Harrell, Rozier projected first-round picks

Rick Pitino and the Louisville coaching staff are recruiting high school seniors for next season as if Terry Rozier won't be with them.

That's because Rozier, a sophomore guard, burst onto the 2015 NBA draft radar this past summer with head-turning camp performances at the LeBron James Skills Academy and Adidas Nations.

At this point, Rozier -- assuming he has as strong a season with the Cardinals as many, including me, expect him to have -- should be considered a highly likely early entree in the draft. Same goes for Louisville big man Montrezl Harrell, who spurned a likely late-first-round selection in the 2014 draft in favor of another year of seasoning in college.

Pitino doesn't anticipate either player returning to Louisville for the 2015-16 season, and it appears that Harrell's decision and Rozier's rise may both pay off next summer.

Both players are considered top-15 draft picks at the outset of the college hoops campaign, at least by a few draft projectors.

ESPN's Chad Ford wrote in September that Rozier's camp performances "drew serious praise" and had several NBA scouts thinking the 6-foot-1 combo guard might be the second-best point guard in the 2015 draft pool behind Emmanuel Mudiay, who is playing this winter in China.

The early October mock draft on NBADraft.net projects Rozier as the 11th pick in next year's draft. Ford rates him 11th on his 2015 Big Board.

"He has very good athleticism and toughness and his quickness and strength allow him to get wherever he wants on the floor," Ford said. "If he can get that jump shot falling consistently this year, he could be a lottery pick."

DraftExpress.com's Jonathan Givony does, however, offer a differing opinion on Rozier, saying the guard's inconsistent shooting and "poor decision making" at the Adidas Nations camp prompted mixed reviews of his performances.

Rozier is considered the 51st-best prospect in Givony's newest mock 2015 draft and Givony projects the guard as a first-round pick in the 2016 draft instead.

The opinions on Harrell aren't quite so contrasting.

Louisville's All-American forward is 12th on the DraftExpress prospect list, 15th on ESPN's and ninth on NBADraft.net. He's added range to his jump shot and appears quicker and stronger than he was last season, when he averaged 14 points and 8.4 rebounds as a sophomore, and expects increased production this winter.

Seniors Wayne Blackshear and Chris Jones are on DraftExpress's list of the top seniors in college hoops, with the 6-5 Blackshear ranking 19th and Jones, a 5-10 point guard, is rated 54th.

NBADraft.net's 2015 mock draft projects Jones as a second-round pick.

Opposing draft picks?

Using the updated Draft Express mock draft for 2015, here's a list of projected NBA draft picks (with their predicted selection in parentheses) that Louisville will face this season:

Duke: C Jahlil Okafor (1), F Justise Winslow (8), PG Tyus Jones (14).

Kentucky: F/C Karl Towns (3), C Willie Cauley-Stein (10), C Dakari Johnson (19), G Andrew Harrison (26), G Aaron Harrison (28), F Alex Poythress (32).

UNC: FBrice Johnson (23), G Marcus Paige (33).

Indiana: G Yogi Ferrell (45).

Notre Dame: G Jerian Grant (56).

Ohio State: G Shannon Scott (60).