Denzel Valentine, Michigan State
A do-everything forward from Michigan State who spent his college days filling up stat sheets despite not really having a defined position? Does that sound at all familiar?
The comparisons between Denzel Valentine and Draymond Green are natural because of their roles in Tom Izzo’s offense. What Valentine does is not quite as unique as Green in some ways because Green did it from the power forward position. The NBA will know a little bit better what to do with Valentine and his skill set.
And versatility is extremely valuable. Valentine has a lot of that.
He averaged 19.2 points, 7.8 assists and 7.5 rebounds per game as a consensus All American as a senior last year. Those numbers are extremely hard to ignore. That takes a lot of skill and ability to fill up a stat sheet when playing at such a high level.
Valentine improved each of his four years at Michigan State and became an accomplished 3-point shooter on top of his passing and rebounding exploits. He projects as maybe an undersized three, but that never stopped Green from doing anything. So maybe no one should doubt Valentine either.
It would be interesting for any team to see what Valentine can offer. He is the type of player who could impress a team with his maturity in an interview and begin climbing as the draft process continues.
Next: Deyonta Davis