2023 NBA Draft 3.0
2023 NBA Draft 3.0
Now that Conference Tournaments are over and trophies are hoisted, it's time to update the Top 100 for March
It is the Month of Madness, and as Shao Khan would say, and it is glorious! With conference tournaments all completed and Selection Sunday setting up this year’s bracket, it is time for our March update to the Top 100 Big Board.
I always like to break my big board into Tiers based on potential, and before we dive into the rankings, let me take a minute to explain the tiers this year. Normally, I will start with Tier 1, but since Victor and Scoot are such rare prospects I am breaking out the Platinum-Diamond Tier because these are players you do not pass nor make deals to trade away their rights. Take them, do all you can to ensure their health, and watch them create a Hall of Fame resume. After the Platinum-Diamond, Tier 1 is The Race for the Third Overall Pick this year—for all the reasons I just mentioned. If you haven’t seen games of any player in this Tier, go look them up right now!
Tier 2 is players that have a defined skillset that gives them clear starter potential with a glimpse or two that perhaps they can be more than a solid starter. Tier 3 is players that have AT LEAST one clearly defined skill that projects them to be a reliable a part of an NBA rotation. And lastly, Tier 4 are the Undrafted Free Agents that NBA teams should be calling right away if their names are not chosen among the 58 picks of the 2023 NBA Draft.
Along the way, I will highlight one or two players in each tier. Every time I update my big board, I will highlight one or two different players so we can try and get as much coverage on these players as possible. So now, without further adieu, let’s jump back into the top 100!
Platinum Diamond Tier: Put them in the Hall of Fame Already
1) Victor Wembanyama, C/PF Metropolitans 92
2) Scoot Henderson, PG/SG G League Ignite
Really, it is nearly impossible to run out of superlatives when watching Victor Wembanyama play the game of basketball. Dribble skills like a wing. The shot blocking instincts that make you see Hakeem. And three-point floaters that break scouts brains. All in a reported seven-foot four-inch and 240 pound body with an eight-foot wingspan.
In 24 games this season, Wembanyama has put up per game averages of: 22.0 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.8 steals, and 3.2 blocks. His shooting splits for the year are: 56.3% from two, 29.5% from three, and 80.8% from the free throw line. While the three-point shooting has cooled off after a hot start, everything else in his statistical profile remains top-notch.
His instincts on defense really are what make Wembanyama such a fantastic prospect for me. With a block rate of 10.6% and a defensive rating of 99.7 you have some idea in the stats that he not only blocks a lot of shots, but he knows where to be and anticipates what the offense wants to do and gets there before they can execute.
And secondly, Wembanyama’s fluidity at his size is not only incredibly rare, but the multiple ways in which he uses it on the basketball court is why so many are calling him an alien. Sticking with guards on switches to keep them in arms length, weaving through traffic using his handle, busting out spin moves or up-and-unders from the post; Wembanyama attacks whether he is on offense or defense—and he does ATTACK regardless who is on the other end.
Draft night can’t come soon enough for the unbelievably lucky franchise who gets to select #1 this year.
Tier 1: The Race for the Third Overall Pick
3) Ausar Thompson, SF/PF Overtime Elite
4) Cam Whitmore, SF/PF Villanova
5) Brandon Miller, PF/SF Alabama
6) Jarace Walker, PF/C Houston
7) Amen Thompson, PG/SG Overtime Elite
8) Keyonte George, SG/PG Baylor
9) Nick Smith Jr, SG/PG Arkansas
Cam Whitmore had one of the more underrated seasons of any draft prospect in recent memory. While this year’s Villanova team was disappointing, Whitmore made a huge difference for them as they played much better when he was on the court. Starting off the year 2-5 with losses to Temple and Portland, Villanova fell off a cliff. Once Cam came back from injury, however, the team went on a five game winning streak and went 15-10 with Cam in the lineup.
On the year, Whitmore put up the following per game stats: 12.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.4 blocks. His shooting splits for the season were 56.7% from two, 35.0% from three, and 72.1% from the free throw line. All of this translated into a 57.1% True Shooting Percentage on 25.8% Usage so it is clear that Cam Whitmore can be both a primary offensive option and efficient to boot.
Many questioned Cam’s ability to shoot the three coming into the year, and Whitmore has more than answered those questions. While 35.0% seems average, Cam Whitmore got these shots off both in catch-and-shoot situations and off the dribble. He even busted out a step-back three every now and then! Incredibly impressive for someone listed at six-foot seven-inches tall and clocking in at 232 pounds. Taking 103 three-point attempts on the year at a Three-Point Attempt Rate of 42.2% this IS a main weapon in his offensive arsenal.
While he is a good athlete, Cam Whitmore’s explosiveness did not always show itself in the halfcourt this season. While he had one of the dunks of the year in the Big East Tournament against Georgetown, you do not see this same kind of play when the game slows down and Cam doesn’t have time to gain all his momentum. It also shows up on defense where you would think someone with his size and dunking ability would be a good weakside rim protector, but this is not where his defensive strengths lie.
