Arizona basketball: DeAndre Ayton projected to be No. 3 pick in 2018 NBA Draft

DeAndre Ayton is going to be a one-and-done with the Arizona Wildcats. That much is known.

But two questions still remain: How will Ayton fare in his lone season in Tucson, and how high will he be selected in the 2018 NBA Draft?

We sort of know the answer to the second question.

The experts at Draft Express project Ayton will selected third overall by the Atlanta Hawks.

DX projects Missouri Tigers forward Michael Porter Jr. to be the first pick and Duke commit Marvin Bagley III to be the second pick.

You need ESPN Insider to see Draft Express’ full mock draft (that’s a major downside to them moving over to ESPN), but they project Allonzo Trier will be selected 37th overall and Rawle Alkins is not too far behind him at No. 46.

The highest pick Arizona has ever produced was Derrick Williams back in 2011 when he was selected second overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Ayton may not top that, but he appears to be on his way to being UA’s fifth top-five NBA Draft pick (Williams, Mike Bibby, Sean Elliott, and Aaron Gordon being the other four).

Follow Ryan Kelapire on Twitter at @RKelapire