NASSAU, Bahamas 鈥 After asking nearly every local I鈥檝e encountered here so far if they鈥檝e heard of or know Deandre Ayton, I always get one question asked of me.
鈥淲here鈥檚 he gonna go in the draft?鈥 they say.
Especially 鈥 and the way Ayton is playing so far 鈥 he just might have a chance to go No. 1. Or at least be among the top three (ESPN had him last month).
This week, before ESPN cameras at the Battle 4 Atlantis (OK, the first game is ), Ayton will have his best chance yet to raise his profile.
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As , 鈥渋t鈥檚 either Ayton or Marvin Bagley Jr.鈥 as the best freshman in the game, while an NBA executive saying considering Porter now will 鈥済ive you some serious pause鈥 because Ayton and Bagley are among the other potentially franchise-changing picks available.
While 蜜柚直播 appears to have the three-games-in-three-days thing down by now, in an identical format as the Battle 4 Atlantis, the Wildcats鈥 high-powered offense may be severely tested this week.
First up Wednesday is N.C. State, with its array of presses under new coach Kevin Keatts.
鈥淗e really did an incredible job at UNC Wilmington, and Kevin brings a style that鈥檚 unique,鈥 UA coach Sean Miller said. 鈥淗e presses really the entire game, presses on made field goals. Very few teams do that. He changes his presses. It鈥檚 not just one type of press and right now they鈥檙e leading the nation in forced turnovers. 鈥 . hopefully, we have a confident group that can attack that press.鈥
Then on Thursday, the Wildcats could face SMU, which runs the eighth-slowest tempo in the country so far, according to . The Mustangs ran the 333rd slowest tempo while winning 30 games last season.
’s Joe Boozel said if a UA-SMU matchup happens it “will be loads of fun."
Without a (horribly expensive) rental car this week, I was asked if I can just take Uber around the island this week since I'm not staying on (also expensive) Paradise Island.
Well... no. There is no Uber in the Bahamas, and one of the licensed taxi drivers I hired, Alvin, had trouble locating the school where Ayton and the Wildcats were appearing on Tuesday.
So I ran Google Maps for him on my phone.
鈥淥h, it's talking?鈥 Alvin said.
We found the school finally and then Alvin, too, wondered where Ayton would go in the draft. Then he asked, 鈥淲hich one is he?鈥
It was pretty obvious which one Ayton was, rising high over the rest of the children in a tight red shirt.
Alvin smiled. "I gotta get a look at him," he said. He dropped me off and then took a long, slow loop around the parking lot next to the court where Ayton was putting on a show.
The next glance he might have at Ayton will be if he watches the NBA Draft next June. Alvin probably won鈥檛 have to watch for long before the local kid鈥檚 name pops up.
We have a feature look at as part of our advance coverage this week along with a story on UA's no-nonsense approach to the Atlantis event and a scouting report.
In print, the Ayton feature will run on Thursday (coverage from Wednesday's game will only be online) while the other advance stories are in Wednesday's edition.
All three items are attached to this post.