Jaxson Hayes
Range: Lottery
The best finisher in all of NCAA Men’s Basketball in the 2018-19 season also happens to be one of the most common targets for the Atlanta Hawks in various 2019 NBA Draft mock-ups.
Jaxson Hayes out of Texas produced a staggering 85.4 percent clip in rim finishing per Bart Torvik, which was the best in the nation by nearly 3 percent. Hayes feasted on a steady supply of lobs and putbacks, as his 74 of 75 finishes on dunks would indicate.
According to KenPom, that incredible rim-finishing ability led to Hayes having the 7th-best offensive rating in the country (133.7) alongside the 7th-best two-point field goal percentage in the country at 72.8 percent.
Hayes has been linked to the Atlanta Hawks on numerous occasions in the 2019 NBA Draft at either pick #8 or #10. Beyond his tremendous rim-rolling gravity, Hayes is very young, has terrific measurables and also has plenty of room to improve and hone his game with the Hawks.
Hayes picked up basketball late after sprouting upwards of eight inches in height in high school, and he would use his training as a receiver in high school to be a preeminent lob catcher via the brilliant passing of Trae Young (who is already one of the best passers in the NBA).
On defense, Hayes was a shot-blocking machine, meaning he would help paper over some of the concerns about John Collins’s length on the defensive end going forward.