No matter if people are fans of college basketball or not, everyone tunes in to watch the big dance for all sorts of different reasons. Those who are strictly NBA fans when it comes to watching basketball are more likely to tune in to watch the future NBA prospects. Last year’s tournament featured lottery picks such as Stephon Castle and Donovan Clingan, as well as others, but this year’s tournament is full of possible NBA stars throughout the bracket.
Cooper Flagg has been the consensus number-one overall prospect in the draft for over a year, and it is understandable why that is. He is averaging 19 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4 assists per game, as well as more than one block and steal per game. He is an all-around star on offense as he can pass it, shoot it, and put the ball on the floor, but he is even better defensively. He is an elite competitor who plays with everything he has from the jump, and he is a very smart player as he seemingly always makes the right play.
Flagg isn’t the flashiest player, but he does everything well, and he does throw down a nasty dunk from time to time (See the game against Pittsburgh). Flagg is an elite prospect and a player that fans should love watching during the tournament, despite the fact he plays for Duke.
When he gets in his bag, Derik Queen is one of the most entertaining players to watch in college basketball. He is a 6’10 center who moves with the ball in his hands like a guard. In his college debut, he had 22 points and 20 rebounds, the first 20-20 game by a freshman since Michael Beasley did it in 2007. Bigger centers have no chance of hanging with Queen as he has the ball skills to freeze them and blow right by them, and smaller bigs will just be bullied in the post. He is a true matchup nightmare for most due to his scoring and ball-handling ability.
He is averaging 16 points and 9 rebounds a game for Maryland, but he has 11 games of at least 20 points this season. He is a star in the making and an awesome watch when he gets going. Queen is a projected lottery pick at the moment, but it feels like he will only keep rising during the draft process, and a strong tournament will add to it.
V.J. Edgecombe started his college career off with a bang as he had one of the nastiest posters of the season. He is a high flier who uses his athletic ability to get to the rim and finish through contact or draw a foul. He is averaging 15 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists per game, as well as over 2 steals per game. He is an awesome on-ball defender as he uses his length and athletics to bother ball-handlers. He isn’t an elite shot creator yet, but he has grown in that area throughout the season.
Edgecombe is seemingly a lock for the top five in the draft due to his athletic ability and overall upside. He likely won’t stick around too long in the tournament as Baylor has been a major disappointment, but pay attention to the high flier while he is a part of it.
Egor Demin is the best passer in the country and it isn’t particularly close. Despite averaging just 5.4 assists a night, he is making reads and passes that most NBA players wouldn’t make. He is one of the hardest prospects to figure out because he is a 6’9 guard with elite vision, but he has no real shot-creation ability at the moment. He is averaging just over 10 points per game this season and has really struggled when pressured as he averages three turnovers per game and is shooting just 41 percent from the field, and 27 percent from three.
There is good reason to believe in Demin as he has everything teams could want in a guard minus the scoring ability. His current range in the draft is all over the place due to the lack of creation, but that is something he can improve on at just 19 years old.
When Kasparas Jakucionis is hitting his shots, he is a very fun player to watch. He is a 6’6 combo guard who can score the ball as well as set up his teammates. He is averaging 15 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per night, but he turns the ball over almost four times per game and he shoots just 33 percent from three. He had an awesome six-game run before conference play where he scored at least 20 points in all six games, but during conference play, he was very inconsistent, as was the entire team.
When Illinois is clicking on all cylinders they are an electric team and Kasparas leads it, but when things aren’t falling, it gets ugly fast. Hopefully, Illinois gets right during the tournament so he can really show out.
Jase Richardson had been thought of as a late first-round pick early this season as he showed flashes, but since becoming a full-time starter in early February, he has skyrocketed up boards. He has been a double-digit scorer in every game he has started, and he become the engine of Michigan State’s offense.
He is a smooth-shot creator with a great feel for the game. He isn’t a very athletic player, but he still finds a way to get to the rim and finish. He is averaging 12 points per game while shooting 51 percent from the field, and 41 percent from deep. He lets the game come to him as opposed to forcing shots up. Michigan State is poised to make a deep run and Richardson should be at the face of it.
Nique Clifford has been on an absolute tear as of late. He scored 36 points on the road against Boise State to end the regular season, and then he averaged 25 points and 10 rebounds a game across three conference tournament games, including the championship game that they won. He has single-handedly led Colorado State to the tournament and they have a real shot to upset Memphis in the first round as a 12 seed. He is averaging 19 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game while shooting 40 percent from three. He can flat out score the ball and if Colorado State does go on a run, he will become a fan favorite across the country.
Of all the players on this list, he is certainly the name fans are least aware of as he plays in the Mountain West as opposed to one of the major power conferences.
Kon Knueppel is going to slot in as a 3-and-D wing from day one in the NBA. He is averaging 14.4 points per game while shooting 40 percent from for Duke. He is thought of as a shooter, but he is a very good defender as well and an underrated shot-creator. He is a fierce competitor who never backs down from a challenge, and that should show in the tournament. Had he gone somewhere to be the number one option as opposed to playing on a loaded Duke team, his numbers would be better, but he has shown he can fill multiple roles for the Blue Devils and he should have a smooth transition to the NBA.
While those eight players should garner a lot of attention, there are plenty of others who NBA fans should take a close look at. Jeremiah Fears is a tantalizing guard from Oklahoma who can truly take over a game at any moment. Danny Wolf is a 7-foot player on Michigan who is essentially their point guard. Tre Johnson is the best pure scorer in college basketball, but Texas has to beat Xavier in the play-in game to reach the first round, so that left him out of the top eight.
Other guards to watch are Kam Jones, Donovan Dent, Labaron Philon, Tahaad Pettiford, Mark Sears, Walter Clayton Jr., and Chaz Lanier.
Other forwards to pay attention to are Liam Mcneeley, Carter Bryant, K.J. Lewis, and Will Riley.
Other bigs to watch are Johni Broome, Asa Newell, Ryan Kalkbrenner, J.T. Toppin, Khaman Maluach, and Alex Condon
Everyone loves the player who emerges from nowhere when March arrives, but NBA players have a chance to drastically change their stock with a strong tournament. This draft class has a lot of fantastic college players and a lot of them get to play in March Madness, and these guys are the ones that NBA fans should get to know during this amazing tournament.
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