREEK, Calif., Oct. 13, 2021 &ndash; Fanbo Zeng, a top international prospect from China, has signed to play with NBA G League Ignite, NBA G League President Shareef Abdur-Rahim announced today.
A native of Harbin, China, Fanbo was among ESPN&rsquo;s top-ranked forwards in the class of 2022. He spent two years at Windermere Prep in Florida before returning to China in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. &nbsp;As a sophomore in 2019-20, Fanbo averaged 15.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 2.1 assists to earn Class 3A First Team All-State and Orlando Sentinel All-Area First Team honors.
NBA G League Ignite is a first-of-its-kind program that gives top young prospects a chance to begin their professional careers while receiving mentorship and life skills training and preparing for the NBA Draft. Fanbo joins an elite group of young talent, including Jaden Hardy, Michael Foster, MarJon Beauchamp, Dyson Daniels and Scoot Henderson on Ignite&rsquo;s latest roster. The mix of top youth standouts and NBA and G League veterans look to continue the program&rsquo;s success after its inaugural season, which featured strong debuts by elite prospects Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Daishen Nix and Isaiah Todd, and international standout Princepal Singh.
(Editor's Note: Read our Spencer Davies' exclusive interviews with G League Ignite standout prospects&nbsp; <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/michael-foster-wont-be-stopped-from-turning-nba-dream-into-reality" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michael Foster Jr.</a> and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-little-guy-from-bendigo-dyson-daniels-game-is-unlike-anyone-elses" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dyson Daniels</a> to learn more about each player's goals with the program.)

A native of Harbin, China, Fanbo was among ESPN’s top-ranked forwards in the Class of 2022.