Cam Whitmore is someone I will have to reign myself in on as I love so much about his game and is one guy I could write on every time I give the Big Board Update. I feel like I haven’t even scratched the surface here when it comes to Cam’s game. We will return in incredible detail once Villanova’s run in the NIT comes to a close to inform you more about Cam’s perimeter defense and continue to place the proper context onto his lack of assist numbers.
Even an all-time great like Carmelo Anthony recognizes how special of a talent Cam Whitmore is. I can’t wait to return to Cam Whitmore’s film and will have loads of fun breaking him down in full detail within the next three months!
Tier 2: Starter Potential, Maybe More…
10) Gradey Dick, SG/SF Kansas
11) Cason Wallace, PG/SG Kentucky
12) Anthony Black, PG/SG Arkansas
13) Taylor Hendricks, SF/PF UCF
14) Kris Murray, PF/SF Iowa
15) Dariq Whitehead, SG/SF Duke
16) Jalen Hood-Schifino, PG/SG Indiana
17) GG Jackson, PF/C South Carolina
18) Rayan Rupert, SF/SG New Zealand Breakers
19) Jett Howard, SF/SG Michigan
20) Kobe Bufkin, PG/SG Michigan
21) Dereck Lively II, C/PF Duke
Gradey Dick starts the climb up my Big Board and is right on the outside looking in when it comes to The Race for the Third Overall Pick. Gradey has one of the easiest to see “this is NBA level right now” skillsets with his shooting. While there are the ubiquitous “tall white guy, of course he is a shooter” jokes, Gradey Dick’s game is more than just waiting for spot-up opportunities.
Kansas has had only two players they’ve relied upon for offense this season. One is SENIOR Jalen Wilson who was part of the national title team last year. The other is FRESHMAN Gradey Dick. Both Wilson and Gradey are the ONLY players on this 27-7 Kansas who have over 20% Usage. And Gradey Dick posts an impressive 58.2% True Shooting—which is significantly higher than Wilson’s 53.5%. So, Gradey has not only been a reliable source of offense for the Jayhawks, he has been the more efficient of the two offensive hubs.
For the season Gradey Dick posted per game stats of: 14.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.3 blocks. His shooting splits are: 48.9% from two, 39.9% from three, and 85.1% from the free throw line. Gradey will attack off the dribble, be a spot-up threat, and is not afraid of contact. All of this standing six-foot eight-inches tall and 205 pounds make him an immediate mismatch on offense.
Defensively is where many (including myself) have concerns. Now, I want to be clear, these are not MAJOR concerns as Gradey has been part of a good Kansas defense and himself posts a defensive rating of 98.4. His 1.4 steals per game also give an idea of his quick hands on defense. But as a man-to-man defender it is hard to tell where he will matched up in the NBA. Kevin McCullar and Dajuan Harris handle ALL the tougher assignments at guard or forward so Gradey is not asked to handle tough defensive assignments and is too upright and stiff when asked to guard quicker guys.
Still, his team defensive awareness is good and, for me, has him projected as someone like Cam Johnson of the Brooklyn Nets AT THE VERY MINIMUM. This is not a one-to-one comp (I am still searching for Gradey’s closest comp), but Cam Johnson is another six-foot eight lights out shooter who had defensive concerns coming into the NBA. And the good news for Gradey Dick and his fans is that he has WAY MORE on-ball skills than Cam so there is legitimate upside to boot.
At the end of the day, being six-foot eight and shooting around 40% from three on a Three-Point Attempt Rate of 53.2% will get you major minutes in an NBA rotation where that size can be useful on D even if you are not a top notch athlete.
Tier 3: Rotational Piece
22) Jordan Hawkins, SG UConn
23) Jordan Walsh, SF/PF Arkansas
24) Colby Jones, PG/SG Xavier
25) Tyrese Proctor, PG/SG Duke
26) Jalen Wilson, PF/SF Kansas
27) James Nnaji, C Barcelona
28) Max Lewis, SF/SG Pepperdine
29) Brice Sensabaugh, PF/SF Ohio State
30) Oso Ighodaro, PF/C Marquette
31) Julian Phillips, SF/PF Tennessee
32) Tristan Da Silva, SF/SG Colorado
33) Kel’el Ware, C Oregon
34) Reece Beekman, PG/SG Virginia
35) Tyler Burton, SF/PF Richmond
36) Jaylen Clark, SG/SF UCLA
37) Jaime Jacquez, PF/C UCLA
38) Trayce Jackson-Davis, C Indiana
39) Tucker DeVries, SF/PF Drake
40) Julian Strawther, SF/SG Gonzaga
41) Trey Alexander, SG/PG Creighton
42) Isaiah Wong, PG/SG Miami
43) Marcus Sasser, PG/SG Houston
44) Seth Lundy, SF/PF Penn State
45) Daron Holmes II, C Dayton
46) Terquavion Smith, SG NC State
47) Noah Clowney, C/PF Alabama
48) Bryce Hopkins, PF/SF Providence
49) Kyle Filipowski, C Duke
50) Jalen Pickett, PG/SG Penn State
51) Isaiah Crawford, PF/SF Louisiana Tech
52) Drew Pember, PF/C UNC Asheville
53) Leonard Miller, PF/SF G League Ignite
54) Sidy Cissoko, SF/SG G League Ignite
55) Arthur Kaluma, PF/SF Creighton
56) Tristan Vukčević, C/PF KK Partizan
57) Bilal Coulibaly, SF/SG Metropolitans 92
58) Brandin Podziemski, SG/PG Santa Clara
Tyrese Proctor should be considered a first round pick with how he not only turned around his own game this season, but how he helped lead Duke to an ACC Tournament victory. Proctor might have had THE WORST start to the year of anybody in the 2023 NBA Draft class, but taking a closer look into his turnaround shows the kind of work and resolve this young man has.
