Texas Tech basketball: Red Raiders showing up on early 2021 NBA mock drafts
Though we are over a year away, a pair of Texas Tech basketball players are already showing up on some 2021 NBA mock drafts.
With almost no live sports to occupy our minds these days, it seems as if we are looking farther into the future than ever before. That includes the world of the NBA mock draft where some sites are already publishing their draft orders for the 2021 event despite the fact that the 2020 Draft won’t take place until October. And on these lists, Texas Tech basketball fans will find Terrence Shannon jr. and Nimari Burnett.
Shannon is by far the more common pick to leave the Red Raiders after the upcoming season. In fact, it is tough to find any mock draft that doesn’t have his name somewhere in the first round.
Coming off a season in which he put up 9.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, he’s drawing considerable NBA buzz due in large part to the assumption that he’s in for a big season.
He arrived last season already with an NBA build at 6-foot-7 and 210 pounds and of course, his athleticism is off the charts.
But his game needs refinement, especially when it comes to his jump shot. Playing the wing in the NBA will require that he prove capable of hitting 3-pointers with regularity. That’s something he did not do as a freshman for the Red Raiders as he made just 25.7% of his attempts from beyond the arc.
Still, he’s all over the various NBA 2021 mock drafts.
DraftValue.com is rather high on Shannon. At No. 8 in their early mock, he would be right in the middle of the lottery thus ensuring a nice payday.
CBSSports.com has Shannon just one spot away from being a lottery pick. At No. 15, where they have him, Shannon would be taken one spot higher than Zharie Smith was in the 2018 Draft.
NBA Draft Room has him at No. 22 overall. What’s more, they compare him to Kelly Oubre Jr. of the Phoneix Suns, who is a 6-foot-7 forward that averaged an impressive 18.7 points per game this season.
"Their scouting report says, “An elite run/jump athlete who will have to develop his ball-handling and shooting ability to excel at the next level.”"
Though The Rookie Wire doesn’t have a typical mock draft posted. They do list in order the top 60 prospects in the country for next year and Shannon comes in at No. 25.
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"Of Shannon they write, “Terrence Shannon was a fantastic one-on-one scorer during his freshman campaign at Texas Tech. He averaged 1.16 points per possession on these opportunities, per Synergy, which ranked in the 95th percentile this past season. His jumper needs improvement, but his free-throw percentage (82.9%) suggests he has the right form to take that leap.”"
Bleacher Report has the Red Raider sophomore at No. 22 overall. They indicate that he impressed some scouts that were watching Tech this year to see Jahmi’us Ramsey.
"Their take says: “With scouts tuned in for Jahmi’us Ramsey, some came away talking about Shannon’s athleticism and flashes of one-on-one scoring. As a top option in 2020-21, he’ll look to make a jump with his creation for playmaking and three-point shooting.”"
As for one site that has Burnett in its mock but not Shannon, that would be DraftSite.com. They have the incoming freshman headed to Atlanta with the No. 42 overall pick, which is a second-round selection. If that’s as high as Burnett’s stock proves to be next year, he might be best served to return to Tech for his sophomore season. Also interesting in this mock is the fact that Micah Peavy, another Red Raider 2020 signee, checks in at No. 45.
But the most generous mock draft for both Shannon and Burnett comes from NBADraft.net. On that sites’ 2021 mock, Shannon heads to Minnesota with the No. 6 pick. Of course, that would make him teammates with former Red Raider Jarrett Culver, who was taken with the No. 6 pick by the T-Wolves in last year’s draft.
Later in their mock, they have Burnett going to Denver at No. 25. It is one of the few mocks that have the McDonald’s All-American in the first round.
Of course, these mocks will change drastically as the 2020-21 season plays out. There’s a chance that other Red Raiders like Georgetown transfer Mac McClung and Peavy could play their way into serious draft consideration this year and there’s no way to predict which underclassmen around the nation will declare next summer meaning that the pool could be even deeper than it already is.
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But what is most important for Texas Tech basketball fans to keep in mind is the fact that the Red Raiders continue to bring NBA caliber talent into the program and that’s how to win titles. Hopefully, Shannon and Burnett can do just that this season before they begin to think about their professional careers.