I love a good sports debate, and I engaged in a minor one over Twitter on Tuesday with ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla, whom I have known for a long time and have great respect for. (Otherwise, I wouldn’t engage him.) The topic at hand was whether Jalen Williams, the Oklahoma City Thunder guard who dropped 40 on the Pacers in Monday night’s Game 5 victory, would have become as good a player if he had transferred from Santa Clara to a high-major school. Williams played three seasons at Santa Clara and then left to be picked 12th overall by the Thunder in the 2022 draft. Fran’s take was that Williams was better off staying at a mid-major school and being the type of featured performer who could average 18 points per game and then turn pro. My take was that greatness always prevails, so it didn’t matter what Williams did, he was always going to end up right where he is. Who’s right? Who knows! But the debate sure is interesting.

However Williams got here, it has been exciting and inspiring to watch him prosper. He will provide a template moving forward for both college players who have to decide where to play and at what level, and NBA scouts who have to discern who’s the next Jalen Willliams, and who’s the next (fill-in-the-blank-mid-major-bust). Those decisions will be very much in play over the next week as the 2025 NBA Draft approaches, and in the spring of 2026 when hundreds, perhaps thousands, of college basketball players enter the transfer portal.

It is also the calculus being made these days by college coaches like Syracuse’s Adrian Autry, who is profiled today by Alex Squadron. Autry had the unenviable task of following Jim Boeheim, but he struggled in his first two seasons and has had to revamp his approach. We also have a peek at who’s coming into college and who’s leaving for the draft. When does the off-season start? How about half-past never.

Our draft coverage is going to intensify over the next seven days (yes, that means you’ll be hearing from Finch soon!), so be sure to keep checking back. Have a great Wednesday and thanks as always for your support of Hoops HQ. —Seth

Autry Has a New Plan for Syracuse. Will It Work?

By Alex Squadron

In Adrian Autry’s eyes, a new era of Syracuse basketball has just begun.

In July of 2024, the Orange hired former New York Knicks scout Alex Klein to be their new general manager. Shortly after, they added analytics expert Eugene Tulyagijja to assist with scouting, player NIL evaluation and more. “Basically, I went out and got a front office,” Coach Autry explained.

The result has been a much more focused approach to the 2025 offseason. Autry and his staff went into March with a stronger understanding of the market so that they could be proactive instead of reactive. Step one in their meticulous plan was to retain Starling and Freeman. Then came the recruiting process.

‍

2025 NBA Draft: Ranking the Top 10 Scorers in This Year's Class

By Krysten Peek

The NBA Draft is right around the corner and teams are sorting through their draft boards trying to pinpoint the next additions to a roster. There’s a lot that goes into determining which player fits a specific system and culture for a franchise, but the one thing that will get everyone’s attention is scoring and shot selection. 

The elite scoring instincts these 10 players possess will absolutely help any team that drafts them. Here’s a look at the top 10 scorers in the 2025 NBA Draft class.

Spoiler alert: Cooper Flagg isn’t #1.

‍