These players range from probable lottery picks to likely G Leaguers.
On the latest Bleav in Wizards podcast, Stone Hansen of the Upside Swings podcast joined me to break down the NBA Draft prospects who will be in action on the first day of the NCAA Tournament.
In my opinion, Thursday contains both higher-level prospects and greater overall depth compared to Friday’s slate of games. I’ve also bypassed the play-in games altogether as there weren’t really any noteworthy prospects.
I will go game-by-game and list the players who are currently on the radar of draft evaluators below. For detailed analysis of each, check out the podcast.
No. 9 West Virginia vs. No. 8 Maryland | noon| CBS
Maryland: Hakim Hart, 6-7 wing, late second round to undrafted
No. 13 Furman vs. No. 4 Virginia |12:30 p.m.| truTV
Virginia: Reece Beekman, 6-3 guard, late second to undrafted
Furman: Jalen Slawson, 6-7 wing, undrafted
No. 10 Utah St. vs. No. 7 Missouri |1:20 p.m. | TNT
Missouri: Kobe Brown, 6-8 forward, second round
No. 16 Howard vs. No. 1 Kansas |1:50 p.m. | TBS
Kansas: Gradey Dick, 6-8 wing, late lottery to mid first
Kansas: Jalen Wilson, 6-8 forward, late first to mid second
Kansas: Kevin McCullar, 6-6 wing, second to undrafted
Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images
No. 16 SE Missouri St./Texas A&M CC vs. No. 1 Alabama |2:30 p.m. | CBS
Alabama: Brandon Miller, 6-9 wing, top-3
Alabama: Noah Clowney, 6-10 forward, late first to late second
Alabama: Charles Bediako, 6-11 center, undrafted (likely goes back to school)
Alabama: Jaden Bradley, 6-3 guard, second round (likely goes back to school)
No. 12 College of Charleston vs. No. 5 San Diego St.|3 p.m. | truTV
n/a
No. 15 Princeton vs. No. 2 Arizona |3:50 p.m. | TNT
Arizona: Azoulas Tubelis, 6-11 forward, late second to undrafted
No. 9 Illinois vs. No. 8 Arkansas |4:20 p.m. | TBS
Illinois: Terrence Shannon Jr., 6-5 guard/wing, late first to mid second
Illinois: Coleman Hawkins, 6-10 forward/center, second round
Arkansas: Nick Smith Jr., 6-4 guard, lottery
Arkansas: Anthony Black, 6-7 guard, lottery
Arkansas: Ricky Council IV, 6-5 guard, late first to mid second
Arkansas: Trevon Brazile (out for season), 6-10 forward, second round
Arkansas: Jordan Walsh, second round to undrafted (likely goes back to school)
Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images
No. 9 Auburn vs. No. 8 Iowa |6:45 p.m. | TNT
Auburn: Johni Broome, 6-10 center, undrafted
Iowa: Kris Murray, 6-8 wing/forward, mid to late first
No. 12 Oral Roberts vs. No. 5 Duke |7 p.m. | CBS
Oral Roberts: Max Abmas, 6-0 guard, undrafted
Oral Roberts: Connor Vanover, 7-3 center, undrafted
Duke: Kyle Filipowski, 6-11 forward, mid to late first
Duke: Dariq Whitehead, 6-6 wing, mid to late first
Duke: Dereck Lively Jr., 7-0 center, late first
Duke: Tyrese Proctor, 6-4 guard, second
Duke: Mark Mitchell, 6-7 wing, second to undrafted (likely goes back to school)
No. 15 Colgate vs. No. 2 Texas |7:15 p.m. | TBS
Texas: Dillon Mitchell, 6-7 forward, second round (likely goes back to school)
Texas: Tyrese Hunter, 6-0 guard, second round to undrafted (likely goes back to school)
No. 10 Boise St. vs. No. 7 Northwestern |7:25 p.m. | truTV
Northwestern: Boo Buie, 6-2 guard, undrafted
No. 16 Northern Kentucky vs. No. 1 Houston |9:15 p.m. | TNT
Houston: Jarace Walker, 6-8 forward, lottery
Houston: Marcus Sasser, 6-1 guard, late first to early second
Houston: Terrance Arceneaux, 6-5 wing, second round (likely goes back to school)
Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images
No. 13 Louisiana vs. No. 4 Tennessee |9:30 p.m. | CBS
Tennessee: Julian Phillips, 6-7 wing, late first to early second
Tennessee: Josiah-Jordan James, 6-6 wing, undrafted
No. 10 Penn State vs. No. 7 Texas A&M |9:45 p.m. | TBS
Penn State: Jalen Pickett, 6-3 guard, undrafted
Penn State: Seth Lundy, 6-6 wing, undrafted
Texas A&M: Wade Taylor, 6-0 guard, undrafted
No. 15 UNC Asheville vs. No. 2 UCLA |9:55 p.m. | truTV
UNC Asheville: Drew Pember, 6-10 forward, late second to undrafted
UCLA: Jaime Jaquez, 6-7 wing, late first to mid second
UCLA: Jaylen Clark (out for the season), 6-5 wing, late first to mid second
UCLA: Adem Bona, 6-10 forward/center, late second to undrafted
UCLA: Amari Bailey, 6-4 guard, late second to undrafted
Of the guys that I think are unlikely to go in the first round, I’m probably higher than consensus on Jalen Wilson, Kevin McCullar, Trevor Brazile, Drew Pember, and Jaime Jaquez. I think all could provide value to the Wizards specifically if they were available in the second round.