With little need for immediate help, the retooling Toronto Raptors went with a bit of a project with the first pick of the second day of the NBA draft. Jonathan Mogbo, a 6-foot-6, skilled big man with a 7-foot-2 wingspan 31st overall.
Mogbo was 5-foot-9 when he started high school, but kept growing and growing, retaining the ability to handle and pass the ball from his many years as a guard playing the sport. He is extremely limited as a shooter, but the Raptors clearly were willing to bet on that coming around. Mogbo excels in transition with the ball and averaged 14.2 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.2 steals and 1.1 blocks for San Francisco.
It surely didn’t hurt Mogbo’s case that he’s good friends with Raptors franchise player Scottie Barnes, who was at his draft party Thursday. The duo first became teammates playing AAU ball when they were in fourth grade. Both hail from West Palm Beach Florida.
Work ethic is not a question with Mogbo, who didn’t receive a single Division 1 offer upon leaving high school. As noted in a good San Francisco Chronicle piece, Mogbo played for five schools in five states post-high school. From community college in Kansas, to junior college in Oklahoma, to the NCAA at Missouri State and San Francicso. As ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony put it earlier in the season: “Jonathan Mogbo at San Francisco is the most unique story in college basketball, a 5-9, 125-pound (guard) entering high school with zero DI offers upon graduating. Now 6’8, 225, he’s lighting up NBA draft models averaging 21 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists, 2.7 steals and 1.6 blocks per-40.”
When watching highlights of Mogbo you see a definite Raptors “type.” A long, athletic big man that isn’t afraid to push ahead, there are flashes of ex-Raptors Pascal Siakam and Precious Achiuwa in his still developing game. Mogbo only attempted two three-pointers in two years in the NCAA though, which is about where Siakam and Achiuwa were as outside shooters entering the NBA. This isn’t to say Mogbo is the next Siakam or Achiuwa, he will carve his own path, but for a team emphasizing player development under head coach Darko Rajakovic, Mogbo seems to have found a good home.
Toronto also held the 45th pick Thursday after making a deal with the Sacramento Kings prior to the start of Round 2 and went with Jamal Shead, a Houston Cougars point guard who was the national defensive player of the year and the Big 12 conference player of the year (first-round pick Ja’Kobe Walter was the Big 12’s freshman of the year). He’s seen as a strong floor general who runs an offence expertly despite not being a strong shooter. His defensive resume speaks for itself. Houston and Baylor met in February, with Walter scoring a game-high 23 points and Shead going for 12 points and 10 assists, along with a potential game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer that was waved off, resulting in overtime.