Chinese top prospect Fanbo Zeng signs with G League Ignite

The NBA season may start in October, but scouting is a year-round endeavor.
College basketball is on the horizon, and scouts are preparing themselves for another draft cycle. For Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock and the rest of the BasketballNews.com Draft Team, this means they'll soon be criss-crossing the country to watch the top young talents in the world &mdash; and they've already been doing so overseas.
I caught up with Babcock to preview the 2022 NBA Draft and get some insight into his <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently-released 2022 NBA Draft Big Board</a>.&nbsp;
In your early estimation, what makes the 2022 NBA Draft prospect field unique from other classes we have seen in recent years?
Matt Babcock: It seems that every year our scouting takes us to new and unique places to evaluate prospects more and more. For example, on our <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first Big Board</a>, we have included four players from the G League Ignite (Jaden Hardy, Dyson Daniels, Michael Foster, and MarJon Beauchamp) and one player (Jean Montero) from Overtime Elite. We also have 15 players currently playing overseas included in our top-60; there were only seven taken in last year&rsquo;s draft."
Chet Holmgren and Paolo Banchero are two of the top bigs (and players, in general) in this class. How did you approach ranking each of them?
Babcock: I&rsquo;ve seen both of them play for years and countless times. In one way, they&rsquo;re similar, as they&rsquo;re both big guys who can do a little bit of everything on the court. However, their body types could not be any more different. Holmgren is incredibly long and thin; he&rsquo;s 7-feet tall with a 7-foot-6 wingspan and is alarmingly thin, weighing in at only 195 pounds. Banchero is built like a bull at 6-foot-10 and a strong 250 pounds. They&rsquo;re both <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/high-school-iverson-classic-recap-future-top-picks-chet-holmgren-paolo-banchero-look-special-2022-nba-draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">top-tier prospects</a> nonetheless.
What stands out to you about this year's international prospects?
Babcock: As I mentioned before, the depth of international prospects, potentially in the 2022 NBA Draft, is significant. In addition to depth, there is also plenty of high-level talent. We currently have four international players currently playing overseas &mdash; Yannick Nzosa, Nikola Jović, Ousmane Dieng and Roko Prkačin &mdash; in the top-30 of our Big Board, and 15 in the top-60.
Which G League Ignite players do you think will thrive in the professional environment?
Babcock: There is no denying that Jaden Hardy is the cream of the crop for the G League Ignite this season. He&rsquo;s such a talented offensive player who possesses a ton of star potential. We currently have Hardy slotted as the No. 3 prospect on our Big Board, but I wouldn&rsquo;t be surprised one bit if he ultimately moves up as high as No. 1. 
I&rsquo;m also intrigued by <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-little-guy-from-bendigo-dyson-daniels-game-is-unlike-anyone-elses" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dyson Daniels</a>, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/michael-foster-wont-be-stopped-from-turning-nba-dream-into-reality" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michael Foster</a> and MarJon Beauchamp. Aside from Daniels, who is from Australia, I&rsquo;ve seen all of these players in-person multiple times. However, I&rsquo;m looking forward to seeing them in a professional environment with the G League Ignite. I&rsquo;m planning to see them play in early November.
Who are some players ranked far outside of the "lottery" on your draft board that you think could leap into lottery discussions by spring?
Babcock: It&rsquo;s often very challenging to project how incoming freshmen will do right off the bat. With that said, a few players come to mind that fit that mold: Daimion Collins of Kentucky, Matthew Cleveland of Florida State and Kendall Brown of Baylor. Another player to keep an eye on is Caleb Love of North Carolina, who had an up-and-down freshman season last year. I&rsquo;m expecting him to have a big year.
Who are some players you are much higher on than consensus at this stage?
Babcock: We&rsquo;ve had plenty of discussions as a group internally about Gonzaga's Drew Timme. I understand the concerns with his game; he was exposed on the defensive end pretty badly in the NCAA Championship game vs. Baylor. He&rsquo;s also bit of a throwback-style of player as a low-post scoring big, which is a style that doesn&rsquo;t fit today&rsquo;s game as well as it once did. However, I really like Timme&rsquo;s polished game and knack for scoring the ball. I think I have more confidence than most in his ability to adapt to the NBA game.
I love college basketball, but I also like to watch games with a particular eye on NBA prospects. Outside of the usual recruiting powers, what teams should I tune into?
Babcock: Well, I&rsquo;d certainly make watching the recruiting powers like Gonzaga, Duke and Kentucky a major priority, as they are stacked with talent as usual. A few players to take a look at that are not at powerhouse programs would be Patrick Baldwin Jr. at UW-Milwaukee, Taevion Kinsey at Marshall, Jordan Hall at Saint Joseph&rsquo;s and Max Abmas at Oral Roberts.
What are some of the biggest challenges facing scouts and draft analysts this year?
Babcock: We&rsquo;re finally getting back to a relatively normal scouting schedule, but the one thing that is still somewhat touch-and-go is international travel, depending on the country. I&rsquo;ll likely travel to Europe a couple of times or so this year, but the planning isn&rsquo;t quite as easy as it is in most years.
Most of all, I&rsquo;m excited to go to games with fans in attendance. I feel lucky that I was able to go to so many games last year when most people weren&rsquo;t able to, but watching games in empty buildings just isn&rsquo;t the same.

Ethan Fuller previews the upcoming scouting season and 2022 NBA Draft with Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock.

