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NBA Draft outlook: Four Razorbacks invited to combine

connor goodson
·4 min read

With the end of the college basketball season, Arkansas saw five players from last year’s Sweet Sixteen team declare for the NBA Draft.

Anthony Black, Ricky Council, Devo Davis, Nick Smith Jr. and Jordan Walsh all announced their intentions to go through the NBA Draft process. Davis and Walsh announced their decisions with the caveat that they could potentially return to Fayetteville next season, but that is looking less and less likely by the day.

The Razorbacks could potentially make history as the second team ever to have five players drafted in a single NBA Draft. Duke in 2022 was the first program to ever accomplish that feat.

Here’s a list of the four Razorbacks who were invited to the NBA Draft combine and how Arkansas fans can watch the combine process.

Anthony Black

(Photo by Steve Roberts – USA TODAY Sports)

2022-23 Season: 

  • 12.8 PTS, 5.1 REB, 3.9 AST, 2.1 STL, 45.3 FG% and 30.1 3P%

NBA Draft Projections:

Scouting Report:

USA Today’s NBA writer, Bryan Kalbrosky: “Anthony Black is a swiss-army-knife prospect and prospects with his blend of size, playmaking, and defensive ability tend to hear their name called early in the draft. The biggest hole in his game is his shooting, the encouraging news is that his jump shot isn’t necessarily broken.”

“Although the SEC All-Freshman point-forward shot only 30.1 percent on 3-pointers, he got his shot to fall when he was open. Black was 18-for-48 (37.5 percent) on his uncontested shots from beyond the arc, per AI-Powered statistics provided by Stats Perform, and 16-for-34 (47.1 percent) on shots from the NBA distance.”

Ricky Council

(Photo by Wesley Hitt – Getty Images)

2022-23 Season: 

  • 16.1 PTS, 3.6 REB, 2.3 AST, 1.1 STL, 43.3 FG% and 79.4 FT%

NBA Draft Projections:

Scouting Report: 

NBA Draft Room.com: “Council IV is a well built 6-6 shooting guard who plays with a downhill style and is wired to score the ball. He excels in transition and getting out on the break. A great finisher who plays above the rim with ease.”

“He’s not a consistent three-point shooter yet, and will have to improve his shooting to maximize his value at the next level. He’s a very solid one-on- one defender who can guard 1-3.”

Nick Smith Jr.

(Photo by Carly Mackler – Getty Images)

2022-23 Season: 

  • 12.5 PTS, 1.6 REB, 1.7 AST, 37.6 FG%, 33.8 3P% and 74.0 FT%

NBA Draft Projections:

Scouting Report: 

USA Today’s NBA writer, Bryan Kalbrosky: “Although he struggled to stay healthy and wasn’t particularly efficient during his one-and-done season at Arkansas, the upside for Smith is still very high. With a clean slate free from injuries, it’s worth betting on his development that Smith could make a return to the player he was as a McDonald’s All-American and the No. 1 overall recruit coming out of high school.”

Jordan Walsh

(Photo by Steve Roberts – USA TODAY Sports)

2022-23 Season: 

  • 7.1 PTS, 3.9 REB, 0.9 AST, 1.1 STL, 43.3 FG% and 71.2 FT%

NBA Draft Projections:

Scouting Report: 

The Ringer NBA writer, Kevin O’Connor: “Versatile defender with the size, strength, and length to defend across perimeter positions. He possesses excellent fundamentals fighting through screens for a player his age, though his best value will come in a switching scheme.”

“He’s enough of a shooter to warrant attention from the defense, and if they close out against him he’s comfortable dribbling into a jumper or straight-line driving to the rim.”

“His make-or-break skill is his shooting. He has good form, but has a below-average percentage from the line and from behind the arc going back to high school. Unless he starts hitting shots with greater regularity he’ll cap out as a solid contributor but not much more.”

How to watch: 2023 NBA Draft combine

  • Date: May 15-21

  • Coverage: Begins Wednesday, May 17 on ESPN2 from 1-5 p.m. CT. Continues Thursday, May 18 from 3-7 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

  • Additional: Coverage of all events will be available on the ESPN App. On Monday, May 15 the NBA App will have coverage of strength, agility and shooting drills from 2-4 p.m. CT.

Story originally appeared on Razorbacks Wire