University of Kansas
Standout 7’0″, freshman center, Joel Embiid, who had been projected to be at least a top-3 pick in this year’s draft, was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his back on March 11th and is a question mark to return this season. He had already missed the last three games and after opting for a second opinion, was declared out indefinitely. He is now likely to miss the Big 12 Conference Tournament and possibly early rounds of the NCAA. This is obviously a huge blow to his and Kansas’ season, however it may not hurt his draft stock as much as another player getting injured at this inopportune time. Since much of the hype surrounding him is based off his incredibly high potential (which derives from his height, athletic ability and good basketball instincts for a player who is so young and only been playing basketball for a few years), teams are likely to still draft him. Where this injury might hurt him is that other potential top picks, such as standout freshman teammate, Andrew Wiggins, and Jabari Parker, now have the opportunity to prove themselves on a national stage and could leap over him on many teams draft boards. The other obvious negative is that back injuries are very tricky and if this turns out to be recurring or long-term, his draft stock would definitely slide (i.e. Jared Sullinger in 2012) and career could be in jeopardy. Lastly, this injury could push Embiid back to school since he has already expressed some reservations about leaving Kansas after only 1 year. If that happens, the stellar 2014 draft class would take a big hit and one team at the top of the lottery will end up without a franchise changing center.