Link Academy standouts Jordan Walsh, Julian Phillips expected to be picked in NBA Draft
Two players from the inaugural Link Academy high school basketball team are expected to be selected in this week's NBA Draft.
Jordan Walsh and Julian Phillips were standouts on the Branson-based 2021-22 GEICO Nationals runner-up team. Both were five-star prospects who went on to play one year of college basketball in the SEC.
Walsh was a McDonald's All-American in his one year with the Lions before joining Arkansas, which had the No. 2 nationally ranked recruiting class in the country. He was ESPN's No. 11 ranked player in his class and came to southwest Missouri after starting his high school career in Dallas.
Walsh was a standout during the Lions' run to the GEICO Nationals championship game which included a 23-point, eight-rebound, seven-assist performance against Oak Hill while shooting 9 of 10 from the field. In his one year with the Razorbacks, Walsh made 22 starts and tied the Arkansas record for most games played by a freshman. He averaged 7.1 points and 3.9 rebounds with 40 total steals.
Phillips, who played last season at Tennessee, was ESPN's No. 13 overall prospect out of high school and was also named a McDonald's All-American after his senior year. He was the Lions' top scorer in the national title game with 16 points which made for a third of Link Academy's scoring.
Phillips started his career playing high school basketball in South Carolina. In his lone year with Tennessee, he averaged 8.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting 41.1% from the field in an average of 24.1 minutes.
According to ESPN's updated mock draft published Monday morning, Walsh was projected to go No. 40 overall to the NBA-champion Denver Nuggets while Phillips was projected to go 35th to the Eastern Conference runner-up Boston Celtics.
Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Jordan Walsh, Julian Phillips expected to be picked in NBA Draft
