NBA draft scouting: What's changed in the No. 1 pick race?

After scouting multiple top NBA draft prospects over the past week, Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz break down the big developments and lingering questions.

Who looks like the No. 1 pick now? What's the latest on Nassir Little and Bol Bol? And which sleepers are worth watching?

Zion Williamson | Duke

Schmitz: While you never want to draw definitive conclusions six games into the season, it's becoming clear that Williamson is the top prospect in this draft. The competitive nature and physical dominance he showed in a rigorous game against Gonzaga spoke volumes about his impact on winning. When he gets in an up-tempo system with plentiful space and the shooting coach to tap in to that natural touch? Look out.

Williamson is built for the modern NBA, and he is far too unique for any rebuilding franchise to pass on. We have seen aggressive scoring wings like RJ Barrett or smooth forwards like Cam Reddish. But we've never seen a prospect quite like Williamson, and it's hard to envision many more coming in the future.

High-ranking executives in Maui reiterated, "Don't overthink this one" and "Don't pass up on another unicorn." There are certainly a handful of scouts and even general managers warning that it's still early. They want to see how Duke's other two freshmen progress, as Reddish remains the most talented of the bunch. But Williamson deserves the top spot now.

So what has changed since Williamson started the year at No. 3 on our board?

We always lauded Williamson as much more than just a YouTube dunker and found him an intriguing fit in the modern NBA. But it was frankly hard to go all in given the limited opportunities we had to evaluate him against other elite prospects. We got a good feel for him at Adidas Nations in 2017 but really only had that, AAU and a McDonald's All-American week to go off, which is a small sample.

We opted to err on the side of cautious optimism. He has clearly blown everyone's expectations out of the water.

Nassir Little | North Carolina

Givony: We've been hearing some grumbling from scouts about the play and role of Little since the season started. The fact that he is averaging fewer minutes (20.0) than any college prospect in our Top 100 -- and is the lone player yet to start a game -- hasn't helped matters. It was good for me to go out to Chapel Hill and watch North Carolina's walk-through the morning before the Stanford game to get a better understanding of the situation.

It's not difficult to understand why Little is coming off the bench, as he is behind two seniors and potential All-Americans in Cameron Johnson and Luke Maye. Roy Williams has a mandate to win games as the head coach of one of the country's most tradition-rich programs. You don't have to look any further than his three national championships to see that he sticks to starting upperclassmen. He had top-10 recruits in Marvin Williams (2005) and Ed Davis (2009), who still got drafted despite not logging heavy minutes, so this isn't new. Although people might criticize Williams for being old school, it's tough to argue with the results.

While watching Little against Stanford, it was pretty clear that he's still in the process of transitioning from the high school game to the college game. He looked a bit tentative offensively and struggled a lot more defensively than I thought he would coming into the season, especially off the ball. I always thought his best position, even in the NBA, would likely be as a Jaylen Brown-style 4-man surrounded by skill and shooting, and that is not really the role he's playing. He is seeing almost all of his minutes at small forward, while often sharing the court with a non-shooting point guard in Seventh Woods.

You could certainly still see his sheer physical tools and talent, and Little's overall productivity on a per-minute basis has been impressive (28.0 PER with a true shooting percentage of 64.7), but it's now easier to understand why UNC hasn't changed its lineup and run its whole offense through Little.

I do think that Little will be better integrated as the season moves on. And I've been told that UNC isn't ruling out pulling starting center Garrison Brooks from the opening lineup and playing small ball with a Little-Johnson-Maye frontcourt, if Little really forces its hands with his play. The Tar Heels played Johnson and Maye together up front quite a bit last season, but that also happened to be the worst defensive team Roy Williams has ever coached.

UNC has another opportunity to face a quality opponent in UCLA after a surprising loss to Texas, in which Little played just 21 minutes, but it will likely take time to figure out exactly where he slots in this draft. It still feels unlikely that he falls out of the top five.

RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish | Duke

Schmitz: These two had polar opposite showings in Maui. Barrett lost considerable momentum due to hero ball, while Reddish was unable to capitalize on the buzz he generated through two games by no-showing in the Gonzaga bout, leaving teams wanting more.

