After the NBA Draft Lottery wrapped up on Monday evening, pundits across the basketball world were quick to share their latest mock draft. And one West Virginia Mountaineer finds his name listed on one of the boards.
Javon Small, who spent the past season at West Virginia after beginning his career and East Carolina and also spending a stint with Oklahoma State, is currently participating in the NBA Draft Combine, which takes place this week in Chicago. But the standout scorer might not need a particularly impressive performance to find himself selected during the NBA Draft.
In an ESPN mock-up, Small was listed as the 56th pick among the 59 overall selections slated for the Draft which will take place on June 25th-26th -- this wound send him to the Memphis Grizzlies, who finished this past season 8th in the Western Conference with a 48-34 overall record, bowing out of the NBA Playoffs to the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. The Grizzlies have no first-round pick this off-season after an earlier trade, but have two second-round picks.
If Small is selected, he would be the 42nd WVU player to be selected in the NBA Draft, dating back to 1947 -- since 2000, he'd be just the sixth Mountaineer to hear his name called at the event.
Small was critical to the Mountaineers' success last season as the team entered the year with a completely rebuilt roster under a first-year head coach in Darian DeVries -- they would finish 19-13 and on the end of a historic snub from the NCAA Tournament before DeVries left for the same position at Indiana.
Small averaged 18.6 points, 5.6 assists, and 4.1 rebounds per game, tying for the Big 12 scoring title and becoming a first-team All-Big 12 selection and an All-American in the process. Small began to receive attention from NBA scouts during the season.