I don't consider myself a big comic book guy. When I was a kid, I watched cartoons and knew a little about DC and Marvel, but those fandom days quickly passed me by. One of the names from those cartoons has always captured my curiosity, though: a former Superman villain named Mr. Mxyzptlk. The odd name is enough to jump out, but it was his powers in the cartoon that were so baffling. He was an imp that could manipulate anything and everything, and do virtually anything imaginable.

Mr. Mxyzptlk's weakness was in how he was constrained -- his powers were limited by restrictions, most of which he created for himself. Many of the restrictions were silly and nonsensical, but he was bound to them nonetheless. I think of him as the villain who couldn't color outside the lines, but had every capability to do so.

The modern game of basketball requires a creative eye to harness the powers of those who don't fit neatly into a conventional box. There are players whose games are so unique and blend together rarely-combined skills. It would be a shame to constrain them with restrictions and make them easily beatable.

So we'll try a look at a few of the more unique guys in this class: those who can virtually do anything, but whose biggest threats to realizing their potential are the constraints they currently or potentially face.

From a philosophical standpoint, prospect evaluation is as much about understanding the constraining factors of a young man's background as it is analyzing the mechanical changes that can lead to them taking a major leap.

In this 2021 class, Miles "Deuce" McBride stands out as the most Donovan Mitchell-like prospect. For a quick backstory, Mitchell experienced a huge jump in scoring productivity (7.4 points to 15.6 points) and 3-point shooting (25% on 2.3 attempts to 35.4% on 6.6 attempts) from freshman to sophomore years. He wasn't seen as a great passer (2.7 assists as a soph) and more of a scoring lead-guard. There were flashes, but he was still inefficient, unsure of how to jump on an NBA level and somehow not getting to the line enough.

McBride is following a similar path as a sophomore, and 15 games into his season seems like a large enough sample to view his performance as legitimate. He's made a sizable jump as a scorer (9.5 points to 15.9 points) and shooter (30.4% on 2.5 attempts to 47.3% on 3.7 attempts), as well as gains as a playmaker (1.8 assists, 1.3 TO up to 4.2 assists, 1.8 TO). He still doesn't get to the line enough and could be a little better as a leaper near the rim.

Back in 2017, I had Mitchell 12th on my Big Board and saw his defensive potential as a major strength, while criticizing the consistency of his half-court offense. Had that been there, he'd have vaulted to be a top-seven prospect in that class, on the tier with Dennis Smith and De'Aaron Fox. What I failed to take into consideration was the late-blooming trajectory of Mitchell, who missed AAU season after his sophomore year due to injury from a baseball game. He was a multi-sport athlete who didn't focus solely on hoops -- he was a senior prefect, a tour guide and a thespian at Brewster Academy, 20 minutes from my home.

McBride follows the same trajectory. An elite high school quarterback, Deuce focused on more than basketball. He played on a juggernaut program at Archbishop Moeller, teaming with Jaxson Hayes and playing in a defensive-minded system that didn't showcase his offense. He missed almost his entire junior year after suffering an injury playing football, then gave up football his senior year to focus on hoops.

He's a late-bloomer who continues to get better and better through his sophomore season. Perhaps I'm too caught up in the comparisons to Mitchell's path and trying to view this as an opportunity to get into greatness on the ground floor. In my mind, the signs are there for McBride to be an ultimate high-achiever, swing-for-the-fences pick who far outperforms his draft position.

For some, there's a cognitive dissonance between Cade Cunningham being a transcendent passer and only averaging 3.7 assists per game.

Let this be what brings them to equilibrium. The Oklahoma State Cowboys surround Cunningham with less than ideal conditions -- some non-shooters, a ton of guys who rip-and-drive when they should shoot, bigs who are undersized and struggle to finish and overall poor decision-makers.

This eight-minute video breaks down the myriad of passes Cade has made that should (or could) have resulted in an assist, or simply were brilliant passes given the defensive situation. Some are hockey assists (where he wouldn't get credit but made the pass leading to an assist situation). Some drew fouls for his teammates (which doesn't go down as an assist or point created for Cade). Some were looks to wide open shooters that they couldn't convert on.

Either way, the sheer volume of ridiculous passes made through twelve games is enough proof that he's a transcendent passer. Pay more attention to something like this than to his assist numbers.

We're going to try something new here at the Box and One... a rundown of NBA prospects to watch based on college conferences. Our goal is always to add insight into the "how" and "why" of what prospects show in college -- to combine knowledge of the collegiate system with how it could help or hinder guys looking to be drafted.

These conference rundowns are a combination of highlighting prospects and discussing system from the teams in those leagues. The final place on our tour is the Big Twelve, arguably the best conference in the country and a common home for NBA scouts to live. The consensus top prospect, two elite programs, five top-20 teams and so many really good coaches highlight this league that's strong throughout.

What are we watching for, and who might be able to separate themselves through the year? We'll give you a quick preview and go team-by-team through styles and prospects.

We're going to try something new here at the Box and One... a rundown of NBA prospects to watch based on college conferences. Our goal is always to add insight into the "how" and "why" of what prospects show in college -- to combine knowledge of the collegiate system with how it could help or hinder guys looking to be drafted.

