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2019 NBA Draft: 5 reasons Jaxson Hayes should be first round pick

By Andrew Miller

(Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images)
(Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images) /
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KANSAS CITY, MO – MARCH 08: Jericho Sims #20 of the Texas Longhorns and Zhaire Smith #2 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders battle for a rebound during the Big 12 Basketball Tournament quarterfinal game at the Sprint Center on March 8, 2018 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MO – MARCH 08: Jericho Sims #20 of the Texas Longhorns and Zhaire Smith #2 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders battle for a rebound during the Big 12 Basketball Tournament quarterfinal game at the Sprint Center on March 8, 2018 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

2. Efficiency from two-point range

The cause of Hayes jumping up draft boards so fast in regard to the 2019 NBA Draft mainly came from his rebounding and rim protection. If not for the production Hayes had shooting from the field this season, his draft stock would be much lower than it is now. NBA scouts are going to recognize that more and more as time goes along this season.

A clear display of the production that Hayes is giving the Horns in this roller coaster of a regular season for the team so far is his scoring in limited minutes on the floor. Texas has four players with points per game in the double figures. Hayes is the only of those four players that doesn’t have a single start this season and is averaging less than 28 minutes per game.

Of all the players on this team that played in more than 200 minutes so far, Hayes is the only averages approximately 20 points per 40 minutes. The other established 2019 NBA Draft prospect on this team, senior shooting guard Kerwin Roach Jr., is the only other player that is even close to that scoring mark.

The shooting efficiency from Hayes this season is unmatched by anyone else on the team from two-point range. Hayes leads the team in two-point field goal percentage at 71.9 percent. His free-throw shooting does leave something to be desired, but for a big man that is still raw like Hayes, hitting them at a approximately a 65 percent mark could be much worse.

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