The Houston Rockets have selected Villanova small forward Cam Whitmore with the No. 20 pick, an epic slide for a player who had long been considered a probable top-five lottery pick, even as recently as a few days ago.
Jeremy Woo of ESPN (Twitter link) and Jonathan Wasserman of NBADraft.net (Twitter link) reveal that ominous medical results seem to be the main reason for Whitmore’s descent down most teams’ draft boards. Woo does note that Whitmore still has a high ceiling, should he stay healthy.
It was also reported earlier this week that lackluster pre-draft workouts had dissuaded some lottery clubs from selecting the strong wing.
Across his 26 contests with the Wildcats, the 2022-23 Big East Rookie of the Year averaged 12.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.4 SPG and 0.7 APG. A 6-foot-7 wing, Whitmore was also named to the Big East All-Freshman Team.
Though Whitmore, a big swingman with a 6-foot-8 wingspan, has a middling jumper, his abilities as a solid isolation scorer, a creator off the dribble and a finisher in the paint had endeared him to scouts prior to his discouraging medical results. Still just 18, Whitmore was an underwhelming distributor for his position in college, but does boast intriguingly versatile defensive upside.
Whitmore makes plenty of sense as a flyer pick on a rebuilding Houston team. Earlier on Thursday night, the Rockets selected Overtime Elite guard Amen Thompson with the fourth overall pick in the draft lottery.
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