Five potential stars in NBA Draft besides Duke's Cooper Flagg

Oklahoma guard Jeremiah Fears

Fears, naturally, is a fearless point guard with superstar potential, and he won't turn 19 until Oct. 14. Last season, he averaged 17.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists.

Fears, like former UConn star Kemba Walker, is one of those players who stands out for having an excellent feel for the game. The 6-foot-4 stud is quick and athletic enough to get anywhere he wants on the court. If he develops his jumper the way Walker did in his early 20s, watch out. Fears could go anywhere from fifth to 10^th.

Washington State wing Cedric Coward

The comparison with Oklahoma City guard-forward Jalen Williams practically writes itself. Williams is 6-foot-6 and so is Coward. Williams' wingspan is 7-foot, 2 1/4, the same as Coward. 

Williams’ numbers in his last season in college were 18 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 4.2 APG and 51.3-39.6-81 shooting splits. Coward’s were 17.7 PPG, seven RPG, 3.7 APG and 55.7-40-80.9 shooting splits. Williams was a fast riser during the draft process and ended up going 12^th to OKC. Coward is shooting up draft boards despite beginning his career in Division III at Willamette University.

Guess who happens to have a pick in the middle of the first round? The Thunder.

Forward Noa Essengue | Ratiopharm Ulm (Germany)
Guard Ben Saraf | Ratiopharm Ulm (Germany)

Essengue and Saraf are interesting case studies because most European draft prospects barely get minutes in top-level European leagues and are selected entirely upon potential, not production. Sometimes that yields a Dirk Nowitzki, a Hall of Famer; sometimes it yields a Nikoloz Tskitishvili, who averaged 2.9 points in four years in the Association.

Every once in a while, an international prospect will play a larger role before entering the NBA Draft. Those guys tend to be studs in the NBA. (Think Luka Doncic, Ricky Rubio and Nikola Mirotic.)

In this draft class, Essengue and Saraf are playing big minutes for Ratiopharm Ulm, a competitive team in Germany’s top basketball league. Essengue, a skinny 6-foot-10 forward who doesn't turn 19 until Dec. 18, plays with reckless abandon on drives to the basket and is averaging 12.4 points and 5.3 rebounds in 23.7 minutes a game. He’ll be one of the younger players in this draft.

Squint a little closer and you could convince yourself that he has some Pascal Siakam to him. Teams picking near the back half of the lottery should seriously consider taking a flyer on Essengue.

Saraf, who averages 12.8 points and 4.6 assists in 24.4 minutes a game, also plays with a ton of confidence for such a young guard. At 6-foot-5, the flashy lefty’s highlight tape makes you instantly think of some of the creative international guards who have come before him (Goran Dragic and Manu Ginobili). Like Dragic and Ginobili, there’s a chance Saraf could be available in the second round. That would be an epic steal.