Louisville
Donovan Mitchell6-3, SG, Sophomore
19 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 8-17 FG, 3-8 3FG
Mitchell has a fearless attitude and relentless motor. He plays passion and hard all the time. He can get in his own way with it at times, but when he gets going, he's a fun player to watch. His jumper waxes and wanes (35.4% from three on the year), and he has a tendency to bury his head at times, driving into traffic with nowhere to go. There are plenty of times, however, where he knows how to make the right read on the floor and find the open man. For an off guard, he knows how to keep the offensive chain moving, and his jumper is good enough to where he should be able to hit open threes.
Where Mitchell is immediately going to make an impact at the NBA level is his defense (2 steals per game). He is only 6-3 but he has super long arms and a thick 210 pound frame. Derrick Walton struggled a lot more this game against Mitchell due to his length and toughness. Mitchell goes up and grabs rebounds, something that's a huge plus for a wing, especially his height. Mitchell can guard ones and twos while also playing off the ball on offense, a skillset that is a sort of premium nowadays in the league. Put him next to a high usage wing such as Paul George, Jimmy Butler, Gordon Hayward, LeBron James, etc. and he is the perfect combo guard to play alongside them. Mitchell's solid two way play and skills should make him a late first round pick, possibly higher.
Deng Adel
6-7, SF, Sophomore
16 points, 5 rebounds, 6-11 FG, 2-4 3FG
Adel is a player I'm high on and see flashes of a potential NBA player every time I watch him. He is still raw with his skills, but he's made lots of improvements. Adel is still a streaky shooter (34.6% from three), but his stroke looks good. It doesn't have a lot of noise in it and he gets great elevation. His handle is getting better and he even has a little shake to it now as well. Adel has gone from a trigger happy wing to a guy who can run some pick and roll and make the easy, simple passes. He has become a more willing ball mover over time.
His athleticism is out of this world. It seems like he has a monster dunk every game. You wish he would use his athleticism on the glass and defense more, however. He missed box outs and didn't look to find a body when the shot went up. Louisville switched every screen a lot, and Adel had some success guarding perimeter players and other times, he got blown by. His side to side hip movement still isn't all the way where you want it to be. Has the raw length and athleticism to be a disruptive defender, but he has yet to show the intricacies and nuances needed to be elite on that end. Adel is testing the draft waters, and with another season at Louisville, I could see him working his way into a late first round discussion in 2018.
Jaylen Johnson
6-9, PF, Junior
6 points, 6 rebounds, 3-4 FG
Johnson stands out physically with the 7-2 wingspan and 225 pound frame. He was able to have success on the glass because of this against Michigan's bigs. Defensively, he can hold his own in the post and move his feet decently well in ball screens. His athleticism stands out as well on both ends. His offensive role isn't quite clear. Even though he's testing the draft waters, it would be nice to see him come back to Louisville for a senior season to show off more of what he really can do offensively.
Mangok Mathiang
6-10, C, Senior
13 points, 4 rebounds, 6-7 FG
Mathiang had a solid career at Louisville and ended it with a solid game. His body movements aren't bad, even sticking with some of the Michigan guards on the perimeter at times.. He isn't even very athletic vertically, just long and tall which helps him alter shots. While he's put on weight at Louisville, he still plays thin and gets ducked in at times. Offensively, Mathiang has decent touch on his free throws, but he still hasn't translated that into actual production. Mathiang will find his niche as a pro somewhere, but it doesn't look likely to be in the NBA.
Anas Mahmoud
7-0, C, Junior
7 points, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks, 3-5 FG
Mahmoud will be another interesting player to track at Louisville next year, now that he projects to get the starting role with Mathiang leaving. In limited minutes this year, Mahmoud still averages 2.1 blocks per game. He has more athleticism than Mathiang, even though he doesn't really move his feet as well due to his high hips. His athleticism isn't where you want it to be, with a bad layup in transition that he just couldn't get high up enough to finish. He is still too uncoordinated to really trust him defensively in space or ball screens.
On offense, Mahmoud can't shoot (46.2% free throws), which might limit his ceiling offensively. He doesn't really know how to pass or read the floor at a high level yet, and he's pretty limited to putbacks and lobs right now. This is a big summer of development for Mahmoud to refine a lot of the areas of his game so that his role can be clear at the next level.
Michigan
Mo Wagner6-10, C, Sophomore
26 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 11-14 FG, 3-6 FT
Wagner blew up after this game, and there are plenty of reasons why he should've blown up. Wagner, for a guy his size, has a lot of versatility offensively. He flashed some stuff off the dribble in this game that he didn't in the first game. He moved well across the floor and side to side. He doesn't have a quick first step but he is so deceptive because you have to respect his jump shot and he uses it to his advantage. He hunts his own shot at times but he projects to be a guy who might be able to move the ball and make the right plays in space.
Defensively, Wagner still left me disappointed. He at times will move well with guards on the perimeter and other times he gets blown by. He has a nice frame and length, but sometimes he can't hold his own in the post. For a guy who gets the majority of Michigan's minutes at center, this is the second straight game where he only grabbed three rebounds, and he only averaged 4.1 this year. Maybe he is a backup stretch five in the league. After seeing one of his worst games and then watching one of his best games, I still can't see why all the love is coming his way all of a sudden.
DJ Wilson
6-10, PF, Sophomore
17 points, 3 blocks, 6-13 FG
Wilson looks like the best prospect on Michigan in this tournament. He has shown great two way play and lot of things on both ends that make you think he has an NBA future. He is a redshirt sophomore, a late bloomer who has worked from being under recruited to showing out in the NCAA tournament. Defensively, he can move with just about anybody and is an elite rim protector, especially on chase down blocks from behind. Having a four that can do those things is highly valuable in the league.
Wilson's jumper is falling and will be the reason he can be a successful pro. He shoots a nice ball that can be flat at times but his stroke is smooth. He has some skill off the dribble and creating his own shot as well, even scoring on a few post ups against smaller Louisville players. He is an interesting prospect that will get more and more love as the tournament goes on. He has an interesting matchup against Jonathan Motley in the second weekend, and it will be interesting how they handle each other.
Derrick Walton
6-0, PG, Senior
10 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 3-13 FG, 2-7 3FG
Walton wasn't nearly as impressive in this game, a game that might be a better indicator of what life will be like at the next level for him. He struggled with the pressure from Louisville's guards. He didn't turn it over but he wasn't creating the separation for his shot that he was in their opening round game. His airspace was cut off a lot more and it translated in his poor shooting numbers this game. He still got guys involved and played some really tough defense, which were positives that carried over from the first game. He will be in charge of mastering Baylor's zone, and he could have a big game if his shot goes back to falling.
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