Despite the lack of high-end talent in this draft class, overall strategy revolving positions on draft nights has become solidified over the last few years. Unless a post player is of transcendent talent or projects to be a franchise cornerstone, it's hard to see them getting drafted until late in the first round. The last two years, only three big men have been drafted between picks 10 and 25: Goga Bitadze, Brandon Clarke and Mortiz Wagner. The days of non-elite bigs going early in the draft are over as prioritization has been given to other, more skill-based positions.

The consensus right now points to three names being head and shoulders above the rest: James Wiseman of Memphis, Obi Toppin of Dayton and Onyeka Okongwu of USC. A few weeks ago, I wrote about Wiseman and how his lack of visibility due to NCAA interference has, perhaps unfairly, impacted his draft stock. Dan O'Brien of TBW has also looked into all three and proclaimed Okongwu his top big in the class. Regardless of order, all three should hear their names called in the lottery.
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Outside the lottery, many names linger and could hear their name called anywhere from the early-20s to the mid-40s. Bigs are less valuable with drafting due to the mercenary-like nature of vets, and the ease of finding a replacement-caliber player. The six players whose scouting reports are below–Vernon Carey, Zeke Nnaji, Daniel Oturu, Isaiah Stewart, Xavier Tillman and Kaleb Wesson–are all talented and fill specific niches. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and these guys just want some team to fall in love with what they have to offer.

Whether fair or not, draft stock is not just about overall impact. An 18-year-old will be treated far differently than a 21-year-old in terms of where they are projected and where they might end up by the conclusion of their initial NBA contract.

Sometimes a prospect's impact can get drowned out by that conversation. We focus more on their age and the fact they haven't already reached full polish than on how what they already do well might fit the current NBA climate.

Tyler Bey is the perfect example of this.

He has one skill he can hang his hat on: his defense. Bey is an outstanding on-ball and help defender. He's one of the better athletes in this draft, has a track record of strong, multi-positional defense and is one of the more under-the-radar guys based on the team and program he played with at Colorado.

Read more on Desmond Bane, Killian Tillie and Payton Pritchard.

​High volume has robbed Isaiah Joe of the high-efficiency 3-point shooting he enjoyed as a freshman. Still, he is a large part of why Arkansas enjoyed a renaissance season under first-year head coach (and former NBA sideline general) Eric Musselman. Taking a whopping 10.6 3-point attempts a night.

As soon as he steps in the gym, he's in range to let it fly.

A January 34-point outburst on the road at Ole Miss—a night that included him going 7-of-13 from deep—has revitalized Joe's draft stock. When we say deep, we're not just talking about behind the 3-point line—which, as a reminder, is now moved back to professional levels and no longer a short college line. Joe has the ability to score outside areas where most defender venture to pick him up, and that makes him incredibly dangerous as soon as he crosses half-court.

​If the aesthetics of a jumper matter to you, Joe will be your top prospect in this class. Nobody has a smoother, more beautiful stroke. He's also incredibly long and knows how to use his length. Unfortunately, no official measurements are available for his wingspan, but he's likely upwards of 6'7".

Joe had an up-and-down season at Arkansas under former NBA head coach Eric Mussleman. Joe started the season 35.8 percent from deep over their first 16 games, and his team started 14-2.
But the Razorbacks finished 5-5, and Joe went 31.3 percent over that span.

The drop may not seem that drastic, but when you take eleven treys a game, it's the difference between three points per game.
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Joe is solid in most facets, and his skill level doesn't have many glaring holes. That said, there's one major weakness with his value as a prospect: he's 6'5" and barely 165 pounds. That rail-thin frame, one that didn't improve over two years at Arkansas, will scare off plenty of teams who doesn't see the well-rounded shooter he could turn into.

When you're a sophomore, people automatically label you as being older than most freshmen. Alabama Crimson Tide point guard Kira Lewis Jr. didn't turn 19 until April 9th, after the conclusion of his sophomore season.

Lewis is that young, as young as most freshmen in this draft class, and boasts two seasons of college success to his name.

​Lewis left high school a year early so he could begin his pursuit of a basketball career and signed on under former NBA point guard and head coach Avery Johnson at Alabama. The 17-year-old Lewis started in the SEC and showed flashes of potential, but as his team struggled, he was barely a high-level prospect on NBA radars.

A coaching change and shift in style of play—catered around Lewis' blazing speed—brought out the best in the sophomore. Alabama didn't win many more games in Lewis' second season, but they whizzed their way to the second-fastest offense in the nation. Now Lewis hopes that scouts will see not just his blazing speed but a solid polish, nuance and well-rounded offensive game.

Lewis checks all the boxes for me: he's a great transition player, a three-level scorer in the half-court (potentially) and an adequate defender. labels can be damaging, and I've often compared Lewis' trajectory with Cole Anthony in the public perception. Anthony, a transcendent scorer out of high school, seems to get the benefit of the doubt on draft boards despite a difficult season at North Carolina.

Why? Some of that is due to the perception he's younger as a freshman, but Anthony is a whole year older than Lewis. That thirteen-month age difference isn't meant to drag down Cole, but to prop up Kira. To do what he's done in the SEC, at such a young age, over the course of two seasons and under two coaches, is pretty special.

6'9" and 220 pounds with jump-out-of-the-gym athleticism. 39 percent 3-point shooting, 1.06 points per possession on post-ups and 4.4 ppg in transition.

The anchor of the nation's most efficient offense and a National Player of the Year candidate for a team that went 29-2.

Obi Toppin checks a lot of boxes.

He's a prototypical inside-outside scorer with polished footwork, a reliable jumper and above-the-rim thunder slams. The success he achieved being the high-volume anchor of the nation's highest efficiency offense is not often seen.

A season ago, that was Rui Hachimura at Gonzaga. Two years ago, the balanced attack of Villanova ruled the national landscape. In 2017, Lonzo Ball's UCLA Bruins took the cake.

There's precedent for these guys succeeding at the next level and proving themselves worthy of a top-ten selection. The similarity of Dayton's attack (formulated by head coach Anthony Grant, a former assistant under Billy Donovan for the Oklahoma City Thunder) to an NBA offense makes Toppin's strengths translatable. The insane open floor dunks and ability to play in transition always migrate over, especially for someone his size.

Still, there's something off with Toppin's athleticism. For all he does on offense, he's bad on defense.

I mean really bad.

Someone who possesses vertical athleticism and great offensive footwork like Toppin rarely struggles in the way he does moving his feet laterally on defense. He's got the tools to be a foundational offensive piece, even if he was a late bloomer in college. But there's a ton of work to be done with him on defense, so much so that it could talk a few teams out of taking him with a top-five pick.