Three Gators-related storylines to follow when watching the 2017 NBA Draft
With the 2017 NBA Draft set to be held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn tonight at 7 p.m. ET and broadcast on ESPN, Inside the Gators now takes a closer look at three Gators-related storylines worth following throughout the event.
Where will forward Devin Robinson land tonight?
Following three seasons as a Gator and a pair of strong performances during Florida’s Elite Eight run during the NCAA Tournament, forward Devin Robinson opted to turn pro this offseason and skip his senior season.
Currently, he’s projected as a mid-to-late second-round pick for the Gators. DraftExpress.com has Robinson going 52nd overall to the New Orleans Pelicans, while CBS Sports (44th, New York Knicks), MyNBADraft.com (46th, Philadelphia 76ers) and Bleacher Report (56th, Boston Celtics) also have the 6-foot-8, 190-pound Robinson going in the second round. NBADraft.net has the former five-star recruit going undrafted.
Robinson offers teams an intriguing, athletic forward with good length. At the NBA scouting combine last month, Robinson logged the third-best numbers in the max vertical leap (41.5 inches) and the standing vertical leap (35.5 inches). While he had the lowest body fat percentage (just 3.2%) of any of the players at the combine, he could add a little more bulk to his frame to hang at the next level.
[RELATED: Robinson showcases talents at NBA Scouting Combine in May]
Although Robinson’s three-point shooting – he shot 39.1% as a junior – and perimeter defense have impressed scouts, he certainly needs to improve his offensive repertoire and become more of a playmaker in the pros.
At Florida last season, Robinson averaged 11.1 points (on 47.5% shooting) and 6.1 rebounds per contest before logging two strong performances against ETSU (24 points, seven rebounds) and Virginia (14 points, 11 boards) in the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
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Will any other Gators be selected tonight?
If anybody else from Florida’s roster last year besides Robinson were to be drafted tonight, perhaps the next-best bet would be Canyon Barry.
Although he struggled during the NCAA Tournament as he tried to shake off an ankle injury in his return, Barry pieced together a solid season as a Gators graduate transfer. In his lone season at Florida, he averaged 11.4 points on 42.2% shooting (33.6% from three) and 2.8 rebounds in 21.3 minutes per game. He shot 88.3% from the foul line, using an underhanded shooting motion that his father, Rick Barry, notably utilized back in the day.
While his shooting numbers dipped at the end of the year, the 6-foot-6, 215-pound Barry often provided the Gators with a spark off the bench, earning SEC Sixth Man of the Year honors by regular season’s end. The 6-foot-6, 215-pound Barry is not only an intelligent player but also a bright student off the court who studied nuclear engineering when in Gainesville.
Over the past few weeks, Barry has worked out for an array of NBA squads, including the Golden State Warriors (his father’s team from 1965-67 and 1972-1978), the San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings.
Currently, the majority of mock drafts have projected Barry going undrafted. Barry is more likely to not hear his name called than be selected as a late-second round pick, but there’s a good shot he could tag onto an NBA summer league roster. Forward Justin Leon and point guard Kasey Hill have also worked out for some NBA squads, but both are likely to go undrafted.
Will Florida break its draft streak tonight?
Despite Florida having draft success in its history, with 35 players selected all-time, eight going in the first round since 2000 and eight more landing in the second round over than span, not many Gators to leave college for the pros over the past four seasons have stuck in the NBA.
The last Gator to hear his name called in the NBA draft was forward Erik Murphy in 2013, when he was selected as the 49th overall pick in the second round by the Chicago Bulls. Murphy currently plays professionally overseas in Germany after one season in the NBA.
Despite having some strong performers over the years in the four seniors from the 2013-14 roster (Scottie Wilbekin, Casey Prather, Patric Young, Will Yequete), Michael Frazier II and Dorian Finney-Smith, currently only Finney-Smith has found a role on an NBA roster. He signed last offseason as an undrafted free agent with the Dallas Mavericks, where he started 35 of 81 games and averaged 4.3 points and 2.7 rebounds per contest as a rookie.
Since the 2007 NBA Draft, when Al Horford, Corey Brewer and Joakim Noah all landed in the first round, Florida has had just two first-round picks in the past nine years: Marreese Speights (16th overall, 2008) and Bradley Beal (3rd, 2012).
Robinson could very well become the first Gator selected in the draft since 2013, but it is doubtful that Florida lands a first-rounder tonight for the first time since 2012 and only the second time since the 2008 draft.
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