Where might Johnny Davis, Patrick Baldwin Jr. and other top local prospects land in the NBA draft?
Wisconsin has been well represented in the NBA in the past several drafts, and the 2022 iteration of the annual selection process will infuse yet more young talent from the state into the world’s top basketball league.
University of Wisconsin star and La Crosse native Johnny Davis, Milwaukee native and University of Kansas star Ochai Agbaji will no doubt make it four consecutive drafts where a Wisconsinite was picked in the first round.
Here is a look at where Davis, Agbaji and others from Milwaukee and around the state may fall in Thursday’s draft, in the likely order they will be selected.
*There will be only 58 selections in this year’s draft as opposed to 60 as the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat had to forfeit their second-round picks as penalties for improper contact with free agents.
Related: Wisconsin's Johnny Davis showing up regularly in Taco Bell advertisement during NBA playoffs
More: Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Johnny Davis make the rounds at NBA draft combine in Chicago
Johnny Davis
Hometown: La Crosse
College: University of Wisconsin
Age: 20
Height: 6-5. Weight: 194.
Pick range: 6-14.
About: Davis averaged 19.7 points per game as a sophomore with the Badgers while shooting 30.6% from behind the three-point line. He also pulled down 8.7 rebounds per game. A first-team All-American selection, Davis was also recognized as the best shooting guard in the country.
Ochai Agbaji
Birthplace: Milwaukee
College: University of Kansas
Age: 22
Height: 6-5. Weight: 215.
Pick range: 13-20.
About: Coming off a national championship season in which he averaged 18.8 points per game on 47.5% shooting, Agbaji also shot 40.9% from behind the three-point line and 74.3% from the free throw line. He improved in each of his four seasons at Kansas. Was measured with a 6-10 wingspan and the fourth-best maximum vertical leap at the combine at 39 inches.
Patrick Baldwin Jr.
Hometown: Sussex
College: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Age: 19
Height: 6-10. Weight: 220.
Pick range: 20-35.
About: The projections for Baldwin Jr. vary wildly after he played just 11 games for the Panthers in an injury-shortened season. He shot just 34.4% from the field overall and 26.6% from behind the three-point line, but has a 7-foot wingspan and was one of the top recruits in the country coming out of Sussex Hamilton. Teams no doubt like his shooting ability but will have to determine how fluky his lone college season was.
Alondes Williams
Hometown: Milwaukee
College: Wake Forest University
Age: 22
Height: 6-5. Weight: 210
Pick range: 31-58.
About: The Milwaukee Riverside alumnus finished his college career at Wake Forest after playing for Triton College and Oklahoma. He was the ACC Player of the Year for the Demon Deacons after averaging 19.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and a league-best 5.3 assists per game. He is not a good three-point shooter (27% in his Division I career) but he shot 50.7% from the field overall and averaged 5.2 free throws per game last year.
Justin Lewis
Hometown: Baltimore
College: Marquette University
Age: 20
Height: 6-7. Weight: 245.
Pick range: 31-58.
About: In his second season at Marquette, Lewis shot 34.9% from behind the three-point line and 76.1% from the free throw line in averaging 16.8 points per game. He also pulled down 7.9 rebounds per contest in earning the Big East’s most improved player award. Lewis was measured with a 7-2 wingspan at the combine, along with a 35-inch maximum vertical leap.
Michael Foster Jr.
Hometown: Milwaukee
Pro team: Ignite (G League)
Age: 19
Height: 6-9. Weight: 236.
Pick range: 50-undrafted
About: Foster Jr. prepped for two years at Milwaukee Washington before finishing high school in Arizona, and then he signed with the Ignite of the G League before last season. In his first season as a pro, he averaged 14.8 points per game on 49% shooting, including a 31.3% mark from behind the three-point line and 75% from the free throw line. He also averaged 8.8 rebounds per game. He acknowledged he needed to work on his body before the draft and he checked in at the combine 14 pounds lighter than his listed weight during the season. Yahoo! Sports said he was one of the players who helped themselves the most at the combine.
If Foster Jr. were not to be drafted, he would become an unrestricted free agent. Due to eligibility requirements, he would not be able to re-sign with the Ignite but could sign with any other G League team.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Predicting Johnny Davis, Patrick Baldwin Jr, Ochai Agbaji in NBA draft
