While meeting with the media at Ohio State on Wednesday, rising sophomore Buckeyes guard Musa Jallow said that he and his teammates planned to get together and watch the 2018 NBA Draft as a team on Thursday night.
For the first time in three years, there’s a reason – at least one reason – for the Buckeyes to have a vested interest in the NBA draft.
When Keita Bates-Diop’s name is called at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on Thursday night, he will be the first Ohio State player selected in the NBA draft since the Los Angeles Lakers selected D’Angelo Russell with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 draft.
That much is already known, as Bates-Diop is a safe bet to be among the draft’s 60 selections, and widely projected to be selected between the middle of the first round and the early second round. The question now, which will be answered tonight, is which NBA team will give him the call – and whether any other Buckeyes will also get that call.
Bates-Diop wasn’t always projected to be a top prospect in this year’s draft. Going into last season, when he was coming off a stress fracture in his left leg that limited him to just nine games in the 2016-17 season, Bates-Diop’s name didn’t appear in many preseason mock drafts.
A career year, however, vaulted Bates-Diop into the national conscience and legitimized him as an NBA prospect, leading to his decision to declare for the 2018 NBA draft with one remaining year of eligibility after averaging 19.8 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per game and earning 2017-18 Big Ten Player of the Year and second-team All-American honors.
"Weighing all my options, talking to my family, the coaches, former pro teammates currently, I think it was the best decision for me," Bates-Diop said at his draft declaration press conference at Ohio State on March 26.
Because he is already four years out of high school and 22 years old, Bates-Diop wasn’t likely to improve his draft stock by returning to Ohio State for another year. And most draft prognosticators believe Bates-Diop will end up being among the top 30 picks – or if not, very close – on Thursday night.
| Pick | Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | PHOENIX SUNS |
| 2 | SACRAMENTO KINGS |
| 3 | ATLANTA HAWKS |
| 4 | MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES |
| 5 | DALLAS MAVERICKS |
| 6 | ORLANDO MAGIC |
| 7 | CHICAGO BULLS |
| 8 | CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (FROM BROOKLYN NETS) |
| 9 | NEW YORK KNICKS |
| 10 | PHILADELPHIA 76ERS (FROM LOS ANGELES LAKERS) |
| 11 | CHARLOTTE HORNETS |
| 12 | LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS (FROM DETROIT PISTONS) |
| 13 | LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS |
| 14 | DENVER NUGGETS |
| 15 | WASHINGTON WIZARDS |
| 16 | PHOENIX SUNS (FROM MIAMI HEAT) |
| 17 | MILWAUKEE BUCKS |
| 18 | SAN ANTONIO SPURS |
| 19 | ATLANTA HAWKS (FROM MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES) |
| 20 | MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES (FROM OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER) |
| 21 | UTAH JAZZ |
| 22 | CHICAGO BULLS (FROM NEW ORLEANS PELICANS) |
| 23 | INDIANA PACERS |
| 24 | PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS |
| 25 | LOS ANGELES LAKERS (FROM CLEVELAND CAVALIERS) |
| 26 | PHILADELPHIA 76ERS |
| 27 | BOSTON CELTICS |
| 28 | GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS |
| 29 | BROOKLYN NETS (FROM TORONTO RAPTORS) |
| 30 | ATLANTA HAWKS (FROM HOUSTON ROCKETS) |
CBS Sports’ Reid Forgrave ranks Bates-Diop as the No. 20 overall prospect in this year’s draft class. The Washington Post’s Matthew Giles and The Ringer’s Jonathan Tjarks both rank Bates-Diop 24th, while The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie and The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor each rank him 27th. Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman ranks Bates-Diop 29th, Sports Illustrated’s Jeremy Woo ranks him 34th and NBADraft.net’s Aran Smith ranks him 35th.
Bates-Diop could end up coming off the board higher than any of those rankings. In the Los Angeles Times' mock draft in which picks were made by reporters who cover each NBA team, Altitude Sports' Chris Dempsey predicts the Denver Nuggets will select Bates-Diop with the No. 14 overall pick, the final selection among the lottery picks. The Washington Post's Tim Bontemps projects the Washington Wizards will select Bates-Diop with the No. 15 overall pick, while NBA.com's David Aldridge has the Phoenix Suns drafting KBD at No. 16 overall.
