OFFICIAL 2018 DRAFTEES FROM VILLANOVA POWER RANKINGS [AMENDED FEBRUARY 2019 EDITION]
1. Jalen Brunson
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAP OF VICTORY
2. Mikal Bridges
3. Omari Spellman
4. Donte DiVincenzo
This is basically the same ordering as the initial power ranking except that Spellman has now surpassed DiVincenzo. It’s been so long since DiVincenzo has played that he’s starting to pork out a little bit on the bench, and while Spellman is and always has been porked out, at least he still plays sometimes. Other than that, it’s the same. Jalen Brunson has separated himself from the pack a little bit with his recent stretch of good play, hence the GAP OF VICTORY.
There are a lot of storylines going on with the Mavericks right now, so I can understand why people aren’t paying much attention to the play of a semi-heralded second-round rookie. It’s hard to get noticed when Luka Doncic is existing in your general vicinity, or when Dirk Nowitzki is getting feted at every arena he visits during his “farewell tour” (if there’s one thing I know about farewell tours is that the band in question ALWAYS comes back).
This is Brunson’s highest-scoring game as an NBA basketball person, and let me tell you, I was impressed by his jumpers. I mean this in the best way possible, but they were D’Angelo Russell-esque. Just worming his way into the midrange and letting fly a rainbow that no one can touch. Previously, a Russell comparison would be bad, but now that dude is an All-Star, you can all stop getting mad at me now.