What is your definition of a basketball prospect?
For me, he is a player that we cannot yet determine how good he can be and he still has enough time to achieve his peak.
So, I only consider the players that were part of the past four drafts and who will turn 27 years or younger next year. I already excluded players who were awarded as part of mythical teams in the past two seasons because the level of their play is already determined to be at the elite level.
So, who are the top 10 prospects at the start of this season? Let us see.
#10 Jeron Teng
In a surprising way, Teng ended up in the hands of the Alaska Aces at the #5 pick. Sliding to the #5 pick doesn't mean Teng is the 5th best prospect in that draft. He is actually the 10th best prospect in the league, today.
The guy is a stat-filler. He can play the point, shooting guard and small forward. Actually, he can even be the small-ball power forward for a few minutes. And of course, his main offering is his scoring ability. It is true that he rely too much on driving to the basket but stopping a 6'3 strong player with his handles is not that easy.
#9 Kevin Ferrer
Playing with a title contender and the best coach in the history of the league, Ferrer was never going to be the #1 or #2 scoring option in his rookie season. And he was able to turn himself into a very good role player.
He put a his focus on the defensive end and finding open space. He even mold himself into a viable bigman who bangs body inside. This attitude and flexibility of Ferrer could send him into higher grounds this conference.
#8 Arnold Van Opstal
Injury-prone? Yes. Unproven? Yes. Fortunately, he is tall, athletic and young. The combination of those three outweighs the risk of the first two facts. I think, Globalport could be the perfect team to bring out the best of AVO.
He could be the athletic finisher on offense that Romeo and Pringle could feed. On the defensive end, he can be a legit rim protector with the guidance of JR Quinahan. But, don't forget the first word, injury-prone. Size is might in the league but for him to take advantage of that, he needs to play.
#7 Jio Jalalon
One of the primary things that make guards special is their defense. Jio already proved that he has focus on it and he has the defensive instinct and tenacity. Coach Chito Victolero deserves credit for finding a way of providing Jio enough minutes to develop.
Other than his defense, Jio is also an able playmaker. He is not yet a proven scorer but his vision and ability to break down defense is already there. And we should not forget about his tenacity on getting rebounds.
#6 Matthew Wright
Matthew Wright was a nobody to most of you when he entered the 2016 draft. At the end of the the 2017 season, he was already one of the top scorer in the league. He poured 16.4 points and shot 34.8% from beyond the arc.
His 36.6% FG is of course a huge caveat but still, the guy is an assassin. If you are a fan of Kobe Bryant, I think Wright has the closest deadly mentality to him. Other than his scoring, his rebounding is also very good and he is also capable of making right passes.
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