Three NBA talent evaluators do not see Georgia Tech guard Josh Okogie as a first-round pick. At least not yet.
The sophomore declared for the NBA draft last week, but did not sign with an agent to preserve the option of returning to school for his junior season. While Okogie did not specify what he’ll need to hear in order to stay in the draft, coach Josh Pastner said that he advised Okogie to turn professional if he receives assurance that he’ll be taken in the first round, but otherwise to return to Tech.
Two scouts employed by NBA teams speaking on condition of anonymity and Jonathan Givony of the website DraftExpress didn't rule out Okogie working his way into the first round.
“He would need to have a really strong NBA pre-draft process, including a great showing at the NBA Combine,” Givony wrote in an e-mail.
Givony added that he was sure that Okogie will be considered for an invitation to the combine, which will be held May 16-20 in Chicago. The NBA invites around 60 draft prospects to the event, which includes medical examinations, physical testing and measurements, interviews and basketball drills and scrimmages.
One NBA scout said that Okogie has had some performances this year that have caught scouts’ attention, specifically mentioning his 29-point game (with six rebounds and four assists) against Duke on February 11 at McCamish Pavilion.
“He got some buzz after that,” he said.
He liked that Okogie is “ultracompetitive, which is what really gets people to pay attention.” That said, he didn’t think that Okogie was a first-round pick at this point.
“But he can go into a workout and all of a sudden, people go, ‘Wait a minute,’” he said.
What Okogie will have to do in workouts, the scout said, is demonstrate an ability to create and make shots on his own, defend on the perimeter and hit 3-pointers from the corner. The scout saw Okogie as a “3 and D guy,” meaning a player whose role is to provide defense and proficiency with the 3-pointer to help space the floor.
“You’ve got to show you can guard, you’ve got to show me you can create some offense when the shot clock’s winding down,” he said.
While not calling it a shoo-in, the scout said that he would be surprised if Okogie didn’t get an invitation to the combine, based on the players expected to be in the draft.
A second NBA talent evaluator saw him “more as a second rounder.”
“He’s not an elite athlete but is athletic,” he wrote in an e-mail. “He’s not a good shooter but can make shots. He’s not a great defender but he’s above average. He’s a 3&D player at the end of the day, but there isn’t necessarily one thing that stands out about him other than how hard he plays.”
That scout also thought that Okogie would get invited to the combine.
Okogie has until May 30 to withdraw from the draft. The draft is June 21.
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