It’s not often we get the most important game of the scouting calendar this early in the season, nor is it even always obvious in real-time which games are actually the most valuable. So let there be no underhyping Friday night’s tilt between Gonzaga and Duke, at least not from the perspective of the NBA draft, with No. 1 pick candidates Chet Holmgren and Paolo Banchero set to test their mettle head-to-head.
This is a rare opportunity for scouts to watch two elite college prospects square off and conceivably spend large chunks of the game defending each other.