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NCAA Tournament will be showcasing some future Sixers

With 4 possible first-round picks, the Sixers will be in the hunt for solid young players competing the next few weeks.

Duke Blue Devils center Jahlil Okafor (15) warms up prior to a game against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at PNC Arena. (Rob Kinnan/USA Today)
Duke Blue Devils center Jahlil Okafor (15) warms up prior to a game against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at PNC Arena. (Rob Kinnan/USA Today)Read more
    by MARK PERNER, Daily News Staff Writer <a href="mailto:pernerm@phillynews.com">pernerm@phillynews.com</a>
    Published 

THE SIXERS are a few Miami Heat losses, a few not-so-friendly Los Angeles Laker ping pong balls and an Oklahoma City Thunder winning streak away grabbing four of the first 19 picks in the 2015 NBA draft.

Of course, with some twists of fate, they could just end up with their own pick, which could drop as low as sixth as the NBA standings currently dictate. (Three top spots can be displaced.)

Either way, the Sixers are going to be looking at the NCAA Tournament not just to see how they do in their collective pools but also to see how some of the talent they've had their eyes on the past few months perform.

Here are some players who could be drafted as high as 19th and who could very well draw interest from the Sixers.

Point guards: Notre Dame's Jerian (Jerami's older brother) Grant, Delon (Dorell's younger brother) Wright, Providence's Kris Dunn and Louisville's Terry Rozier.

Combo guard: Ohio State's D'Angelo Russell.

Shooting guards: Kentucky's Devin Booker and Georgia State's R.J. Hunter.

Swingman (guard/forward): Arizona's Stanley Johnson.

Big men: Duke's Jahlil Okafor, Kentucky's Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein, Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky and Utah's Jakob Poeltl.

Big forwards: Arkansas' Bobby Portis, San Diego State's Malik Pope, Louisville's Montrezl Harrell, UCLA's Kevon Looney, Texas' Myles Turner and Kentucky's Trey Lyles.

Small forwards: Duke's Justise Winslow, Kansas' Kelly Oubre, Arizona's Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Wisconsin's Sam Dekker.

Who the Sixers will be able to pick will be determined by the lottery, which takes place May 19. But when you're 15-52 and have the third-worst record, you are probably going to take the best player available.