Leading up to the Gonzaga game, NBA scouts questioned Barrett's willingness to make others better, his shooting consistency and his overall upside as a No. 1 pick. Barrett strengthened that argument when he took five shots in the final 57 seconds (all misses), more or less icing out his teammates and looking extremely clunky in the half court. Barrett is an accomplished talent who figures to look much better on a spaced NBA floor, but he hasn't done himself any favors over the past few games, generating more questions than answers in regard to his ability to coexist with other stars.

Reddish was invisible in the first half of the Gonzaga contest and on the bench during Duke's late second-half run, seeming all too comfortable having little impact. Still, he knocked down 8 of 19 3s over three games, showing glimpses of his sky-high ceiling. Scouts remain enamored with his talent level, with many high-ranking executives thinking the No. 1 pick will ultimately come down to Williamson and Reddish, not Barrett. He is clearly the best shooter of the three, and the hope for Reddish optimists is that his aggressiveness and confidence will come out more in time. He and Barrett seem to be in a battle for No. 2 right now.

The big three get all the pub, but Tre Jones is quickly proving he deserves far more attention. He played an outstanding game against Gonzaga -- moving the ball, competing defensively, pulling up in the lane and finishing with craft around the rim. Should Duke make a title push, it wouldn't be surprising to see Jones work his way into first-round consideration.

Bol Bol | Oregon

Givony: I caught the Ducks against Iowa and Syracuse alongside quite a few NBA executives in New York. Bol had a combined 45 points, 18 rebounds, 9 blocks and 4 steals in 59 minutes while going 1-1 against possibly the two best teams he'll face all season.

We had been hearing for quite some time that Bol was having a strong preseason at Oregon and that he had turned over a new leaf since leaving California, where there were questions about his approach to the game. It's too early to draw any sweeping conclusions in my mind, but I thought Bol did a good job of staving off some of the negative perceptions while showing his extraordinary talent.

While still painfully thin, Bol's frame has definitely made strides. He has added almost 60 pounds in the past 3½ years, and he looked a lot stronger in the lower body, in particular. His upper body is narrow still, and he likely is going to struggle with the physicality of the NBA early on, but I do think he will end up having a nice frame as he enters his mid-20s. This might be the biggest question he faces long term, as some scouts wonder about his ability to stay healthy considering his height and long legs. He already gets dinged up pretty easily, and he was in and out of the first game with some minor calf and hamstring issues.

In terms of sheer skill, it's awfully tough to find too much to nitpick. You simply can't find players his size who can dribble, pass, shoot and move this fluidly. The highlights were overwhelmingly impressive. He handled the ball in the open floor, attacked closeouts with polished footwork, displayed outrageously soft touch and made some terrific passes in both games. He is an absolute force defensively when he puts his mind to it, thanks to his ridiculous 7-foot-8 wingspan and 9-foot-7 standing reach, combined with natural instincts and mobility. Theoretically, Bol has every right to be in the mix for the No. 1 overall pick considering how impactful he could be on both ends of the floor if he reaches his full potential.

But those same highlights were interspersed with plenty of bad moments that reminded us why so many remain skeptical. Bol has a tendency to sleepwalk through too many possessions, looking lethargic and being especially prone to avoiding contact in the paint. He is a poor rebounder, gets posted up mercilessly and really struggles to step outside and guard pick-and-rolls. Offensively, he sets invisible screens and then rarely rolls all the way to the basket, instead preferring to pop out almost every time. His lack of intensity isn't ideal, but the fact that he got so much done regardless was pretty eye-opening.

Bol will likely be one of the most controversial players in this draft, but he did a great job in New York of reminding scouts just how unique a prospect he is. Oregon's schedule from here leaves something to be desired, so showing that he can impact winning and help carry the Ducks to the NCAA tournament will be important. He'll be in the top five of our next rankings update.

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Bol Bol dominates Syracuse on his birthday

Bol Bol continues his stellar play as he scores 26 points and collects 9 rebounds and Oregon takes down Syracuse 80-65.

Rui Hachimura | Gonzaga

Schmitz: We detailed Hachimura's performance against Duke here. He more than held his own with Williamson during arguably college basketball's biggest regular-season game of the calendar. His 3-ball has improved considerably. His team defense is progressing. He still has questions to answer, but Hachimura's progress has been really impressive, and he won over the majority of talent evaluators on hand in Maui, myself included.

