Getty Ignas Brazdeikis #13 of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates a shot in the second half during a college basketball game against the Maryland Terrapins.
John Beilein and Michigan have some recent history smuggling Canadian players across the border. In 2013, he reeled in current Cleveland Cav Nik Stauskas from Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto. Only 6 years later, freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis drove to Ann Arbor from Mono, a town just hours from Stauskas’ hometown.
It took Stauskas 2 years to reach his first-round form, as the Sixers drafted him in 2014. Brazdeikis isn’t quite there yet, but he’s ahead of the former’s trajectory.
One of the top-30 players in college basketball, the 6-foot-7, 215-pounder has averaged 14.8 points partly with 40 percent shooting from 3. Reaching double figures in 16 of 19 conference games, he’s the most vital piece to a top-20 Wolverine offense, per Maize n’ Brew.
Entering Saturday night’s trip to rival Michigan State (8 p.m. EST, ESPN), he’s looking to boost his draft stock in front of a national television audience.
Let’s take a dive into his prognostications, as well as mock drafts and big boards.
Ignas Brazdeikis NBA Draft Projections & Mock Draft
Bleacher Report called him a “fringe first-round prospect” back in early December.
He combines skill and hustle, generating offense with dribble moves, shotmaking and off-ball effort and activity. He’s kept defenders honest by hitting seven of 18 threes, which has opened up his driving game and ability to score on the move with crafty runners and improvised layups.
Brazdeikis has even earned the freedom to initiate offense off defensive rebounds and handle it in ball-screen situations.
There will be debate regarding his NBA potential, with questions over his perimeter quickness and his size inside. But Brazdeikis figures to be a focal point of one of the nation’s premier teams and a hot topic for scouts.
Our own Jon Adams left him off his most recent NBA Mock Draft. Jeremy Woo of SI.com lists him as the No. 27 overall prospect on his mock draft. There, he states his 3-point shooting makes him an effective inside-out offensive threat.
His offensive feel and versatility coupled with his ability to thrive without designed touches should translate and make him a useful rotation scorer going forward. Brazdeikis is highly competitive, and though his perimeter defense will create some liability, he should be active enough on that end to stay with some forwards. As long as he continues to shoot threes at a high clip, his offensive strengths have a chance to outweigh his weaknesses.
Eric Paschall NBA Draft Big Board Rankings
Aran Smith’s NBA Draft Net pegs Paschall as a second-round option as his No. 46 overall prospect.
ESPN’s Draft Board has him as the No. 20 power forward and No. 83 player overall. As SI.com pointed out early in the season, a lot of scouts have slowed played him due to his Canadian origins.
Brazdeikis hails from Canada (his parents are Lithuanian), is a year old for his class (he turns 20 in January) and was left off of the majority of Top 100 rankings given he didn’t play high school ball in the United States. He did play at this year’s Hoop Summit, and he’s begun to build some buzz for himself with his early play.
While some are buying Brazdeikis now, it seems others are content to wait to see if he polishes his game. He could signal an ascent up everyone’s boards with a solid performance tonight at Breslin Center for the Big Ten title.