Power Forward #10: Jalen Slawson, Furman
For most of the country, until the NCAA tournament, the Furman Paladins were complete unknowns. Their upset over the Virginia Cavaliers on a late three-pointer put them on the map as a Cinderella, but for those who were deep into the weeds of the draft, Jalen Slawson had put the Paladins on a pedestal a long time ago.
Slawson was the unquestioned leader for Furman this year, filling every hole that the team needed and then some. He was first or second in every major statistical category for the Paladins, which shows his jack-of-all-trades qualities at power forward:
And since this was also Furman, I saw the usual great version Jalen Slawson. My favorite play for him this game was this defensive rotation, even if it might've been a block
— Mavs/Magic Draft (@MavsDraft) May 25, 2023
Slawson is more explosive Kyle Anderson. I imagine he sticks in the league at 6'7 w/ 7'0 wingspan pic.twitter.com/UrFMDGIdj8
The fact that Slawson will be twenty-four when the next NBA season starts, alongside his shorter stature for a power forward, may dull some of his draft interest, but make no mistake: whichever team takes him in the second round will potentially add a rotation player who is built for the modern NBA.