Pelle Larsson, Keshad Johnson improved NBA stock at Arizona but will it get them drafted?

Last summer, after quietly pulling his name out of the NBA Draft pool, Pelle Larsson played for the Swedish national team and then returned to Tucson to prepare for a fourth season of college basketball.

Last summer, still missing from NBA prospect lists despite a steady rise from three-star status in high school, Keshad Johnson transferred from San Diego State to Arizona and began preparing for a fifth season of college basketball.

This week, after helping the Wildcats rise as high as the No. 1 ranking in college basketball last season, both of them could become NBA Draft picks.

They helped Arizona, and Arizona appeared to help them.

“They both did incredible jobs for Arizona basketball, and I think individually, hopefully, they put themselves in a better position to achieve their dreams,” UA coach Tommy Lloyd said last weekend at the Section 7 recruiting event in Glendale.

At the same time, Lloyd said he didn’t want to “prognosticate on that stuff too much,” taking a victory lap for helping get his guys drafted, partly because both players still face considerable uncertainty in the NBA Draft, which will hold a first round Wednesday and a second and final round Thursday in New York.

Both Larsson and Johnson are projected second-round picks, but things can be notoriously unpredictable in the second rounds, where NBA teams sometimes draft lightly known players with the sole intention of gaining their rights for the long term, and where some agents prefer clients go undrafted so they can pick their own situation.

But Larsson might even sneak into the first round, where two-year contracts are guaranteed for at least $4.2 million, because of his basketball IQ and versatility. He’s viewed as a true “plug and play” guy, somebody ready to play an NBA role right away without blowing up the salary cap.

“Versatile offensive role player who goes hard on defense and has the upside to be even more,” The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor wrote of Larsson, comparing him to to the Suns’ Grayson Allen and the Grizzlies’ Desmond Bane.

The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie praised Larsson’s offensive skills and noted that his game should translate to the NBA, but wondered if the power elements in his game would disappear at the next level.

“The shooting is ultimately the key: He must be able to fire from distance with a quicker release,” Vecenie wrote. “He’s strong and physical on the ball on defense but needs to lock in more and not make as many strange help decisions as he did this season. …

“He could clear his issues up and become a solid rotation player in the NBA. If he doesn’t, he might become an excellent Euroleague-level player.”

Some recent mock NBA Drafts don’t have Johnson getting drafted at all, though he is likely to sign a two-way contract between an NBA and its G League affiliate whether he is drafted or not.

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Johnson is undersized for an NBA power forward and lacks a proven 3-point shot, but he’s long, athletic and energetic, able to play a wider range of roles than his 6-6 height might otherwise suggest.

Like Larsson, Johnson is also a potential plug-and-play guy who can fill in for a role on an NBA roster — or shift to the G League to keep polishing his game.

“I’ve been getting better every year I play basketball,” Johnson said after a dunk contest at Grand Canyon University in April. “Tucson allowed me to show a lot of what I can do, what I knew I could do and show it on the bigger stage.

“But I’m pretty sure I could go into NBA program and make it make an impact right away. I feel like I’m a polished veteran. I can come in and learn some stuff from a lot of NBA guys and contribute to a winning team.”

Johnson’s attitude is considered a plus. Vecenie called him “one of the best garbage man/glue guys in college basketball” last season, indicating teams can literally pop him into just about any lineup without disrupting chemistry.

“He plays hard and is willing to be physical,” Vecenie wrote. “Teammates just like playing with him because he has no ego about touches and will do all the stuff in the difficult areas of the court that they don’t want to do, such as crash the glass, get on the ground to chase loose balls and cut to get open looks at the rim.”

Both Larsson and Johnson spent the spring trying to prove themselves, working out for NBA teams individually and at the NBA Combine in Chicago. While efforts to reach both Larsson and Johnson were unsuccessful, players in their position typically work out for a dozen or more NBA teams who hold picks among the higher end of the range they are projected to be selected in.

Larsson, for example, is known to have worked out this spring for teams holding picks between 18-35, striving for a possible first-round selection.

While they were working out, Lloyd stayed in touch with NBA teams, who routinely consult with the college coaches of draft prospects.

Lloyd said he sensed a lot of “genuine” interest from multiple teams that left him optimistic about Larsson and Johnson’s long-term prospects, no matter what happens this week.

“I think the pre-draft processes went well for both of them,” Lloyd said. “There’s serious consideration from a lot of teams. Until you hear your name called, you don’t know what the final outcome is gonna be, but I think both guys have a real good shot at having an NBA career.”