With the 2018 NBA Draft completed, 2019 NBA Mock Drafts have been released by multiple sites. Miami basketball rising Junior forward Dewan Huell is the 52nd ranked player in the 2019 NBA Draft according to the USA Today basketball site Hoops Hype.
Hoops Hype developed an aggregate list of mock drafts from seven different websites. They came up with a list of 89 different players from those sites. Huell’s aggregate ranking puts is 52nd, but he is only listed as being drafted on one site. He should return to play for Miami basketball for the next two seasons.
NBADraft.Net has the Hurricanes big man being selected just outside the second round with the 33rd overall pick by the Dallas Mavericks. Huell was shut out from the other six websites that Hoops Hype surveyed.
ESPN, CBS Sports, Sports Illustrated, SB Nation, NBC Sports and Bleacher Report were the other mock drafts examined by Hoops Hype. A lot could change between now and next season. As the way it stands now, Huell would be wise to return to the Miami basketball team for two more years.
College players are allowed to declare for the NBA Draft only twice during, Once they do so a second time, they forfeit the remainder of their collegiate eligibility. That includes players that declare for the draft, don’t sign with an agent and return to school.
Huell did that this year and then announced he would return to Miami for his Junior season. He gave up his one free time to see where he might rank in the draft. Huell likely would have to have an exceptionally Junior season to significantly change his status.
That can certainly change in the course of 12 months. Former Texas Tech guard Zhaire Smith was not ranked in the Class of 2017. After an outstanding Freshman season, he declared for the NBA Draft.
Smith was selected 16th overall by Phoenix Suns. He was eventually traded with a future first-round pick to Philadelphia on draft night for Villanova’s Mikal Bridges.
Huell improved significantly in his Sophomore season. He was very dependent on his classmate Bruce Brown though. After Brown was lost for the final 12 games of this past season, Huell’s play suffered. He averaged 13.5 points per game before Brown’s injury, 7.9 after it.
Huell is now going to have to play an entire season without Brown. He will have to become a leader both through his play and vocally this season. Huell and Seniors Anthony Lawrence and Ebuka Izundu and Graduate Transfer Zach Johnson from Florida Gulf Coast lead what’s otherwise a fairly young Miami basketball team.
Jim Larranaga is going to need the Huell that played exceptionally well up front for the first 19 games of 2017-18, not the one that struggled for the last 12.
Huell’s other key numbers also went down after Brown was lost. He averaged 6.7 rebounds, one block and shot 57.6 percent from the field overall for the season. After the Brown out, Huell averaged 6.3 RPG, 0.8 BPG and shot 48.7 percent from the floor.
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With the team Miami has coming back Huell is going to have to become more assertive in 2018-19. If he doesn’t his draft prospects for either 2019 or ’20 will diminish off any list completely.