Notre Dame point guard Demetrius Jackson is now a projected Top-10 pick in the NBA Draft while N.C. State point guard Cat Barber is a projected second-round pick, according to the latest Draft Express Mock Draft for 2016 released late Tuesday.
The 6-foot-1 Jackson moved up to No. 10 from No. 12, while the 6-2 Barber chimes in at No. 57, the first time he’s on the site’s draft board. Both are juniors.
The top eight remained unchanged: No. 1 Ben Simmons of LSU, No. 2 Brandon Ingram of Duke, No. 3 Jaylen Brown of Cal, No. 4 Dragan Bender of Maccabi Tel Aviv, No. 5 Kris Dunn of Providence, No. 6 Jakob Poeltl of Utah, No. 7 Jamal Murray of Kentucky and No. 8 Henry Ellenson of Marquette.
Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield moved up to No. 9 from 10.
Maryland freshman big man Diamond Stone moved down to No. 14 from No. 9.
Five of the Top eight projected picks are college freshmen.
Among Kentucky players, only two (Murray and No. 19 Skal Labissiere) are projected first-rounders with sophomore Tyler Ulis now at 47 and freshman Isaiah Briscoe at 48.
Kansas, the new No. 1 team in the nation, doesn’t have a single projected first-round pick. Freshman Cheick Diallo is listed at No. 31.
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