I will be the first to say that Nassir Little played a little too much to his last name during his freshman season at North Carolina. Now that my bad joke that I really wanted to work in is out of the way, there’s no question that many expected to see more out of Little this past season with the Tar Heels.
However, what you can’t really question is the amount of raw, untapped talent that Little has. At 6-foot-6, 220 pounds, Little looks every bit the part of a potential star in the NBA. The athleticism is there, and he could probably develop into a very versatile player at the next level. At the same time, though, he will take a year or two to really develop.
And inside the top 10, I’m not sure if there are many teams that are willing and able to wait out for a player to really blossom. The way the current culture is in the NBA, if you don’t win almost immediately, there’s a chance you won’t have a job next week. The Washington Wizards, though, could be one of the exceptions with John Wall still sidelined with an injury and a new president of basketball operations coming in.