ESPN projects South Carolina's Collin Murray-Boyles as lottery pick and compares him to five-time NBA All-Star

South Carolina basketball star Collin Murray-Boyles did not withdraw his name from the NCAA-mandated NBA Draft deadline. That means that next year will be his first as a professional. The draft is less than three weeks away, and the former Gamecock has earned plenty of high-end projections.

This weekend, ESPN’s Jeremy Woo reiterated his previous prediction of seeing CMB coming off the board in the NBA Draft lottery, slotting him in at No. 9 overall to the Toronto Raptors and listing him at No. 14 on his top-100 big board. He also provided a pair of player comps for Murray-Boyles. With his “high-end” outcome, Woo believes the Columbia native could be similar to Al Horford. On the low end of things, Xavier Tillman was the comp.

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Said Woo, “Murray-Boyles projects as a solid gadget player in the frontcourt, capable of playing all over the floor on offense thanks to his intelligent passing, guarding multiple positions using his length, plus his physicality and toughness. Maximizing his potential depends on the development of his questionable 3-point shot; if he can present a threat from outside, it’ll help cover for his lack of ideal size at power forward.

“If his shot develops, Murray-Boyles could wind up in the vein of a modern Horford — a versatile big who can be instrumental to winning as a defensive stalwart with complementary offensive utility.

“If Murray-Boyles were to completely stagnate at the NBA level — an unlikely scenario, considering his age (he turns 20 on June 10) and trajectory — he should still hold down a spot on a roster as a useful depth player à la Tillman, who shared some of his intrinsic strengths but was older and far less mobile coming out of Michigan State.”

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Horford is a five-time All-Star, an NBA Finals champion, and a likely Naismith Hall of Famer. He has also averaged double-figures for 15 seasons and earned a spot on the NBA’s All-Defensive Team. That’s certainly not a bad player for whom Murray-Boyles to be compared.

Like the Horford comp, CMB has seen several other NBA All-Stars linked to him during this pre-draft process. Both Draymond Green (defensively) and Julius Randle (offensively) have been floated next to Murray-Boyles’ name.

The NBA Draft will take place on Wednesday, June 25th and Thursday, June 26th. ABC and ESPN will broadcast the first round on the 25th, starting at 8:00 p.m. Then, on Thursday, ESPN will broadcast the second round at 8:00 p.m. Both the first and second rounds will stream on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.

South Carolina basketball fans planning to tune in to watch Collin Murray-Boyles’ draft night likely need not concern themselves with the second round. Every credible NBA Draft mock has him going in the first round, most including him in the first 14 picks.

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