Draft stock for Antonio Reeves, Tre Mitchell is on the rise

Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham are all but guaranteed to land in the lottery of the 2024 NBA Draft — something we’ve known for months now. With roughly three weeks remaining until the two-day draft, the talented Kentucky guards continue to hold firm as projected Top 10 or better picks. Sheppard is even being whispered about as a possible Top 5 selection.

The real mystery of the draft for the Big Blue Nation, though, will be the landing spots of Justin Edwards and Antonio Reeves. Edwards is a borderline first-round pick while Reeves’ rising stock has him firmly in the mix for a second-round pick.

On Friday morning, ESPN draft experts Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo updated their Top 100 draft prospects list. While Sheppard and Dillingham stood still, Edwards saw a minor drop in his status and Reeves received a minor bump.

• No. 4 | Reed Sheppard
• No. 7 | Rob Dillingham
• No. 31 (-3) | Justin Edwards
• No. 60 (+3) | Antonio Reeves

Considering this year’s draft will consist of 58 picks across two rounds, Reeves remains right on the edge of being a possible draft choice (I’ll add that Reeves is the No. 53 overall pick in Bleacher Report’s updated mock from Friday). Edwards continues to hover around the late first-round/early second-round field. With more private workouts and interviews on the way, they’ll have chances to boost their stock even more.

But that’s not what stands out from ESPN’s latest update. What caught my eye was the 16-spot jump for an oft-forgotten member of the 2023-24 Kentucky squad: versatile 6-foot-9 forward Tre Mitchell. Compared to the May 24 update — exactly two weeks ago — Mitchell has received a significant bump in his ranking. He went from No. 99 to No. 83.

Does that mean Mitchell will ultimately sneak his way into the draft? Not necessarily. While still unlikely to hear his name called, there aren’t many more plugged into the NBA Draft world than Givony and Woo. If they’re hearing that Mitchell is performing well enough in the pre-draft process that they raised his stock by 16 spots, he must be doing something right.

While dealing with various injuries throughout his fifth-year college season at Kentucky, Mitchell averaged 10.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and one block in 30.3 minutes per outing in 2023-24. The former West Virginia and UMass player shot 48.4 percent overall, 30.5 percent from deep, and 74.4 percent from the line for the Wildcats.

Plenty of undrafted prospects typically get picked up by franchises in the immediate aftermath of the NBA Draft. Don’t be surprised if Mitchell quickly signs a deal if his name doesn’t get called.

The 2024 NBA Draft is scheduled for June 26 and 27 on ESPN/ABC.