NBA Mock Draft: Thunder Select Five-Star Freshman

In a recent mock draft, yet another highly touted recruit was projected to end up in OKC.

With the NBA Draft Lottery quickly approaching, Kyle Boone of CBS Sports released a new mock draft that slotted a former five-star prospect to Oklahoma City. 

Boone projected the Thunder to take Baylor guard Keyonte George with the No. 12 pick, which would make George one of two Baylor products on OKC's roster. In his lone season with the Bears, Geroge averaged 15.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 37.6% from the field and 33.8% from 3-point range. 

This was good enough to earn the IMG Academy alumni Big 12 Rookie of the Year honors in addition to a spot on the All-Big 12 list. The Lewisville, Texas, native was ranked as the No. 9 prospect in the country as a senior, capturing a spot in the McDonald's All-American Game. 

In high school, George was compared to Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell, being tabbed as a "smooth" offensive player by recruiters. 

In his time at Baylor, the talented freshman topped 20 points 12 times in the team's first 28 games, scoring a career-high 32 points in a victory over West Virginia. George went 10-of-18 from the field and 5-of-9 from beyond the arc against the Mountaineers to secure his best performance of the season.

The 6-foot-4 guard struggled towards the end of the year, however, reaching double figures only once in the Bears' final five contests. This stretch included a 1-for-10 performance against Creighton in the NCAA Tournament. 

Geroge's potential on the offensive end of the floor was put on display in flashes at Baylor. While there were times were the freshman looked like a prolific scorer, he was often very inconsistent and inefficient, resulting in his projected slide to the late lottery.

Boone slotted George to the Thunder one pick ahead of Connecticut wing Jordan Hawkins, who is a year older, but has a much more consistent jump shot at this point in his career.

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