ORLANDO – The Orlando Magic won 13 more games in 2023-24 than the prior year, mostly because of their defense. They had the league’s third-best defensive rating and held their opponent to under 100 points 23 times, tied with Minnesota and New York for most.
If the Magic want to add another defensive ace to their roster in this year’s draft, there could be an assortment of options to choose from at pick No. 18 and/or No. 47, depending on who is still on the board.
Backcourt-wise, some of the better defenders in this year’s draft include UConn’s Stephon Castle, Providence’s Devin Carter, Virginia’s Ryan Dunn, Houston’s Jamal Shead, Kansas’ Kevin McCullar Jr., and Creighton’s Baylor Scheierman.
Castle, a 6-foot-6, 215-pound combo guard, helped the Huskies as a freshman win their second consecutive NCAA championship last season and sixth in school history. The Covington, Georgia native had a terrific final four, posting 21 points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal in the semifinals against Alabama and 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and one steal in the final against Purdue.
“I feel like it’s an advantage if you are (as) good (of a) two-way player as you can (be),” he said at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. “I feel like the past year I had, I had a great defensive year and I am trying to build on that.”
Carter, the son of former NBA player and current Memphis Grizzlies assistant coach Anthony Carter, is a 6-foot-5, 195-pounder who had a breakout season at Providence last season as a junior. He started his collegiate career at South Carolina before transferring to Providence after his freshman campaign. In 2023-24 for the Friars, the 22-year-old from Miami ranked fourth in the Big East in steals per game with 1.8 of them to go along with averaging 19.7 points, a whopping 8.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and one block.
Twice during his sophomore year, he collected five steals, including on Jan. 1, 2023 against DePaul when he also recorded 22 points and four blocks.
“I think defense is going to get you on the court, whether you are making shots or not,” he said at the combine. “I take pride in playing defense. I especially don’t like my man to score. If we can get stops as a team, I think that’s the easiest way to score – in transition.”
Dunn, whose brother Justin Dunn played professional baseball for the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds, is a complete defender. Most unique about him is that at 6-foot-8, 208 pounds, he’s an exceptionally good shot blocker. Last season at Virginia, he led the ACC with 77 blocks, which also ranked 11th in the entire nation.
On Feb. 17, he blocked seven shots against Wake Forest. On the game’s final possession, with the Cavaliers up two, he forced the Demon Deacons’ Cameron Hildreth into a tough fadeaway jumper at the buzzer that rimmed off. He also had a six-block game against eventual Final Four participant NC State on Jan. 24.
Shead, a 6-foot-1 guard out of the University of Houston, ranked second in the Big 12 in total steals last season with 80 of them. He also was second in the conference in assists with 233 of them. In 2023-24, the Manor, Texas native was named both the Big 12 Player of the Year and the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, which goes to the nation’s most outstanding defender.
“That’s my forte,” he said during an ESPN special on him during the season. “I don’t get buckets like a lot of guys, but a lot of guys can’t get buckets on me. That’s my calling card.”
Another Big 12 standout this past season was McCullar out of Kansas. The 6-foot-7, 212-pounder had a breakout season for the Jayhawks, averaging 18.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.4 blocks. Like Shead, McCullar was named to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team.
While best known for his outside shooting, Scheierman out of Creighton is as tough and gritty as they come. He’s one of the best rebounding guards in NCAA history. This past season, the Aurora, Nebraska native averaged 9.0 rebounds per contest, second most in the Big East. His 289 defensive rebounds were fourth-most in the entire country. In 2023-24, he had 17 double-digit rebounding games, including on March 2 against Marquette when he pulled down 16 of them.
Named to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team as a freshman last season, Missi averaged 1.5 blocks for the Bears. Born in Belgium and raised in Cameroon, the 6-foot-11, 229-pounder moved to the United States in 2021 and ended up playing at two high schools – West Nottingham Academy in Colora, Maryland and then Prolific Prep in Napa, California.
Twice at Baylor, he rejected five shots, including on Dec. 20 against Duke. His 51 total blocks were third-most in the Big 12 last season.
“I’m able to move my feet,” he said at the combine. “Able to defend the perimeter, defending guards. I’ve been working on it this whole (pre-draft).”
All three years he was at Dayton, Holmes earned a spot on the All-Atlantic 10 Defensive Team. This past season, he was both the conference’s co-Player of the Year with Richmond’s Jordan King and the Defensive Player of the Year. He had 13 double-doubles in 2023-24, including against Arizona in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament when he posted 23 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, three steals and one block.
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