In a point guard-heavy draft class for a point guard-heavy league, two college guards stand above the rest. Washington’s Markelle Fultz and UCLA’s Lonzo Ball are projected to go first and second overall in the 2017 NBA Draft in most mock drafts (usually in that order). Ball, who doesn’t appear to have inherited the “outspoken loudmouth” gene from his father, told ESPN that he respectfully believes that he’s better than Fultz:
“Markelle’s a great player, but I feel I’m better than him,” said Ball, who led the Bruins to a pair of blowout victories over Fultz’s Huskies this season.
“I think I can lead a team better than him,” Ball added. “Obviously he’s a great scorer — he’s a great player, so I’m not taking that away from him.”
Ball and Fultz both had terrific freshman seasons for their respective teams. Ball led Division-1 basketball in assists with 7.7 per game. He also averaged 14.6 points and six rebounds per game on an impressive 55.1 percent from the field, including 41.2 percent from three-point range.
Fultz averaged 23.2 points, 5.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game for the Huskies on 47.6 percent shooting (and 41.3 percent from deep).
