Golden State Warriors: 1 prospect off each final NCAA team to watch

The Golden State Warriors may have a top-five pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. While their pick from Minnesota cannot be in the top three, there’s potential they select fourth or fifth in the draft this coming summer.

With the national championship game tonight, there’s a chance a future Warrior takes the court. Even if they are not a highly-touted recruit, the Warriors have shown a love of drafting developed players in the second round.

As the Golden State Warriors watch the 2021 NCAA Tournament finale, let’s dive into one prospect from both Gonzaga and Baylor to watch.

Gonzaga prospect for Warriors to watch — Jalen Suggs

Jalen Suggs is being mocked as the No. 3 overall prospect behind Cade Cunningham and Evan Mobley. He’s deserving of such a place as well as he’s shown a grittiness about his game during the Zags championship run.

Suggs is looking to help the Zags cap off an undefeated season.

The 6-foot-4 guard that was a five-star basketball recruit and a four-star football recruit has all the tenacity and athleticism you could want. On top of that, he’s become a polished scorer while with Gonzaga.

He’s averaging 14.1 points per game as a freshman and is shooting over 50 percent from the field. While those aren’t overly awing numbers, the Zags dominance has been partially on the back of Suggs.

Understanding the system and being an athletic, scoring guard has served prospects well. I’d expect it to for Suggs, who should be a top-five pick, as well.

Baylor prospect for Warriors to watch — Davion Mitchell

Let’s stick to guards here. Another prospect to watch is Davion Mitchell, and you’ll be hearing his name quite a bit. Mitchell’s dominance comes primarily on the defensive end, but he is also blazing fast and can get to the bucket with ease.

Mitchell played a season at Auburn then transferred to Baylor, sat out a season, and is now a senior. Mitchell is mocked as a mid-first-round pick, so he should be available for the Warriors’ actually pick.

Averaging 14 points per game, Mitchell’s also tacked on 5.5 assists and 1.9 steals per game. He was Big 12’s Defensive Player of the Year and has continually proven his ability to lock up opponents which could create havoc for Suggs.

Mitchell is undersized at 6-foot-2, but there’s no reason why he couldn’t be a better-scoring Patrick Beverley-like player in the NBA.

Mitchell and Suggs both have potential at the next level, and they’ll showcase that in what will be a historic matchup on Monday night.