2022 NBA Draft Q&A: Matt Babcock previews the upcoming class

WALNUT CREEK, Calif., Sept. 23, 2021 &ndash; MarJon Beauchamp, a former four-star recruit, has signed with NBA G League Ignite, NBA G League President Shareef Abdur-Rahim announced today.
Beauchamp joins an Ignite roster that features top young standouts Jaden Hardy, Michael Foster Jr., Scoot Henderson and Dyson Daniels. The team is coached by former NBA player Jason Hart.
&ldquo;I chose the Ignite path because I know it&rsquo;s going to prepare me both on and off the court,&rdquo; Beauchamp said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a great opportunity to showcase my skills while staying humble and learning what it takes to be a professional.&rdquo;
Beauchamp played at Yakima Valley College, where he averaged 30.7 points, 10.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists while shooting 52.5 percent from the field and 39.8 percent from three-point range in 12 games.
Ignite is coming off a successful inaugural season that produced NBA Lottery picks Jalen Green (No. 2 overall, Houston Rockets) and Jonathan Kuminga (No. 7 overall, Golden State Warriors). This year&rsquo;s team will make its official debut Friday, Nov. 5 against the South Bay Lakers to tip off the 2021 NBA G League Showcase Cup.
Basketball News NBA Draft analyst Matt Babcock provided his thoughts on Beauchamp:
"I haven&rsquo;t seen MarJon Beauchamp play live recently but I have been intrigued by him in the past. He's a long, wiry and athletic wing that possesses NBA upside. I currently have it penciled into my schedule to see the G League Ignite play against the South Bay Lakers on Nov. 5 in California. I&rsquo;m certainly looking forward to getting a pulse on MarJon&rsquo;s development and tracking him throughout the season."

Beauchamp joins an Ignite roster that features top young standouts Jaden Hardy, Michael Foster Jr., Scoot Henderson and Dyson Daniels.

