NBA Draft 2015: April Mock Draft -- Detroit Pistons select Stanley Johnson

With the eighth pick of the 2015 NBA Draft . . . the Detroit Pistons select Stanley Johnson from the University of Arizona. I am naturally leery of any University of Arizona product, but they do seem to produce a lot of wing players (Jason Terry, Richard Jefferson, Andre Iguodala, Sean Elliott, Gilbert Arenas, Chris Mills, Luke Walton, Jud Buechler, Michael Dickerson, Chase Budinger, and so forth). A lot of them stay in the league for a long time and with the #8 pick you are looking for a value pick. And, almost without fail, an Arizona product knows how to make open threes - something not every NBA wing is capable of doing. If there's a HOFer available at #8 you take him, otherwise getting a long time NBA level rotation player, who can be a starter at his peak, isn't a bad way to go. Stanley fits in with what Detroit wants, he's a Stan Van Gundy type of player with his physicality, length, and ability to run all day long. He can hit the three, space the floor, and is willing to go out there and attack. He's not a next level athlete, and he's not going to make Detroit forget about Josh Smith, but he's going to be a player that fits in well with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, is a big upgrade over Jodie Meeks and Cartier Martin, and will be someone who helps Andre Drummond clean up Brandon Jennings ‘ mistakes. I think he could be the best defender of this draft class.