Banchero in the ideal March Madness quintet: first choice in the NBA Draft?

Another recognition. Paolo Banchero was included in the best quintet of March Madness, the only player not from Kansas or North Carolina, the teams that have played for the title, to be part of the ideal formation. It is the umpteenth testimony of how much the long on which Italy hopes to build the future has been noticed with Duke, of how good his Tournament was, despite the disappointment of the elimination in the Final Four against North Carolina, and of how much Banchero’s performance at the March Madness has relaunched Paolo’s candidacy as the absolute first choice of the Draft of 23 June.

madness

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The Banchero Tournament was not perfect, but Paolo still stood out. Best player in the West Region, better than Duke in the first three games, the 19-year-old future blue was unable to make the leap in quality that the Blue Devils needed in Saturday’s match against North Carolina, which was however closed as the team’s top scorer with 20 points and 10 rebounds, his only triple double in the Tournament. He finished at 18.8 points and 7.6 rebounds on average in 5 games, shooting with 50% from the field and 52.6% from three, confirming not only the enormous offensive potential that has fascinated the NBA for at least two years. , but also his vision of the game, his universality, his being a team man and leader. In the first three games, in the hot moments, he has always leveled up. Banchero has shown some shortcomings, already known, in defense: he will have to work on it in view of the leap between the pros, but his current limits should not discourage the NBA teams ready to bet on him.

the competitors

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Among the prospects in the running for the first absolute choice in the Draft, the future blue was undoubtedly the best in March Madness, which relaunched his candidacy for first choice in the Draft, downhill after the difficulties of the month of February. The future blue confirmed that he is the most ready among the candidates to make the difference in the NBA immediately, thanks to a physique already up to the pro ‘(208 centimeters by 113kg) and an offensive potential already of the highest level. Chet Holmgren, center of Gonzaga, wowed in the first game (19 points, 17 rebounds and 7 blocks) but did not bite in the next two (10 points and 11 rebounds avg), with the Spokane school coming out disappointingly at the Sweets Sixteen after starting as the best in the nation. Auburn’s Jabari Smith did even worse by stopping in the second round (15 points and 14.5 rebounds in two games); Jaden Ivey, Purdue guard already declared for the Draft, has on his conscience the 9 points with 4/12 shooting in the sensational elimination at the Sweet Sixteen with Cinderella St. Peter’s.

The stages

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With his college career out of the way, Banchero is shifting his focus to preparing for the NBA Draft. The first formal step will be to announce the choice to drop out of college and hire an agent, then he will have to start working on himself to show up polished to auditions with the teams. The first date marked in red is May 17, the day of the Lottery that announces the first choice in the NBA Draft: the teams that will close with the three worst records will all have a 14% chance of drawing the first choice. Paolo has long been an all-team watched special from Lottery, but he is likely to focus his attention on the teams that get the first 4-5 calls in the Draft. Then it will be up to him to get noticed, both in personal interviews that aim to evaluate Banchero from a human point of view (the closeness of father Mario and mother Rhonda, even in the months spent at Duke, will be fundamental) and from a technical point of view. The other day marked in red is June 23: at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Banchero will know his fate. He will be seated at one of the tables at the foot of the stage, with family and agent, waiting to hear Commissioner Silver say his name. After what he showed at March Madness, he might even be the first to stand up, take the stage, and shake hands with No. 1 NBA. From number 1 to the draft.