Indiana Basketball: Where these Hoosiers rank in the NBA mock drafts

With the early entry deadline passing on Sunday, it is now time to take a look at all of the mock drafts and see where these Indiana basketball players fall.

Five players from the Indiana basketball program have entered their names in the 2019 NBA Draft, four being underclassmen, with aspirations of playing in the NBA, either now, or when their careers in Bloomington are over.

With the final list being at 233 players declaring for the draft, 58 being international, there are a lot of names that are put in the pool, just for feedback on what they need to work on in their coming years, with no intention on staying in the draft.

A new rule this season, players who declare are allowed to hire an agent without effecting their eligibility. As long as they cut ties with the agent and withdraw their name by the deadline of May 29, they are eligible to return to school.

Three such players who have declared with the intention of getting feedback from teams are Devonte Green, Al Durham, and Justin Smith. While none are projected to be drafted, and they know that, they want to play professionally one day, and want to know their weaknesses as it comes to the NBA game.

That leaves both senior Juwan Morgan and freshman Romeo Langford as the two players who will not be returning to Indiana next season.

While Langford came to Bloomington with the intention of being a one-and-done, Morgan played all four years, and didn’t spend a lot of his time thinking of playing in the NBA until after his junior season.

Here’s how each player ranks when it comes to the draft, and what scouts and executives have to say about their potential.

Romeo Langford

CBS Sports – 8 (Grizzlies)

ESPN – 10 (Timberwolves)

SB Nation – 11 (Lakers)

Bleacher Report – 13 (Heat)

The Ringer – 15 (Pistons)

SI.com – 15 (Pistons)

NBAdraft.net – 16 (Magic)

According to a recent article on Indystar in which Zach Osterman sat down with some NBA scouts and executives, they aren’t as sold on Langford as they were in the fall.

"“I just think from an NBA perspective, he’s probably not as ready to go as maybe he was thought to be before the season.”“In a draft that gets pretty weak after the top five or six guys, I think he’s still in position to potentially be taken in the lottery…”"

Langford was the No. 4 overall recruit in the 2018 class and was thought to be as ready as any to play in the NBA.

After what some think was a poor season from the freshman, Langford has slid from a solid top 5-8 pick in the draft to late lottery.

With an knack for scoring the ball, and his fluid athleticism, Langford possesses most of the tools to be a terrific NBA wing. His one fault? His shooting.

Just shooting 27 percent from three last year, it came out after the season that he was battling from a thumb injury that required surgery.

He showed flashes of his shooting ability, shooting 35 percent from deep over the course of the last month and a half of the regular season.

Shooting will be the one part of his game that most scouts have doubt on, as well as assertiveness. If he gets drafted into the right system thought, Langford will be a great pro for many years.

Juwan Morgan

While Morgan has been in and out of the late second round in mock drafts, as it currently stands he is not projected in any of the mock drafts listed above.

That, however, doesn’t mean his stock isn’t rising.

After averaging 14.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in the Portsmouth Invitational last weekend, scouts came away impressed with Morgan’s overall game.

In the same IndyStar article, they had this to say about Morgan.

"“If you can really shoot that gets you a lot of looks nowadays, because so much of the game is floor spacing and having guys out there that can make shots…. Becoming more consistent with that, he’s shown in glimpses that he can make college 3s and be a threat from outside. That would be a big thing, no question about it.”"

Shooting just 29.5 percent from deep last season, he did have two games with four or more threes (Butler, UC-Davis). Overall, he made at least one three in 17 games last season, and went 11 games attempting one or less threes.

It just comes down to exactly what position Morgan would play, and what type of skillset he would be able to defend.

"“He’s a good basketball player….Sometimes it comes down quite honestly to who would he guard? Those are questions he’s going to have to answer.”"