Markkanen, Lauri  Arizona 7'0" 230 PF frosh. Markkanen, originally from Finland, improved as his freshman season unfolded. He has a sculpted NBA body. ...He averaged 15.6 points, and 7.2 rebounds per game. He is very comfortable as a pick-n-pop player. He is an excellent three-point shooter (42.3% 3-pt. FG). He is also the rare seven footer that is a good free throw shooter. He makes 83.5% FT! His size, and agility give him a high ceiling. ...He needs to improve as a decision maker. He had more turnovers than assists during his lone season as Arizona. ...Markkanen was the top scorer in the 2016 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship tournament with average of 24.9 points per game. ...Markkanen comes from a basketball family. Both of his parents played for their Finnish National teams. His father played at Kansas for Roy Williams. ...Markkanen has a quick release on his buttery jump shot. That part of his game is really impressive! He will really need to be paired  with a BIG that does inside work because the beauty of Markkanen's game is on the perimeter. Defensively, Markkanen was nothing special at Arizona. He is easily pushed around due to a lack of balance and base strength. 

Good advice: In 2012, the 19th pick in the NBA Draft was Andrew Nicholson. We advised, "Draft Draymond Green."

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