KU Basketball: Where Will Jayhawks Go In 2016 NBA Draft

With the KU basketball season now over, several players have declared for the 2016 NBA Draft.

By the end of the season, Jamari Traylor, Hunter Mickelson, Evan Manning, Perry Ellis, Wayne Selden, and Brannen Greene have left the Kansas Jayhawks to potentially go pro. Honestly, only MAYBE four of those six will break the NBA waters, but that’s just my personal opinion.

Freshman Cheick Diallo has also declared for the draft, but has not hired an agent. This means that Diallo could test the draft waters and come back in the new rule that allows them to do this.

Starting with the seniors, Perry Ellis has a chance to make an NBA roster due to his experience. Jamari Traylor could possibly crack an NBA summer league spot and compete for a team to grab him.

Ellis has left campus until he will walk down the hill to graduate in May, but has still yet to hire an agent. In his last season as a Jayhawk, he put up 16.9 points a game as well as 5.9 boards a game.

In his four years, Ellis has always been a quiet assassin scoring with ease, often not noticed. He had the opportunity to leave for the draft last season, but decided to stay, which probably helped his draft stock.

According to Draft Express, Ellis will be drafted 59th overall drafted 59th overall by the Sacramento Kings.

"While he has demonstrated the ability to score with his back to the basket against weaker opponents, he’s struggled against better competition, and this skill seems unlikely to translate to the next level, at least not from the power forward spot. He isn’t a dominant presence on the block and not someone a NBA team will build their offense around in the post. While this will be a nice way for him to score in small spurts, he will need to find more ways to score that have a better chance of success at the next level."

NBAdraft.net has Ellis a bit higher up at 47th overall to Indiana. He isn’t going to ever be an all-star or a great player, but he could sure help out any bench in the NBA with his scoring and passing abilities at 6’8″.

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Brannen Greene has been one of Kansas’ biggest sharpshooters in a long time. He nailed 49.2 percent of the three-points attempts this past season, and 42.2 percent over his career at Kansas.

His decision to declare for the draft is a bit puzzling, since little in his game indicates he is ready for the next level, but there may be going on here.

This year, he was not the happiest, as he did not play as much as he wanted. He has officially hired an agent so he will not be back for his senior season.

In his limited minutes he averaged 5.4 points a game as well as a 49% three point percentage. In his three years at KU he brought a lot to the program bringing great bench depth.

So far Greene has not appeared in any mock drafts, but according to Draft Express, he is the 100th best prospect. Although he may get drafted by a team, he could provide some bench depth and a guy you could put at the elbow to give you some three point shots.

Although he may get drafted by a team, he could provide some bench depth and a guy you could put at the elbow to give you some three point shots. If he does not get drafted, he might make it to a summer league team or play internationally.

Wayne Selden Jr. could use another year on campus but decided to forego his final season. While he has some talent, he as a lot of things to work on as well.

From the Draft Express scouting report:

"Selden does not possess a very quick first step, as he often relies on his brute strength to shed defenders en route to the lane, often resorting to push off to get a clean look. On top of that, he’s a relatively average ball-handler, showing little in the way of advanced moves or craftiness weaving in and out of traffic with change of speeds."

Selden has hired an agent, so he is 100% gone. In his junior season, he developed into such a better player than he was his freshman and sophomore seasons. This year he averaged 13.8 a game with 3.8 rebounds but was streaky for most of his career at Kansas.

He displayed incredible athleticism at times, like on this incredible dunk against Baylor in the Big 12 Tournament.

Selden could range anywhere from a mid to late first round pick to an early second rounder. Draft Express has him at being drafted to Houston at 42nd overall while NBAdraft.net has him at 37th to New Orleans.

Whatever team he goes to he could be a spark off the bench with his size at 6’6, 223 pounds. As a playmaker, he provided excitement to this year’s Jayhawks that might translate nicely to the NBA.

Next: Ranking Every KU Basketball Coach

In all reality, only Ellis and Selden even have a shot at making an NBA roster. Even then, there is a chance both might spend some time in the developmental league next season.

Still, Bill Self and the KUbasketball program are producing NBA-caliber players and have been for quite some time. Maybe that’s why they have won 12 straight Big 12 titles in a row!

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