Villanova Mock Draft: Mixed Reviews for Luigi Suigo

Villanova recruiting target Luigi Suigo has until May 27 to withdraw his name from the NBA Draft; per his comments during a TikTok live session, he plans to withdraw if expected to land outside the top 20 picks.

With the NBA Draft Combine officially in the rear view mirror — although he didn’t participate in any of the shooting or athletic drills, Suigo checked in at nearly 7-foot-3 and 289 pounds with a 7-foot-5 wingspan — professional teams and pundits now have a better idea of where the Italian native will land.

Mock drafts from CBS Sports and The Ringer, predict Suigo to fall out of the first round, although the latter was published on May 11, before the combine. Suigo’s status as one of the tallest and longest players in the draft could help him climb up the board in subsequent publications.

ESPN ranks Suigo as the No. 42 overall prospect in the draft. Holding out of the physical drills likely hurt Suigo’s stock, but one can expect a learning curve — and thus potential as a hidden gem — for a 19-year-old prospect with a 99th percentile frame. As such, an NBA team could roll the dice on Suigo much earlier.

Mock drafts from USA Today (No. 27) and Yahoo Sports (No. 24) also predict Suigo to fall outside of the top-20 threshold; Yahoo’s mock would send him to the New York Knicks, where he’d play alongside Villanova products Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges.

Bleacher Report, finally, expects Suigo to slip inside the top 20 as a pick of the San Antonio Spurs — creating a 1-2 punch of unicorn big men alongside Victor Wembanyama. If Suigo withdraws from the draft, Villanova has one main competitor to ward off.