Arizona Basketball: Fan favorite Rawle Alkins declares for NBA Draft

This day in Arizona Basketball History, March 27, 2018, combo guard Rawle Alkins declared for the 2018 NBA Draft.

Arizona Basketball guard Rawle Alkins declared for the 2018 NBA Draft today. We knew this day was coming, but for his fans, it wasn’t easy. Alkins is a fan favorite, and the feeling is mutual.

Alkins was the last of three non-seniors to officially declare. Deandre Ayton declared for the draft first and went to Phoenix according to his social posts. Then Allonzo Trier declared and was seen to be on the coast of California from his social media posts. Then it was Rawle Alkins turn. King Rawle did not disappoint as he thanked everyone and wrote about how much the fans mean to him. It was a heartfelt farewell but ‘I am not far away’ statement.

There are always those Arizona Basketball fans that think it would be beneficial for any of these three to come back for another season. Under the circumstances, we think it is just plain unrealistic. It is also mind-boggling to think that staying another year would help Alkins NBA stock as several NBA teams were ready to draft him after last season in the first round.

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• Rawle Alkins a star in the Drew League this summer
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• Reflections on the Pac-12, the Arizona Wildcats, and other memories

Alkins was given a few directives by various NBA representatives. He was to become a more versatile player and to extend his range of shot selection, and I think we can all agree that his three-point shot helped win the Wildcats a lot of games this season. When Alkins decided to test the NBA waters, it proved to be a great decision for him. Not only did he learn what key NBA draft notables thought he did well, he more importantly learned what he needed to improve on.

The most important thing to come out of the NBA Combine in 2017 was how he well he competed in the Combine Games. Alkins was the talk of the Combine. It wasn’t scoring alone that got Alkins noticed, he was stealing the ball, he was playing great defense and not giving up on plays. Much like at the Ballislife All-American game, while most players were playing it safe, Alkins brought the Savage Life and was all-in.

Side Note: Kobi Simmons also impressed at the Combine lasts season, and most fans gave him no chance to play in the NBA. Well, they were wrong, Simmons is playing in the NBA.

Alkins played in 14 fewer games this season, and that needs to be taken into consideration when analyzing his two college seasons stats. That said, he started in 95% of the games he played. Alkins worked his way into the starting line-up as a freshman and captured Sean Miller’s confidence early on.

King Rawle raised his average points from 10.9 to 13.1, his assists from 2.1 to 2.5, his free-throws from 2.0 to 3.1, his FG’s from 3.9 to 4.3, his three-pointers from 1.2 to 1.4 and his steals from .9 to 1.3. He also logged an average 31.4 minutes in play time which was 3.4 minutes more than last season. Alkins set out to become a versatile player, and that’s just what the back-to-back Pac-12 Champions and Pac-12 Tournament Champion did. Alkins seemed to have solid stamina, playing so many minutes and kept coming at the opponent down the stretch.

What’s most important when looking at Alkins career, is the things that don’t get logged in the stats. He is often compared to Lance Stephenson, and CPP Draft board compared him to Tyreke Evans. Whatever the case, most teams need a game-changer, a shot in the arm player who can surprise the opponent, make posterizing dunks and can play defense.

Here is Rawle’s farewell declaration posted on Twitter and Instagram today:

Even though Wildcats fans have mixed emotions about him leaving, it is time. Alkins has a huge fan base and it will only grow. A favorite subject of famous NBA photographer Cassy Athena and friend of Actor/Singer Rotimi, he has 111,000 followers on Instagram and 17,300 on Twitter.

There is no doubt that Rawle is going to be one of those guys like Will Parks is today and make a name for himself. From watching his career in college, It seems he will be the same player in the pros. Volunteering to do community events, hanging with famous musical talent as he loves music, he will want to develop his own sense of style and fashion, and he will love his fans as he does today. His new fans will adore him. Fans are already asking for their team to draft Alkins. Whatever team drafts him, they will get a socially active and well-loved baller who is appropriate and already understands his fan base.

https://twitter.com/ralmom/status/950183201569357824

He is always getting great feedback from fans he interacts with, making himself available for pictures and autographs and more. Much like Stanley Johnson stole our hearts, so did Rawle Alkins. A lot of fans posting on Twitter and Instagram are sad he is leaving and happy he gets a chance to compete in the NBA.

Let us never forget this now famous posterizing over USC guard Elijah Stewart. Alkins made a huge made a statement here, and that is that if you draft him, he can excite the crowd. There is no question that he can be that guy, a future NBA Dunk Contest participant.

We want to address the NCAA Tournament for a second since so much was made about the loss, a loss Alkins took very hard. Basketball is a team sport. Alkins carried the team with his energy, scoring, and defense in the first half of the game against Buffalo in the NCAA Tournament this season. He rose to the occasion.

In the second half of the first-round game, he was on his own at times. In basketball, you can not win a game alone. There were times that only Alkins transitioned and it was a two-on-one or three-on-one situation. No matter what he and his team tried, the Bulls shots were going in. That, to me, was the difference in the game. It takes a team. You cannot blame one player. Reminded me of the game against Wisconsin when Sam Dekker couldn’t miss his threes.

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As far as the NBA Scouts, they should take into consideration that Alkins quickly overcame an injury and all the controversy surrounding the team when analyzing Alkins. Also, the Wildcats were counted out until Alkins returned to play against Alabama guard Colin Sexton who is slated for the first round in the draft. Arizona beat Alabama.

The consensus among fans and media was that Alkins return re-energized the team with his play style. The way Alkins fed Deandre Ayton and Dusan Ristic in the post proved he is a generous ballplayer and made his teammates better. The team was more confident and came together to win10 out of 24 games during the season and three out of four post-season games. Miller played Alkins in the final minutes of the fourth quarter most if not all of the time, so his coach had high confidence in him.

Frankie Vision productions agree with us. We think Alkins is a sleeper and potential lottery pick. He did whatever he was asked to do. He has improved, became a leader on the court, and he is well liked by NBA Scouts I have talked too. They have told me that Rawle is the reason Arizona started playing better, that he was the glue of the team. At least two scouts I spoke to told me this. Bill Walton loves him, and he mentioned several times that his size and athleticism will translate well to the NBA.

Here are some highlights from Alkins 2018 season via Frankie Vision.

Bill Walton commentary during a great game Alkins had against USC:

Here are some of his sophomore highlights, note the three’s and acrobatic layups:

Must Read: More on ZZ about Rawle Alkins

The King goes the extra mile and doesn’t like to lose. His personality is contagious as is his love of the game. This glue-guy will go higher in the draft than most people think, we predict he will be a sleeper. Just think of what he could do if his entire team had the drive he has to succeed. That’s what is very important; he wants to succeed. Alkins is coachable, he has a great personality, fans love him, he is great in the community, he already has a huge social presence, top NBA Agents are already chasing him, and he is always positive, likable and relatable. Bear Down King Rawle, kill it in the NBA!