Forgrave has the Utah Jazz selecting Bates-Diop with the 21st pick, while Woo has the Los Angeles Lakers selecting KBD with the 25th pick. USA TODAY’s Michael Singer, Jeff Zillgitt and Sam Amick and Wasserman both have the Philadelphia 76ers selecting Bates-Diop with the 26th pick.
If Bates-Diop doesn’t go in the first round, he shouldn’t have to wait long once the second round begins. NBADraft.net’s mock draft projects that the Suns will select Bates-Diop with the first pick of Round 2, No. 31 overall, while The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie has the New York Knicks drafting Bates-Diop with the 36th overall pick.
In the weeks leading up to the draft, Bates-Diop worked out for eight of the league’s 30 teams: the Denver Nuggets, the Wizards, the Suns, the Jazz, the Indiana Pacers, the Portland Trail Blazers, the Lakers and the Golden State Warriors.
| Year | Round | Pick | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1 | 2 | D'ANGELO RUSSELL | LOS ANGELES LAKERS |
| 2013 | 2 | 58 | DESHAUN THOMAS | SAN ANTONIO SPURS |
| 2012 | 1 | 21 | JARED SULLINGER | BOSTON CELTICS |
| 2011 | 2 | 51 | JON DIEBLER | PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS |
| 2010 | 1 | 2 | EVAN TURNER | PHILADELPHIA 76ERS |
| 2009 | 1 | 24 | BYRON MULLENS | DALLAS MAVERICKS |
| 2008 | 1 | 23 | KOSTA KOUFOS | UTAH JAZZ |
| 2007 | 1 | 1 | GREG ODEN | PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS |
| 2007 | 1 | 4 | MIKE CONLEY | MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES |
| 2007 | 1 | 21 | DAEQUAN COOK | PHILADELPHIA 76ERS |
| 2001 | 2 | 48 | KEN JOHNSON | MIAMI HEAT |
| 2000 | 2 | 43 | MICHAEL REDD | MILWAUKEE BUCKS |
| 2000 | 2 | 57 | SCOONIE PENN | ATLANTA HAWKS |
Regardless of where Bates-Diop ultimately ends up, he’ll have the support of his former teammates back in Columbus.
"Everybody’s super excited for Keita," Jallow said. "Me personally, I love everything about Keita. He’s a great person, he deserves this. I just hope the best for him, and hope his career on for a long time."
Bates-Diop isn’t the only player from last year’s Ohio State team hoping to land an NBA opportunity on Thursday night.
Jae’Sean Tate and Kam Williams, who were not invited to the NBA’s official Draft Combine but did have the opportunity to work out for league scouts at last month’s Pro Basketball Combine, are also looking to continue playing basketball professionally.
Both players appear unlikely to be drafted, but Tate has garnered some interest from teams in the weeks leading up to the draft – working out for the Jazz, Pacers, Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks – and is ranked as the 93rd-best prospect in this year’s class by Woo.
"While Tate doesn’t fit cleanly into any positional designations (and at 6'4", that’s a big challenge), what he does have is a substantial competitive edge that’s consistently split the difference and helped him produce in high school and college," Woo wrote. "Tate will likely have to win a team over internally to have a chance at making a roster down the line, but his athleticism, hustle and physical strength could turn him into a unique piece in the right lineups."
Jae'Sean Tate doesn't fit the prototype for any NBA position, but his positive traits could convince a team to give him a chance.
Should Tate or Williams join Bates-Diop in being drafted, it would mark the first time since 2007 (Greg Oden, Mike Conley and Daequan Cook) that Ohio State had more than one player selected in an NBA draft.
Even if Tate and Williams go undrafted, they could land opportunities to play in July’s NBA Summer League, through which they could earn their way onto an NBA or NBA G League roster. If not, Tate and Williams are both set to join former Ohio State teammate Andrew Dakich (who is not pursuing a professional playing career, and will be a graduate assistant for the Buckeyes next season) on team Big X in next month’s The Basketball Tournament.
Thursday’s NBA draft begins at 7 p.m. and will be televised on both ESPN and NBA TV. Stay tuned with Eleven Warriors for full coverage when Bates-Diop gets drafted and if Tate or Williams also land with NBA teams.
