RR Ralphie Report: Cody Williams projected as #2 pick in NBA Mock Draft

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Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

Jonathan Givony rates the future Buff as a top-tier prospect.

Colorado Buffaloes fans will see a familiar name at the top of Jonathan Givony’s early mock of the 2024 NBA Draft (paywall).

That would be Cody Williams, the 5-star wing who will join the Buffs in the 2023-24 season. It’s been a meteoric rise for the 6’8, 180-lbs. playmaker, who has ascended from the mid-50s to a consensus top-10 recruit in the class of 2023.

On every podcast episode we talk about how his combination of size, skill, playmaking ability and overall basketball IQ will fix a lot of CU’s weaknesses next season. The only real doubts are defensive effort, where Tad Boyle will work his magic, and outside shooting, which isn’t that big a deal if you’re that big, that smooth and that smart.

Clearly NBA teams have noticed Williams’ rise because he’s projected as a top-10 pick (or higher) in every 2024 mock draft around. Givony has him as high as #2 in the class, writing:

Cody Williams is another fast-rising prospect who wasn’t considered a top-50 player in his class until recently but now finds himself at No. 2 on our board. The brother of Oklahoma City Thunder wing Jalen Williams, Cody Williams brings great positional size (6-8), length and versatility, showing impressive fluidity changing speeds out of pick-and-rolls to either find teammates unselfishly or finish creatively around the basket.

Williams’ jumper, which was streaky in the Nike EYBL last spring and summer (18-for-93 from 3, 19%), has shown improvement this season in terms of his range and versatility shooting off the dribble and off movement, but there’s still work to do on this part of his game. We’re still learning more regarding just how dynamic and explosive a ball handler and playmaker Williams is and what position and role best suits him long-term, something we’ll ascertain more about at Colorado next season, which is not a traditional hot spot for one-and-done prospects.

There’s still a lot of time between now and June 2024. We’re going to learn how Tad handles a one-and-done prospect, how Williams works on himself in a player-driven program, and if his draft status puts CU on the map for future five-stars.

by Sam Metivier
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