Justin Edwards No. 1 in The Athletic's NBA Mock Draft

Justin Edwards is the highest-ranked recruit in Kentucky’s loaded freshman class, coming in at No. 2 in the On3 Industry Rankings. The five-star guard from Philly got off to a bit of a slow start in the GLOBL Jam last month before leading the Cats to the gold medal vs. Canada with 23 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks.

Edwards’ scoring ability is just one reason The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie believes he’s the cream of the crop of 2024 NBA Draft prospects. Edwards is No. 1 in Vecenie’s first 2024 NBA Mock Draft, one of three Wildcats projected to hear their names called next June. Vecenie puts Edwards ahead of Ron Holland, the former Texas commit who decided to play for the G-League Ignite instead, because of his maturity (Edwards will be 20 on draft night, Holland only 18) and touch on the offensive end. Seeing Edwards rise to the occasion in the GLOBL Jam gold medal game further convinced Vecenie he will be the best player on Kentucky’s roster this season.

Still, I’d expect Edwards to have an enormous impact. He’ll be Kentucky’s best player this year, ahead of highly rated recruits such as D.J. Wagner, Robert Dillingham, Aaron Bradshaw and others. That bore itself out during the team’s trip to Canada for the GLOBL JAM event, where Edwards was the team’s best player in the final and averaged 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks during the event. Most importantly: Edwards was very confident taking 3s, even though he only made 30 percent of them. I buy him being a bit more polished than some of these other guys, capable of playing well on both ends of the floor at an important position of value (a combo three/four) and especially able to drive toward the rim.

Wagner just outside Top 20, Bradshaw slides to 2nd Round

Two other Kentucky freshmen made Vecenie’s mock, but only one in the first round. DJ Wagner is No. 22, with Vecenie praising Wagner’s confidence and toughness on defense, but raising concerns about his athleticism, passing, and shooting (he did note that Wagner showed off an improved three-point shot at the GLOBL Jam).

The problems for Wagner are threefold. First, he’s merely a good athlete, not a great one. He’s crafty with the ball, but doesn’t have lightning quickness or explosiveness. Second, he’s a scoring guard at 6-foot-2, not a point guard. He needs to significantly improve his passing ability and make more plays for his teammates. The third is his shooting. Over the last two summers on the EYBL circuit, as well as more than 17 additional Synergy-tracked games for Camden High School and with USA Basketball,  he has made just 54 of his 213 3-point attempts, a paltry 25 percent. It’s really hard to make it in the NBA as a 6-foot-3 scoring two guard without immense athleticism or a proficient 3-point shot.

Vecenie’s most eyebrow-raising move is putting Aaron Bradshaw in the second round. He addressed this in the introduction, noting that he slid Bradshaw down due to his foot surgery (“I always worry about bigs with foot injuries”). The seven-footer is No. 38, right behind Bronny James, whose future in the sport is uncertain following his cardiac arrest at a USC practice last month. Absent from the list are Rob Dillingham, Ugonna Onyenso, and new commit Zvonimir Ivisic, who have all been listed on other early 2024 NBA Mock Drafts; and Antonio Reeves, who led the Cats in scoring in Canada.

Other familiar names on the list: Alexandre Sarr, Olivier Sarr’s little brother, at No. 8; Arkansas big Trevon Brazile at No. 35; and former Kentucky Wildcat turned Providence Friar Bryce Hopkins at No. 40. If you’ve got a subscription, check it all out at The Athletic.

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