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NBA mock draft round-up: Where will Michigan State’s Cassius Winston and Xavier Tillman land?
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Michigan State has two potential first-round picks in next week’s NBA draft: Cassius Winston and Xavier Tillman.
Winston was the heart-and-soul of the Spartans the last couple years, and was often one of the best players in college basketball. He’s being knocked by NBA evaluators for his size and defensive potential, but he’s still likely to be picked at some point during the drat.
The senior is coming off back-to-back years of scoring at least 18 points per game, and he increased his 3-point accuracy to 43.2 percent last season.
Tillman is viewed as a potential long-term role player in the NBA. Scouts love his athletic frame, listed at 6-foot-8, 245 pounds. He averaged 13.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3 assists per game as a junior.
Both players are older prospects who don’t profile as future stars, which makes it harder for teams to considering taking them in the top 20. However, there’s a chance either could end up at the end of the first round and a high probability both will hear their names called before the end of the night.
Here’s where three experts have them slotted with a week to go before the draft.
Cassius Winston
The Athletic (Sam Vecenie): No. 34 overall to the Philadelphia 76ers
CBS Sports (Gary Parrish): No. 28 overall to the Los Angeles Lakers
Tankathon.com: No. 35 overall to the Sacramento Kings
Xavier Tillman
The Athletic (Sam Vecenie): No. 29 overall to the Toronto Raptors
CBS Sports (Gary Parrish): No. 33 overall to the Minnesota Timberwolves
Tankathon.com: No. 43 overall to the Sacramento Kings
The NBA Draft is scheduled for Nov. 18.
Spenser is the news manager at Saturday Road and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.