With the NBA Draft Lottery set for this week, let’s check in on where former Texas Tech basketball star Jahmi’us Ramsey sits in some national mock drafts.
Thursday night, the NBA will hold its annual Draft Lottery where the top 14 picks of this year’s draft will be determined. Thus, it’s a popular time for mock draft experts to give their latest projections.
Of course, this year, Texas Tech basketball fans will not be as interested in the lottery as we will be focused on what happens towards the end of the first round. That’s because that is where most expect former Red Raider Jahmius Ramsey to be taken.
The highest Ramsey appears on the mocks I surveyed is on the NBADraft.net mock where he goes No. 16 overall. In that scenarion he is taken by the Portland Trailblazers, a franchise that has fully embracked the new 3-point wave that has taken over the professional game. This year, the Blazers were No. 10 in the NBA with 12.9 made 3s per game so Ramsey might be an ideal fit in Rip City.
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Similarly, The Ringer lists Ramsey as the No. 18 prospect in the Draft. Calling him a “fearless shotmaker” they compare him to current NBA stars J.R. Smith, Lonnie Walker IV, and Dion Waiters.
Over at CBSSports.com, Gary Parrish predicts Ramsey to be selected No. 25 overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder. That would be an interesting destination for the sharp-shooting Ramsey as it would allow him to play in the same backcourt as future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul who needs to be surrounded by three-point shooters being as that isn’t necessarily the strength of his game.
"“Yes, there are concerns about what else he does really well besides make shots,” Parrish writes. “But shot-making is super important in today’s NBA. So Ramsey should be selected in the first round — maybe in the teens but definitely in the 20s.”"
In December of 2019, the Red Raiders took down No. 1 Louisville at Madison Square Garden in New York City. But while Ramsey was in the building that night, he did not get to play thanks to a hamstring injury.
However, if the mock of DraftSite.com comes to fruition, Ramsey may get plenty of opportunities to play at The Garden. That site predicts Ramsey will head to the New York Knicks with the No. 27 pick.
Bleacher Report sees Ramsey just sliding into the first round at No. 29 to the Toronto Raptors.
"“The Raptors would look past Ramsey’s lapses in shot selection and defense and value his mix of strength and shot-making,” writes Jonathan Wasserman. “A few years of development could lead Ramsey to carve out a regular role as a scoring and shooting specialist.”"
Meanwhile, the website Tankathon.com has Ramsey just missing out on the first round, which is significant given that it would mean he would not have a guaranteed rookie deal. On this mock, Ramsey heads to the Charlotte Hornets with the second pick of the second round, pick No. 32 overall.
Putting players in the NBA has become an important aspect of Chris Beard’s success in Lubbock. When Ramsey is drafted this year, it will mark just the second time that the Red Raiders have ever had a player taken in three-straight drafts.
From 1995-98, Tech saw Mark Davis, Jason Sasser, Tony Battie, and Cory Carr taken in successive drafts. But of that group, only Battie was a first-round pick. Thus, if Rasmey is a first-round pick, it will extend Tech’s streak of first-round picks to three-straight years after Zhaire Smith in 2018 and Jarrett Culver in 2019. That’s already a program record.
The Draft is set for October 16th and Texas Tech fans will want to tune in as the first round progressess to see where Ramsey is taken. That’s because the more players the Red Raiders put in the Association, the better it is for the future health of Chris Beard’s program.