Markelle Fultz
Nine games into his freshman season, Markelle Fultz is still projected to go first overall. We discussed him in our original post, so this is more of a check-in on how he, and his Washington Huskies, have done so far.
Fultz’s numbers remain through the roof. He’s scoring 23 points per game, while bringing down seven rebounds, and dishing out six assists. For good measure, the point guard is also averaging over a block and a steal.
Most notably, Fultz has stayed consistently efficient in his scoring, shooting 50 percent from the floor and 49 percent from three. He has shot poorly from the free-throw line though, making just 67 percent of his attempts (he would fit right in with this Heat team).
Washington’s freshman point guard is an elite talent. He’s long (6-foot-9 wingspan), he’s athletic, and he’s crafty, as a passer and as a scorer. However, his brilliance is marred by one thing. His Huskies are 4-5, and ranked the 97th overall team on KenPom.
Shouldn’t a player of Fultz’s caliber have his team performing at better than a sub-.500 level? Ultimately, does it matter?
Probably not. For comparison’s sake, last season, Ben Simmons’ LSU Tigers were a major disappointment. They lost four of their first eight games, and failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. And yet the Philadelphia 76ers still took him first overall without giving it a second thought.
When a top-level prospect can do things like this, NBA execs can easily choose to ignore how the prospect’s team did overall. And if the Heat luck into the top pick, Pat Riley won’t care about how Washington’s season went.