‘A lot of potential.’ UK’s Brandon Boston remains man of mystery entering NBA Draft.

ESPN and SEC Network analyst Jimmy Dykes has noticed a pattern when basketball players are assessed as potential NBA draft picks.

“The first question I always ask and NBA scouts always ask me (is) what could he do right now for us in an NBA game consistently?” Dykes said this week.

That question about one of the Kentucky players hoping to hear his name called in Thursday’s NBA Draft stumps Dykes.

“I don’t know how to answer that question on BJ Boston,” he said. “He looks the part. Like, when he walks on the floor, he looks the part of a terrific basketball player.”

But even after averaging 30.4 minutes and leading the team in scoring (11.5 ppg) in his freshman season for Kentucky, Brandon Boston remains undefinable.

“I see a lot of potential in him,” NBA consultant Ryan Blake said.

But . . .

Weighing only 184 pounds, the 6-foot-7 Boston’s ability to stand up physically in the NBA is a question.

“He is going to have to get stronger,” Dykes said. “And we have multiple, multiple, multiple examples of plays from his college days when any contact at all he did not handle well.”

Blake said that playing the wing makes a slight stature less of a concern. But the NBA consultant suggested another component of Boston’s game that needs to improve.

“He has to become a better defender . . . ,” Blake said. “He can be a reluctant defender at times.”

Both Dykes and Blake said that Boston must improve as a shooter.

“He hasn’t proven he can hit the deep ball,” Blake said. Boston made 30 percent of his three-point shots (30 of 100) and shot overall with 35.5-percent accuracy for UK last season.

“It’s probably going to boil down to can he become a 36- to 40-percent three-point shooter from the NBA three-point line,” Dykes said. “If he can do that, he’ll probably stick in the league for awhile because there’s a value in shooters. If he can’t do that, it’s going to be really, really hard because he’s not proven any other part of his game, to me, says he can make up for that lack of shooting.

“He’s not going to stick his nose in there and get rebounds on either end. He’s not a guy you can put on the other team’s best two-guard or small forward and shut him down. He’s not an elite playmaker for others. To me, that’s kind of the reality of where he is.”

Jay Bilas, who will be an analyst on ESPN’s telecast of the NBA Draft, saw Boston’s field-goal percentage last season as standing out for all the wrong reasons.

“He shot from the field in the 30s,” Bilas said during a teleconference Tuesday. “Heck, that includes layups. So, that’s not a good performance for him.

“But he’s still got some tools, which I think are going to carry him through. And I think he’s going to be a good player. But the performance last year raised more questions than it answered.”

Bilas likened Boston to Jalen Johnson, a five-star recruit for Duke who left the team after 13 games last season. Both were more highly regarded going into the 2020-21 season than when it ended, the ESPN analyst said.

Bilas credited Boston for playing the entire season.

“The thing I like most about it is his attitude remained really good,” Bilas said. “I think he answered every question that was asked of him. He didn’t make any excuses.”

But the 2020-21 season “raised questions” about Boston, Bilas said before pointing out that one season is not “career determinative.”

Boston came to Kentucky as a highly regarded prospect. He was a five-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American. He was rated among the top 10 players in the high school class of 2020 by Rivals (No. 5), 247Sports (No. 6) and ESPN (No. 7).

The consensus in mock drafts is that Boston will be selected in the second round of this year’s NBA Draft.

“He’s going to be a great example of a kid who gets drafted off potential,” Dykes said.

Blake suggested going undrafted might be how Thursday night goes for Boston. But, the NBA consultant added, that should not be translated into a lack of interest among NBA teams.

“His number will be ringing off the charts as soon as that 60th pick is done,” Blake said of the Boston undrafted scenario. “Don’t worry about that. He’s going to get an opportunity. There’s no question about it.”

Examples of players becoming solid NBA players after being drafted in the second round can be cited. Draymond Green, who helped Golden State to NBA titles, was taken with the 35th pick of the 2012 NBA Draft. Louisville’s Montrezl Harrell was the 32nd pick in 2015 and was subsequently voted Sixth Man of the Year.

Undrafted players can have NBA careers. Fred VanVleet started in the G League and subsequently became a rotation player on the Toronto Raptors’ 2019 NBA championship team. Former Florida “big” Udonis Haslem played a season in France before starting what’s become an 18-season career with the Miami Heat.

Just getting to draft night can serve as testament to Boston’s perseverance. He endured Kentucky’s second losing season since 1926-27 and a personal season that did not meet expectations.

Plus, Boston was reportedly one of the first people on the scene after a car crash killed UK teammate Terrence Clarke in April.

“You hope, from a personal standpoint, that three, four years from now, he has really blossomed and grown,” Dykes said of Boston, “and things have gone his way.”

NBA Draft

When: 8 p.m. Thursday

Where: Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

TV: ABC-36 (first round only), ESPN (both rounds)

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