New Orleans Pelicans: 3 late-draft candidates to watch in March Madness

Scottie Lewis, Wing, The University of Florida

Ranked as the seventh-best prospect amongst 2019 NCAA recruits, it’s been sort of a middling freshman season for Florida’s Scottie Lewis.

Initially seeming like an obvious one-and-done candidate for the Gators, Lewis has yet to prove he can be a high-tier offensive player, though he’s boasting a 110 rating on that end of the floor.

However, he’s still been a pretty enticing talent in a lot of ways, even if he’s not currently projecting as an elite offensive player.

Appearing in 30 games and making 22 starts for the Florida Gators, Lewis averages 8.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, and has a 50% effective field goal rate.

What’s promising from Lewis is his defensive acumen. Posting an off-the-charts 90 defensive rating and +5.5 defensive box plus/minus, Lewis has been key for a middling Florida ball-stopping unit that allows opponents to score 66.3 points per contest.

When thinking about Lewis, it’s hard for me not to think about what his future could be, especially if he has a couple of years to develop in a strong, foundational system.

Right now, the New Orleans Pelicans are using a similar plan in the development of Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who hasn’t played a whole lot of minutes during his rookie season but gets the chance to learn alongside veteran shooters like J.J. Redick and E’Twaun Moore.

Lewis won’t be an out-of-the-box success for any team and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the freshman return for another year of basketball with the Florida Gators, unless he really turns it on during March Madness.