Kansas guard Josh Jackson (11) raises up his arms as he leaves the court with little time remaining during the Jayhawks' 90-70 win over Michigan State on Sunday, March 19, 2017 at BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla.

Whether you prefer to follow Chad Ford, Jeff Goodman, DraftExpress.com or any number of other NBA writers who cover the league and have done their best to predict what will happen in tonight’s draft, there’s no question that, when it comes to the rumor-mill world of the NBA Draft, there’s no shortage of entertaining and informative options out there.

But which ones will wind up being closest to right when it all goes down inside Barclays Center later tonight?

That’s impossible to predict — perhaps even tougher than predicting the picks themselves — and overall rather irrelevant since so many wild things can happen both leading up to and during the draft on one of the wildest days and nights on the NBA calendar year after year.

Personally, the NBA Draft is one of my favorite days of the sports year. Always has been. Ever since I was young and my favorite Kansas player at the time, point guard Kevin Pritchard, was drafted by Golden State on my birthday in 1989, I’ve been obsessed with the NBA Draft.

And not just the big names and popular picks either. All 60 of them. Every year.

So you can imagine my excitement when, in 2010, I actually got to cover a draft for the first time in my career. Cole Aldrich and Xavier Henry were the KU picks that year and the experience was awesome. That draft started a streak of five straight NBA Drafts for me, and during that time I covered the draft night jubilation of eight lottery picks, including three Top 5 selections, twin brothers and a No. 1 overall pick in 2014.

Each experience was unique and being their for the biggest nights in all of those guys’ lives was memorable for a number of different reasons.

I haven’t been back since Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid went No. 1 and No. 3 in the 2014 draft — largely because Kansas hasn’t had another lottery pick since then — but I’m definitely wishing today that I was in the Big Apple with Josh Jackson, who was as much fun to cover and be around as any KU player I’ve worked with during my time with the paper.

Ben McLemore was by far the kindest and most accommodating of the former KU stars who I covered at the draft — Aldrich was a close second — and I think Jackson easily would’ve given him a run for his money.

But the schedule did not allow for it to happen this year, so we’ll cover it from here and try our best to keep up with all of the goings on that take place throughout the hours leading up to the 6 p.m. draft.

With that in mind, here are a few things I’m expecting to see and/or hear tonight and a quick prediction for where Jackson and Frank Mason III will wind up.

• I’m no NBA genius or insider, but I can’t see the top two picks going any other way than Markelle Fultz to Phily and Lonzo Ball to the Lakers. Recent moves by both teams seem to have cemented those picks and even though I would love to see Magic Johnson bring Jackson to L.A., I can’t see it happening. With that in mind, the draft really begins at pick No. 3 with the Boston Celtics.

• Speaking of the Celtics, I, like many people, think there’s a decent chance that the Celtics draft Josh Jackson. But the guess here is that Jackson never winds up playing for the Celtics even if they do.

• That brings me to my prediction for where Jackson will be selected and I’m going to say No. 4 to Phoenix. Because the Suns finished with one of the worst records in the league last season, I know that does not excite too many KU fans (especially those hoping Jackson somehow winds up playing with Embiid in Phily). But I think it should. Jackson would be a terrific spot for Jackson, who could flourish playing alongside guards Eric Bledsoe and Devin Booker, who could be to Jackson in the NBA what Frank Mason III and Devonte’ Graham were to him in college. Beyond that, Jackson would be a clear-cut, Day 1 starter and not face much pressure during his first year or two, which would allow him to develop his game and make the NBA adjustment while the Suns get better around him. I like it. Boston or L.A. would be more exciting, but Phoenix isn’t a disaster like falling one more spot to Sacramento would be.

• The latest mock draft put out by DraftExpress.com (3:20 p.m. Wednesday) has six Big 12 players being drafted, with four of those six going in the second round. Six out of 60 isn’t bad, but it sure seems like the league had better talent than that. DraftExpress’ latest version did not include Iowa State point guard Monte Morris, which, in my mind, is nuts. I think Morris will be a great pro and bring serious value to some team’s bench. So I’ll go with seven Big 12 players as the total number taken tonight.

• After a stellar senior season and some impressive pre-draft workouts, Frank Mason will certainly be one of them and that’s pretty darn cool considering he was nowhere to be found on these mock drafts when the 2016-17 season began. Mason’s story is as good as there has been during my time covering Kansas and that’s what makes it so easy to feel so good for him as he sits on the brink of watching his lifelong dream come true. Getting drafted is part of it. But making a roster and having an impact is part of it, too. And Mason is well aware of that. Simply getting drafted will not be good enough for him. Nor will he let the euphoria of being selected cloud his vision and allow him to become complacent. If anything, Mason will start working even harder after he’s drafted, merely as a thank you to the team that picks him and to show them that they made a good decision. With the NBA Draft, or really any draft for that manner, it’s often all about minimizing risk. There’s a lot at stake and a ton of money is invested in these extremely young players. Sometimes, their talent is so loud and impressive that you have to take on some risk. But other times, like in the second round where Mason will likely be selected, the risk taking is less prominent and teams are looking for proven commodities. There are few guys in this draft who minimize that risk like Mason and that’s why I think you’ll see him go early in the second round. Teams know what they’re getting with Mason. They know his character, his work ethic, his team-first mentality, his willingness and preference to avoid drama and, above all, his desire to win. There’s not a team in the league that would not like to add those things to its roster.

• As for my guess on which team will be the one that makes Mason their guy, I’m going to say Philadelphia at either pick No. 36 or 39. In addition to having the No. 1 overall pick, which they’ll no doubt use on Fultz, the Sixers have four other picks, which puts them in a great position to fill out some of their bench to lend support to the potentially stellar trio of Embiid, Fultz, Ben Simmons. Mason, for all of the reasons mentioned above (and then some) would be a great fit on that kind of roster, where he could use his drive, mentality and maturity in a leadership role sooner rather than later.

• One quick parting shot, before I go hop on Twitter and track what madness unfolds, if I had my choice, I’d love to see either Mason or Jackson end up with the New York Knicks. If it’s Jackson, he becomes a huge part of their rebuild and he would be willing and able to shoulder all that comes with being a star in the Big Apple. If it’s Mason, how cool would it be for him to play 41 professional games a year in the arena where he hit the biggest shot of his college career? But whether it’s one of these guys to Boston, New York or L.A., can we all just cross our fingers and hope that those three franchises make the right moves to climb back to relevance? Boston clearly is already there. And that’s exciting. But the league’s just not the same with the Knicks and Lakers stinking the way they have in recent years.

Enjoy draft day everybody, and stay in touch with KUsports.com, right here on the site, via Twitter or both, for any happenings that might involve your Jayhawks.