MarJon Beauchamp signs with NBA G League Ignite

It&rsquo;s not often that an aspiring professional basketball player makes their debut on the big screen and the NBA hardwood simultaneously, but Michael Foster is right on track.
Projected as a first-rounder in the 2022 NBA Draft, the burly 18-year-old power forward is set to appear in Adam Sandler&rsquo;s upcoming Netflix film, "Hustle," in a small role. There's no concrete release date, so it&rsquo;s conceivable that Foster will kick off his NBA and acting careers in the same year.
&ldquo;That opportunity really came out of nowhere,&rdquo; Foster told BasketballNews.com in a phone interview. &nbsp;&ldquo;I was at a tournament when my guy Avery [Smith] had told Chianti [Clay Sr.] about it, and then Chianti told me that I had to do a little audition. I'm like, 'I gotta do an audition?'&nbsp;
&ldquo;It seemed so simple. I had to just dunk the ball, turn around, say a couple lines. But it's tough once you've got two phones recording you, flashlight on. It's like, 'Aw, you've got to say it like you really mean it.&rsquo; It's tough, but I got through it and they liked it and now I'm there."
Before either happens, however, Foster has the task of spending the next season preparing in Walnut Creek, California with the G League Ignite. Though it won&rsquo;t technically be on the top stage, this will still be his introduction to the pro level. He&rsquo;ll be competing in games against former NBA players scattered throughout the G League, as well as practicing against former pros and other top prospects on the Ignite (including Jaden Hardy, Scoot Henderson, Dyson Daniels, MarJon Beauchamp and Fanbo Zeng).
Foster already got a taste of what that will be like. While he was in Los Angeles in early August, he participated in scrimmages with players from the Sacramento Kings and Detroit Pistons for a few days prior to NBA Summer League. He played with a number of guys who were a part of the 2021 draft class as well, so he got a little bit of a head start before the Ignite start camp for the upcoming campaign.
&ldquo;It's pretty fun [knowing I&rsquo;m getting ready for my first pro season]. It motivated me a lot to get up every morning, go extra hard in the gym, push myself,&rdquo; Foster said. &ldquo;Of course I've never played an NBA game, but I've been hooping with a couple professional basketball players... I'm an open book for anything. I know the game's gonna be different &mdash; the speed of the game, the physicality, all things like that &mdash; so it's just a mental state I've gotta keep myself in."
It always helps to have an NBA-ready body before you get there. At 6-foot-10 with an imposing 220-pound muscular frame, Foster has that part taken care of &mdash; and he might not be done.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I'm growing by the month actually,&rdquo; he said with a laugh.
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&mdash; Michael Foster (@MichaelFoster__) <a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelFoster__/status/1391575734427082753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 10, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Foster believes that his strength separates him from the pack, but he knows that this alone won't get him very far.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I know everybody be like, 'He got a pro body already,' but people don't understand that one of the major things on the next level is being able to control your body, be able to guard bigger, better players, faster,&rdquo; Foster said. &ldquo;You go in there &mdash; and it's no offense to the skinnier and little guys &mdash; but at some point, you're gonna have to hit that weight room... unless you leap like Kevin Durant, and it ain't that many people like that."
When asked if he feels he'll be able to beat up players at the next level, Foster doesn't hesitate.
"Ain't no question. Playing against a couple pros, everybody be like, 'Oh my God, his strength is on another level.' But I'm still learning to control my strength and my body control and things like that..." he said, before adding that he wants to be a multi-dimensional player.
"I probably look at the game differently... Once you're bigger &mdash; 6-foot-8, 6-foot-10, 6-foot-9 &mdash; everybody wants to be that forward that can do it all, [like] Kevin Durant or LeBron James. I'm pretty sure everybody's mimicking their game after them too."
Foster believes his best attributes are "my strength, my speed, the way I move [despite being] this big of a guy." He&nbsp;is extremely confident in his scoring, rebounding and shot-blocking abilities. He additionally insists that he&rsquo;s a good defender who can guard 1-through-5 and play positionless basketball. As for aspects he needs to improve on, Foster points to his outside stroke and decision-making with the ball in his hands.
&ldquo;My shot selection. Like, take the first one instead of taking the hard one, turning to a stepback, doing fades when I don't got to," Foster said when asked of what he's got to get better at. "And overthinking sometimes, for sure.&rdquo;
BasketballNews.com's Lead NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock is a big believer in what Foster brings to the table, especially after watching Foster work out a few weeks ago.
Michael Foster&rsquo;s physical profile and athleticism are intriguing as he is 6-foot-9 and possesses extreme power and explosiveness. He also has a solid skill set, including an ability to shoot the ball from outside. This year while he is with the G League Ignite, I&rsquo;d like to see him simplify his game. If Foster limits how much he tries to do off of the dribble, improves his shot-selection, and uses his physical tools more effectively, I think he will elevate his game and draft stock exponentially.
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It was great to see Michael Foster before he heads out to join the G League Ignite. Foster possesses big-time physical tools and major upside. I&rsquo;ll certainly be tracking him closely this season in preparation for the 2022 NBA Draft. <a href="https://t.co/w381xbDtNO">pic.twitter.com/w381xbDtNO</a>
&mdash; Matt Babcock (@MattBabcock11) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattBabcock11/status/1428014146235240452?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 18, 2021</a></blockquote>

