This year’s NBA Draft is expected to be an extremely loaded one. In particular the point guard position is deep and many consider the best of the group to be Washington’s Markelle Fultz.
Though the Huskies did not enjoy a good season, finishing only 9-22, that did nothing to hurt the stock of Fultz who many rank as the top overall prospect in this draft class. On Friday, Fultz announced that he was declaring for the NBA Draft via the University of Washington’s Twitter page:
Fultz to the NBA Draft-It was an honor to play in front of the Husky fans and I really appreciate all of the support you guys have given me. pic.twitter.com/sLDPltlHNZ
— UW Men's Basketball (@UW_MBB) March 10, 2017
As a prospect it isn’t difficult to see why many believe Fultz is the best player in the draft as there is very little he can’t do on the court. He has great size (6’5 with a 6’9 wingspan) and athleticism for the point guard position, can score in a number of different ways, has great court vision, and has shown the ability to be a great defender as well when locked in.
One thing that will need to be cleared up for Fultz is the status of his knee that he injure in February. He missed six of the Huskies’ final eight games and teams will need to be sure that there are no lingering issues.
UCLA’s Lonzo Ball is Fultz’s biggest competition for the top overall pick and while his father has been in the news more than Lonzo recently, it doesn’t take away from his talent. Teams will be doing their due diligence in deciding who will be the top pick.
In his lone season in Washington Fultz played 35.7 minutes per game, averaging 23.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.2 steals while shooting 47.6 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from three-point range.