And let's not forget his teammate Brandon Clarke. The 22-year-old transfer was outstanding as a pogo-stick shot-blocker and finisher who also showed enough as a passer and perimeter shooter to pique the interest of NBA teams. His energy really set the tone against the Blue Devils, and his switch ability and shot-blocking make him a perfect fit in the modern NBA. Should Gonzaga continue its winning ways, Clarke could very well earn NBA sleeper status, with teams dubbing him a potential Jordan Bell-like modern big.

Maui's notable performances

Schmitz: Arguably no player bolstered his draft stock more than Iowa State freshman Talen Horton-Tucker. He opened eyes with his unique physical profile and versatile skill set. With a PJ Tucker-like body, the length of Draymond Green and the skill level of a guard, Horton-Tucker made plays all over the floor defensively, pushed like a point guard in the open court and knocked down deep pullups with a hand in his face that few 17-year-olds would even dare to attempt. He still needs to get in better shape and find a reliable mix of scoring and playmaking, but he looked every bit of a first-round talent, with the potential to rise even higher in time.

San Diego State's Jalen McDaniels was a mixed bag. He didn't move the needle in a blowout loss to Duke on opening day, but he really showed his worth against Xavier. He slid with guards in the backcourt, knocked down open spot-ups, flew around for chase-down blocks, added energy on the glass and even pushed in transition on numerous occasions. McDaniels has clearly improved his feel for the game. He also has extended his range to the college 3 line, where he is shooting 41.7 percent. He did have some struggles knocking down shots and scoring in the midpost against Horton-Tucker, and McDaniels will have to really become a knockdown shooter to find consistent minutes in the NBA. But overall, McDaniels showed enough two-way talent to warrant his current first-round status.

Illinois freshman Ayo Dosunmu was a bit underwhelming in his first two games, looking much more like a 2020 option than a surefire 2019 draft pick. It's easy to fall in love with his defensive effort and intensity, but he remains a work in progress offensively, particularly when put in on-ball situations against a team as disciplined as Gonzaga. Dosunmu got better as the tournament went on, though, finishing on a high note with 19 points in 24 minutes in a loss to Xavier. Don't count out continual improvement as the season goes along.

What's next on the scouting calendar?

Givony: The NIT Season Tip-Off finishes Friday in Brooklyn with an intriguing championship game between two top-five teams in Kansas and Tennessee. I'll be at that game and also the undercard, Louisville-Marquette. From there, I'll be heading to Orlando, Florida, first to watch the Central Pointe International Thanksgiving Showdown -- which has the NBA Academy Latin America -- and then the final day of the Advocare tournament, featuring LSU, Florida State and Villanova. Quite a few scouts will be attending.

Afterward, it's off to Tuscaloosa for Murray State-Alabama. This is one of only two high-major opponents Racers guard Ja Morant will face all season long, and getting a chance to see him against a long-armed defender like Herbert Jones will be invaluable in attempting to project how his impressive production will translate to the NBA. I'll be in Durham, North Carolina, the next day for Indiana-Duke and maybe the toughest game Hoosiers guard Romeo Langford will play all season. And then it's College Park for Virginia-Maryland; Ty Jerome, De'Andre Hunter and Jalen Smith are all projected first-rounders, and that's a big rivalry game. It's a pretty good stretch.

Schmitz: I'm out in Nevada at the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational that features North Carolina, Texas, UCLA and Michigan State. I'm looking forward to getting an extended look at Little while also tracking the progress of underclassmen such as UCLA's Kris Wilkes and Chris Smith, plus Texas' athletic center Jaxson Hayes. Hayes made a big-time statement with his 15-point, 9-rebound, 3-block performance in a win over UNC. The freshman blew away the large contingent of scouts and executives with his agility, shot-blocking instincts, rebounding in traffic, soft hands and overall touch. With clear one-and-done potential, I'll be watching Hayes closely on Friday against Nick Ward and Michigan State. I'll also get a good feel for No. 6 Nevada, headlined by Caleb and Cody Martin, as well as an under-the-radar senior combo forward in Tulsa's DaQuan Jeffries.

After Las Vegas, I'll catch the final day of the Wooden Legacy in Fullerton, California, which features Miami, Northwestern, Utah and Seton Hall.