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The Ignite&rsquo;s roster features plenty of future NBA talent for Foster to develop alongside. Aside from the highly-talented Jaden Hardy (whom he&rsquo;s gone head-to-head with in high school), Foster doesn&rsquo;t have previous relationships with his new teammates. &nbsp;He keeps in touch with Hardy and Scoot Henderson over texts here and there, and they've all been getting to know one another while taking a financial literacy class together via Zoom.
In late July, it was announced that Jason Hart would be taking the Ignite's head-coaching reins from Brian Shaw, who took an assistant coaching job under Tyronn Lue with the Los Angeles Clippers. During the the team's mini-camp last month, Foster said that Shaw informed the group of his plans to pursue an NBA coaching opportunity that he'd been chasing. The message? That this is a business and when chances like that come along, you&rsquo;ve got to do what&rsquo;s best for your family.
Foster said that he&rsquo;s had some brief conversations with Hart, whom he met in Los Angeles while working with NBA shooting specialist Chris Matthews, known as <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lethalshooter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"Lethal Shooter"</a> on social media.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a cool guy,&rdquo; Foster said of Hart. &ldquo;He understands that the game is evolving. He understands he's got young guys going against older, stronger guys. He told us that they're gonna want to play on their [own] level. They're gonna try to slow the game down, this and that. But he said we've got to do our best to speed 'em up and keep our composure."
As we saw in this most recent NBA Draft, the Ignite program helped elevate its inaugural prospects into top-tier picks. Foster relays that seeing Jalen Green go No. 2 to Houston and Jonathan Kuminga go No. 7 to Golden State on draft night only solidifies his trust in the Ignite and what they can do for him.
Foster is quite familiar with both of those guys, as well as Isaiah Todd (No. 31 to the Washington Wizards). He and Green were on the same Team USA junior squad, and the two shared Co-MVP of the 2019 Chick-Fil-A Classic. And before Kuminga reclassified, he and Foster were in the same class.
&ldquo;We was debatable; they had me I think like fifth [overall] and he was No. 1, but we was always the two cats... [Like], 'Okay, them pros. It ain't too many people like that in our class of 2021,&rsquo;" Foster said of Kuminga. &ldquo;He went there [to the Warriors]. He boosted my confidence by that. The G League did a great job making him who he is today. That right there just made me like, 'Okay, they're really over there wanting better for the kids.'
&ldquo;We always had that competitive edge, being debated as the two best in the class. Of course we're going at each other every time we'd see each other. So [I&rsquo;m] pretty sure that he knows about me; we for sure know about each other.&rdquo;
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As he&rsquo;s embarked on this journey from his hometown of Milwaukee to Hillcrest Prep in Phoenix to the West Coast, Foster has leaned on his strong support system. Chianti Clay Sr. (his coach and mentor) and Chianti Clay Jr. (his coach's son and former teammate, who's a great prospect in his own right) have been by Foster&rsquo;s side since his middle-school days. Avery Smith and Josh Williams are &ldquo;his guys&rdquo; who work out with him and help motivate him. Foster&rsquo;s mother, sister, brother and father support and pull for him too.
&ldquo;In my inner circle, I've got them wanting me to be the greatest I can be. And that's also my mindset. My mindset is the main thing,&rdquo; Foster said.
Clay Sr. told Foster that he's different from any of the other players he's taken under his wing.
&ldquo;He had plenty of guys that could've made it out of Milwaukee, but they decided to do anything that got theirself put in a different situation. But me, see, I'm just different. I'm more low-key of a guy,&rdquo; Foster said. &ldquo;I've got one goal in life, and that's to become an NBA player and take care of my family. Ain't nothing gonna stop me from getting there. God forbid I get injured or anything like that, but I feel like I can bounce back from anything if I really put my mind to it.&rdquo;
At Hillcrest Prep, Foster averaged 32.2 points and 18.4 rebounds per game during his senior season. He was an All-American who tore up the high-school scene as the No. 7 prospect in the 2021 class before becoming the Ignite&rsquo;s first commit for the 2021-22 season. The school hadn't seen that kind of dominance from a big man since Deandre Ayton.&nbsp;
In an <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/high-school/2021/01/21/hillcrest-preps-michael-foster-aspires-better-than-7-footayton/4235442001/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview last winter with The Arizona Republic</a>, Foster sternly spoke about being associated with the Phoenix Suns star: &ldquo;I want to be better than him.&rdquo;
That sentiment has not changed, and now a year away from achieving his NBA dream, his objectives extend beyond himself.
&ldquo;Being the best I can be, that's one goal,&rdquo; Foster said. &ldquo;I don't know what the [Ignite] record was last year, but the team goal is to have a better record [than 8-7]. Go for the championship for the G League or being a better playoff seed than the previous year.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Of course, I want to get my numbers up, but you know, you've got to do what you've got to do first. To get your numbers up, you've gotta play team ball, you've got to play more games. So that's the goal, be a better team than last year."

G League Ignite forward Michael Foster speaks with Spencer Davies about his game, his goals for the upcoming season and more.