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The 2024 NBA Draft is chock-a-full of mysteries and enigmas. Most years, by this point in the pre-Draft schedule, the top pick is all but assured. There's usually a handful of players who separate themselves from the rest of the Draft class.
However, 2024 could be different. A lack of scoring is one issue, but here are five underrated scorers in the 2024 Draft class.
Top five underrated scorers in 2024 NBA Draft
#1 Reed Sheppard, Kentucky
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Sheppard scored just 12.5 points per game last season for Kentucky, but don't let that fool you.
Anthony Davis had a similar scoring average at UK, and Devin Booker scored even fewer points. Calipari brought great freshmen to Kentucky. But like the old joke about Dean Smith and Michael Jordan, his own coach might have been the only coach who could hold Davis under 15 points per game.
Sheppard is a deadly perimeter shooter (52.1 percent) and can score in the open floor or in the half-court set. He may not be a scoring leader, but sooner rather than later, he will leave 12.5 ppg in the dust.
#2 Stephon Castle, UConn
Another one-year college wonder, Castle scored just 11.1 ppg at UConn. He led a UConn team that didn't need him to be a massive scorer. He showed signs of being very good at the rim, and he's almost six-foot-six. Castle's perimeter scoring is a little shakier, but he's mechanically solid.
Like Reed Sheppard, Castle probably won't score 30 ppg in the NBA, but he has got enough different skills on and off the ball that he could eclipse his college scoring totals.
#3 Cody Williams, Colorado
Williams is an elite forward whose offensive game is a work in progress. In his season at Colorado, he scored 11.9 ppg. But his skill set is probably better suited to the NBA than college, and he will be surrounded by more talent.
Williams is athletic and imposing in the open floor, but he's also a 41 percent 3-point shooter and a 71 percent foul shooter. His season at Colorado also was marred by an untimely injury that stalled his momentum shortly after mid-season.
He could be a more complete player in the NBA, as he will get more chances to show his prowess than he did in college.
#4 Johnny Furphy, Kansas
An Australian import at Kansas, Furphy had to adjust to America and college basketball.
He scored just 9.0 ppg as a Jayhawks but could easily put up more at the next level. A competent wing scorer (35 percent on 3-pointers), Furphy could be an excellent pro.
He's six-foot-eight and could grow into an inside/outside threat. Even if not, he's skliled enough on the wing and in the open court to be a better NBA scorer than he was a college scorer.
#5 Bub Carrington, Pittsburgh
Yes, all five players are one-and-dones. Carrington was an outstanding combo guard at Pitt but scored just 13.8 ppg. He could be the offensive sleeper of the Draft because he's an explosive young player with a jump shot that seems to get better with more viewing.
Carrington is a pull-up jump shooter, and there are few skills more conductive to NBA life. He's also solid from distance (32 percent on 3-pointers) and at six-foot-four, has the size to be competent at the rim. He could be a big scorer in the NBA.
Which college standouts will make a scoring leap in the NBA? Weigh in below with your comments:
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