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NBA Draft prospects to watch at Thursday’s NCAA Tournament

By Bill Johnson

Jan 14, 2017; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Florida State Seminoles forward Jonathan Isaac (1) and North Carolina Tar Heels forward Luke Maye (32) fight for a rebound in the second half. The Tar Heels defeated the Seminoles 96-83 at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 14, 2017; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Florida State Seminoles forward Jonathan Isaac (1) and North Carolina Tar Heels forward Luke Maye (32) fight for a rebound in the second half. The Tar Heels defeated the Seminoles 96-83 at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jonathan Isaac, Florida State Seminoles, Clemson Tigers
Feb 25, 2017; Clemson, SC, USA; Florida State Seminoles forward Jonathan Isaac (1) attempts to go in for the layup while being defended by Clemson Tigers forward Elijah Thomas (14) during the first half at Littlejohn Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports /

Jonathan Isaac, Florida State

6-foot-10/210 lbs.
vs. Florida Gulf Coast, 9:20 p.m./TNT

Jonathan Isaac is one of Florida’s own, hailing from Naples and spending last year at IMG Academy. Isaac’s story is especially noteworthy because he started high school at 6-foot-3 and grew seven inches to his current height. It explains much of his perimeter versatility.

He developed as a guard and then grew. Isaac is the definition of a high-potential prospect, which is why he is high on many draft boards. He is built like Kevin Durant and Brandon Ingram, so the assumption is their ceiling is his ceiling. Which is to say, the sky is the limit.

But that is flawed logic. Isaac is not Durant or Ingram. He did not produce like them in his lone yea rin college at the same rate they did.

He averages 12 points and 7 rebounds per game. Isaac is considered a good shooter, despite the fact he only shoots 35 percent from the 3-point line. At this point, he is more style than substance.

Isaac is very long.  He has a 7-foot-1 wingspan. He uses his length on defense well, getting steals and blocks. He averages 1.5 blocks per game, which is impressive.

But he is very thin. He struggles to finish in traffic. His leverage is not good, and he seems to get pushed around. Strength remains an issue for him.

If Durant and Ingram are his high end, Isaac’s low end NBA comparison is Hakim Warrick. Warrick ended up as a journeyman who made little impact in the NBA where he had less of an athleticism advantage. Hopefully, that will not be the case for Issac.

But his career path is on the same trajectory as Warrick.  A good athlete, but not strong enough to guard power forwards, and cannot dribble well enough to play small forward in the NBA.

That might be the pessimistic view. Isaac’s career will likely be somewhere in the middle.

Even still, expect to hear Jonathan Isaac’s name called early on NBA Draft night. He is the type of project that is hard for teams to resist. He will either boom or bust.

The NCAA Tournament is a chance for him to prove he can boom.