And yet monster-sized Deandre Ayton and super-bouncy Marvin Bagley III are already getting snubbed by folks who spend their days and nights watching game tape and projecting rookie impacts on the NBA.
Ayton and Bagley are shaped differently (Ayton is bigger, Bagley jumpier) but both have similar strengths: high efficiency scoring around the basket, talented rebounders on both ends, with underdeveloped outside and defensive games.
Both were 20-point, 10-rebound producers and the clear alpha leaders as freshmen at two of the highest-profile programs in college — Arizona and Duke, respectively.
But it’s two other big men who are getting the pre-preseason hype, while Ayton and Bagley are being downplayed.