Brandon Boston raised questions for NBA personnel with his play at UK that likely will hurt him in tonight's draft. (UK Athletics Photo)
If Brandon Boston had not played at Kentucky last year and gone straight to the NBA Draft he likely would be a higher pick into tonight’s draft than what he’s going to be — or at least that is what college basketball/NBA draft analyst Jay Bilas believes. Kentucky went 9-16 last season and Boston, who was expected to be UK’s star player, had an ordinary season at best filled with more downs than ups.
He’s impressed some in recent workouts but most mock drafts and analysts still see him as a second-round pick after he was projected as a lottery pick before last season started.
“He (Boston) and Jalen Johnson of Duke I think would be higher regarded (if they had not played in college). They were higher regarded coming out of high school than they are right now,” Bilas said Tuesday on an ESPN conference call.
“But he’s talented and can make plays. His size and length certainly fit the NBA. I think he can certainly get stronger. But I’m not — he had disappointing numbers last year. He didn’t shoot the ball well. His numbers were in the 30s both from the field overall and from three, but he’s better than that. I think he’s a better passer than he’s showed, and he’s got a higher basketball IQ than he’s showed.”
However, he didn’t show that at Kentucky and it is hard to overcome that stigma on draft night.
“The thing I like most about it is his attitude remained really good, and he wasn’t — he, I think answered every question that was asked of him (last season). He didn’t make any excuses. He just didn’t play as well as he’s capable of playing, and he’s not the first player that that’s happened to because he’s still a teenager,” Bilas said.
“I think he’s got some ability level, and I think he’ll go late first, early second round.”
Bilas explained he was not meaning Boston should not have played at Kentucky.
“What I’m saying is that before the season when he was coming out of high school, he was higher regarded,” Bilas said. “He dropped because of performance, and that’s probably the same with the Jalen Johnson kid out of Duke. When he (Johnson) decided to opt out of the season, I think his standing dropped a little bit, and he was a top — both these guys, but especially Johnson, he was a top 10 talent. He is a top 10 talent still.”
Bilas said question marks were raised among NBA personnel about Boston’s play at Kentucky just like they were with UK fans disappointed with his play.
“It was like, is this who he is? Did we miss on him? And I think those are fair questions because he had a whole year and never got out — he should have shot better than 35 percent from the field. He’s better than that, I believe,” Bilas said.
“At some point you go, ‘Okay, he didn’t perform well, but he still has really good tools.’ In a way, however you play now, it’s not determinative of what you’re going to be in the future, but they’re drafting now, so that’s all the information they have.”
Bilas said while Boston likely will not be drafted as high as he was projected a year ago that does not mean he cannot still have a productive NBA career.
“To me that’s not necessarily going to affect the kind of player he is going forward, if that makes sense, because we’ve seen as an example, you’ve seen guys have poor freshman years and great sophomore years and junior years and turn into great players,” Bilas said.
“The fact that a player, whether it’s Boston or anybody else, didn’t have a great year, that’s not an outcome-determinative for a career. It may affect draft status. Those are two different things. Does that make sense? Have I explained that halfway decent?”
Seems perfectly clear to me.