These conference rundowns are a combination of highlighting prospects and discussing system from the teams in those leagues. The fifth stop on our tour is in the ACC. The conference has long been home to elite prospects and the best of the best; that perception has changed recently. Teams like Virginia and Florida State win on their team cultures and defensive identity. Up-and-down natures of places like North Carolina, Louisville and Miami make the conference hard to predict from a scouting standpoint and can lower the degree of difficulty of running through the conference gauntlet.

What are we watching for, and who might be able to separate themselves through the year? We'll give you a quick preview and go team-by-team through styles and prospects.

We're going to try something new here at the Box and One... a rundown of NBA prospects to watch based on college conferences. Our goal is always to add insight into the "how" and "why" of what prospects show in college -- to combine knowledge of the collegiate system with how it could help or hinder guys looking to be drafted.

These conference rundowns are a combination of highlighting prospects and discussing system from the teams in those leagues. We've hit on the Big Ten, Big East and SEC so far, and now we'll take a trip out to the West Coast for a dive into the Pac-12. With two highly-touted lottery prospects garnering a good deal of attention, eyes will be on the conference all year. But there are some intriguing prospects outside of those top two that scouts and draft fans need to familiarize themselves with.

What are we watching for, and who might be able to separate themselves through the year? We'll give you a quick preview and go team-by-team through styles and prospects.

We're going to try something new here at the Box and One... a rundown of NBA prospects to watch based on college conferences. Our goal is always to add insight into the "how" and "why" of what prospects show in college -- to combine knowledge of the collegiate system with how it could help or hinder guys looking to be drafted.

These conference rundowns are a combination of highlighting prospects and discussing system from the teams in those leagues. Next up for us is the SEC, a topsy-turvy league this year while bluebloods Kentucky and Florida struggle. Over the last few years, I've felt the SEC has produced more NBA-caliber talent than before, particularly last year. With a lot of great athletes and a league on the upswing in terms of recruiting, mastering the landscape of the conference is required for scouts.

What are we watching for, and who might be able to separate themselves through the year? We'll give you a quick preview and go team-by-team through styles and prospects.

Happy New Year! We took a look at some of the performances from big men surrounding the holiday earlier and will now move to the guards and wings, those who are a little more backcourt-oriented.

​Let's get right to it...

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Jared Butler never fails me. He was a first-round prospect on my 2020 boards before deciding to come back to school. The plan was simple for Butler: he thought coming back would give him the chance to do what he left unfulfilled last year and help Baylor compete for a national championship. The Bears returned most everybody, except Freddie Gillespie. How much would the absence of their rim protector change their defense and, as a byproduct, alter Butler's draft stock?

As it turns out, Butler has come back to school and greatly improved as a facilitator. The keys are in his hands now, and he's taken great strides in the assist-to-turnover department, assist rate, usage and in sheer number of impressive finds.

For context, here was our scouting report on Butler six months ago, when he was a fringe first-round guy whose appeal was being a blending of some on-ball creation with impressive, consistent shooting away from the ball and hard-nosed defense:

Happy New Year to all! We hope you got some time with loved ones and to relax. If you did the holiday week correctly, you mixed in some hoops with time off. We watched for you so that you didn't have to and can catch some info on big prospects for the 2021 NBA Draft.

​If you're looking to play catch up, here's a bit of what you missed.

With their 25-point thumping of Kansas on the road, the Texas Longhorns opened the eyes of the nation to what this team is capable. Shaka Smart, who many thought had a job in jeopardy, has resuscitated his program. They combine athleticism, shot-making and veteran presences. The logjam I foresaw in the frontcourt has been solved since both Greg Brown and Kai Jones can shoot. Assistant coach Nevada Smith, former G-League head coach that uses an up-tempo ball screen style, has his fingerprints all around their offensive successes.

From a scouting perspective, it's rare to see anyone go into Phog Allen Fieldhouse and smack the Jayhawks in the face. To be capable of that means there are some NBA-caliber guys on the floor. For Texas, both belong in the frontcourt: the aforementioned Brown and Jones. The freshman Brown and sophomore Jones coexist with Jericho Sims up front in a loaded Texas frontcourt. Both are making the case to be first-round prospects.

​It's a lot to digest. Two first-round prospect big men who share the floor, playing under former press-heavy coach Shaka Smart, in the year 2021? Who would've thought...

We're going to try something new here at the Box and One... a rundown of NBA prospects to watch based on college conferences. Our goal is always to add insight into the "how" and "why" of what prospects show in college -- to combine knowledge of the collegiate system with how it could help or hinder guys looking to be drafted.

These conference rundowns are a combination of highlighting prospects and discussing system from the teams in those leagues. After a dive into the Big Ten, we'll go with the Big East, one of the slept on conferences in all of the NCAA. A few standout sophomores, some fringe prospects that are intriguing and a lot of solid upperclassmen make it a must-follow for those looking for fringe prospects. That shouldn't diminish some of the guys who are flirting with the lottery, of which the conference has a few.

What are we watching for, and who might be able to separate themselves through the year? We'll give you a quick preview and go team-by-team through styles and prospects.