One of the premier events on the annual basketball calendar, the 2022 NBA Draft is set to take place in Chicago on June 23. A night where dreams will turn into a reality for some of the game’s next greats, which former Florida prep stars are set to potentially hear their names called on Thursday night?
Keegan Murray – DME Academy
The first former name from the Florida prep ranks that you will likely hear on Thursday night is that of Murray, a likely lock to be selected within the Top 10 picks overall, as well as potentially even top five.
A 2021-22 consensus First Team All-American, Murray is coming off a sophomore season at Iowa that can simply be described as special, one in which he led the Big Ten in scoring at 23.5 PPG, along with 8.7 RPG. A former three-star prospect in the 2020 class, Murray played only one season of high school basketball in Florida, one that was a post-grad year at DME Academy in 2019-20.
Jalen Duren – Montverde Academy
One of the more-intriguing frontcourt prospects in this draft, the other former Florida prep name that could be selected as a lottery pick is Duren. However, even if he isn’t taken in the lottery, the former five-star would likely not fall very far either.
The 2021-22 AAC Freshman of the Year, Duren averaged a combined 12 PPG, 8.1 RPG, and 2.1 BPG at Memphis this past season as a freshman, earning First Team All-AAC honors in the process. Originally a five-star prospect in the 2022 class, Duren reclassified to the 2021 after spending his junior season at national powerhouse Montverde Academy, one in which he helped lead the Eagles 2021 national championship.
Mark Williams – IMG Academy
Once the lottery concludes in the 2022 NBA Draft, the state could see a few notable former players selected in the remainder of the first round, a group that begins with Williams.
A two-year impact player at Duke, Williams is coming off a sophomore season that included 11.2 PPG, 7.4 RPG, and 2.8 BPG, one that included Third Team All-ACC honors and the 2021-22 ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Similar to Murray, Williams only played one season of high school basketball in Florida, one in which the five-star prospect attended IMG Academy.
Caleb Houstan – Montverde Academy
The other name alongside Williams that could also potentially be selected in the first round on Thursday night is Houstan, who will likely come off the board at some point between picks 20-30.
Starting in 34 games at Michigan this past season, Houstan would average 10.1 PPG and 4 RPG as a freshman, while also shooting an impressive 35.5% from three. Also on that same national champion Montverde Academy team alongside Duren, Houstan was a multi-year player for the Eagles and a five-star prospect in the 2021 class.
Keon Ellis – Leesburg
When it comes to the second round, there are arguably three names to watch for that will be selected, the first of which is Ellis.
After two seasons at Florida SouthWestern State College, Ellis has played the last two years at Alabama where he averaged a combined 8.8 PPG and 5.1 RPG, a span that included SEC All-Defense honors this past season. Ellis was an accomplished in-state player at Leesburg High School where he helped lead the Yellow Jackets to back-to-back state titles in 2017-18
Andrew Nembhard – Montverde Academy
The second of those names in Nembhard, a player who could be one of the first point guards selected in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft.
After spending the first two years of his collegiate career at Florida, Nembhard has spent the previous two seasons at Gonzaga averaging a combined 10.5 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 5.1 APG to earn back-to-back All-WCC honors. Nembhard is another former Florida prep player from national powerhouse Montverde Academy where he was a five-star prospect in the 2018 class.
Moussa Diabate – IMG Academy
The final name to watch for that could be selected on Thursday night is Diabate, who also happens to be the second player from Michigan.
During his lone season with the Wolverines, Diabate would average a combined 9 PPG and 6 RPG, earning Big Ten All-Freshman honors in the process. A five-star prospect in the 2021 class, Diabate played his high school basketball in Florida at IMG Academy.
