Around the Association: What People are Saying about Walter & Missi

Last Wednesday, Baylor’s talented freshman duo of Ja’Kobe Walter (No. 19, Toronto) and Yves Missi (No. 21, New Orleans) became the first pair of BU teammates in program history to get selected in the first round of the same NBA Draft.

Today’s article is a grab bag of quotes and thoughts from front-office personnel detailing how Walter and Missi will adjust to the NBA and their respective teams.

*some quotes have been edited for brevity and clarity*

Ja’Kobe Walter (No. 19, Toronto Raptors)

• Raptors GM Bobby Webster on Walter contributing to winning:
  • “[Walter] comes from Link [Academy], so he comes from a high-pedigree high school program. For those of you who follow college basketball, Baylor has become one of the premier winning programs in basketball, so those are things I think he valued from a recruiting standpoint and with the decisions he made. He’s a thoughtful kid – cares about the right things.”
  

  Jack Mackenzie - SicEm365

  Ja’Kobe Walter, the reigning Big 12 Freshman of the Year, is the fourth consecutive Bear to be selected within the top 20 of the NBA Draft.
• Raptors GM Bobby Webster on Walter’s defensive prowess:
  • “He can guard 1s and 2s. He has pretty good length. There’s an inner toughness when you watch him. He rebounds the ball well; he’s not afraid to stick his nose in there.”
• Long-time NBA Scout on Walter:  
  • “He wants to put in the work to be great. He will need to develop more consistency on both ends to make an impact in the NBA, but he has good basketball instincts and great length. He should be a contributor at worst and a potential all-star if things break right for him.” 

Yves Missi (No. 21, New Orleans Pelicans)

• Pelicans GM Bryson Graham on selecting Missi at No. 21: 
  • “He got to Baylor, and everyone thought he was going to redshirt; he even thought he was going to redshirt. He picks up things really, really quickly – with his intelligence and his raw natural ability, it’s exciting, and we’re happy he fell to No. 21.”
• Pelicans Executive VP of Basketball Operations David Griffin on Missi’s athleticism:
  • “The speed with which he picks things up is incredible. When you look at an athlete with his size and the way he tested for us here, the things he’s physically capable of are very rare. We’ve sat up here and said that before about players, and it’s true, there are a lot of times you draft on tools but what’s exciting about Yves is that the likelihood he reaches his ceiling is better than a lot of those people because of what he’s shown already for his propensity to get better quickly. But the things that he did in our building – physically and athletically – we’ve never had a player his size do anything even remotely like it, so it’s exciting for us.”
  

  Jack Mackenzie - SicEm365

  Yves Missi’s team-leading four double-doubles were the most by a Baylor player since Freddie Gillespie in 2019-2020. 
• Pelicans GM Bryson Graham on Missi potentially becoming a shooter:
  • “He has such a good feel for finding space. He’s able to set screens and play in the dunker [spot], a lot like Derrick Lively II. I think his feel for the game is very advanced and somebody like that next to [Zion Williamson] is going to unlock him. He also has good touch; I’m not going to say he’s going to be a pick-and-pop big. But when he came into our gym, his shot mechanics are there. I think with reps, and over time, as he continues to develop, I can see his ability to grow as a three-point shooter in this league.”
• Long-time NBA Scout on Missi:  
  • “I see a guy with tremendous upside not only as a shot blocker and rim roller but can put the ball on the floor and explode to the rim. Pascal Siakam is the type of player he could develop into, but he has three inches on Siakam and more explosiveness. Will he [be able] to develop a perimeter game [is the question].”