In his first seven games Proctor put up under 6.0 in every per game stat while shooting an abysmal 33.3% from two, 17.9% FROM THREE, and 90.0% from the free throw line. Tyrese quickly went from end of round 1 consideration to, “this guy needs multiple years in college.” Since then, Tyrese Proctor has put up 10.3 points per game, dished out 3.5 assists per game to just 1.7 turnovers per game while shooting 45.8% from two-point range, 36.0% from three-point distance, and 86.0% from the free throw line.
To put it another way, Tyrese Proctor went from a guy posting a 35.3% True Shooting Percentage to a player with a 54.1% True Shooting. While his size at six-foot five-inches tall and 170 pounds is going to require some weight and strength added on to it, Proctor’s speed, pinpointing passing, and three-point shooting screams that he is a clear role player in the NBA. If you want to hear more about Tyrese Proctor’s turnaround this season, then check out Episode 30 of the RezBall Podcast!
An incredibly underrated prospect who fills in a lot of different roles, Isaiah Crawford out of Louisiana Tech has a well-rounded skillset to go with NBA ready size. Standing six-foot six-inches tall and weighing in at 220 pounds Crawford has NBA Forward size and weight.
Louisiana Tech’s leader in points, field goal attempts, rebounds, and steals Crawford can attack off the dribble, crash the glass, and be a switchable defender. Couple this with Crawford’s 110 free throw attempts and you see someone who likes to get physical on both ends of the court. Despite being more of the power forward for the Bulldogs, Crawford led the team in defensive rebounds and was the ONLY player to eclipse 100 on the defensive glass with his 125.
Crawford suffered a knee injury in the 2021-22 season so the medicals will have to check out and he still wears a rather large brace on the left knee that was injured. If you’re someone that does not like “jack of all trades master of none” prospects, then Crawford is not for you. He did shoot 42.0% from three and posted an assist rate of 19.5%, but his shooting was on low volume at 2.5 per game and Crawford also had an 18.1% Turnover rate to go along with his assist percentage.
At six-foot six-inches tall and 220 pounds with the physicality and shooting chops when healthy, you just have to look at Crawford’s shooting chart to understand he can fill an NBA role as forward in your rotation.
Tier 4: Get Them on the Phone!: Undrafted Free Agents
59) Terrence Shannon, SG/SF Illinois
60) Mojave King, SG/SF G League Ignite
61) Andre Jackson, PG/SF UConn
62) Santiago Vescovi, SG/PG Tennessee
63) Jaelen House, PG/SG New Mexico
64) Drew Peterson, SG/SF USC
65) Baylor Scheierman, SG/SF Creighton
66) Nikola Đurišić, SF/PF Mega
67) Azuolas Tubelis, PF/C Arizona
68) Adam Flagler, PG/SG Baylor
69) Jalen Slawson, PF/SF Furman
70) Qua Grant, PG/SG Sam Houston State
71) Malevy Leons, SF/PF Bradley
72) Dillon Mitchell, PF/SF Texas
73) Coleman Hawkins, PF/SF Illinois
74) Max Abams, Oral Roberts
75) Mike Miles, PG TCU
76) Adem Bona, C UCLA
77) Omari Moore, SG/PG San Jose State
78) Caleb McConnell, SF/SG Rutgers
79) Nate Laszewski, PF/C Notre Dame
80) Spencer Jones, PF/SF Stanford
81) Malik Hall, SF/PF Michigan State
82) Jordan Wright, SG/SF Vanderbilt
83) Oscar Tshiebwe, C Kentucky
84) Pete Nance, PF/C North Carolina
85) Antonio Reeves, SG Kentucky
86) Ricky Council IV, SG/SF Arkansas
87) Judah Mintz, SG Syracuse
88) Ousmane N’diaye, C/PF Baskonia
89) Antoine Davis, PG/SG Detroit Mercy
90) Oumar Ballo, C Arizona
91) Branden Carlson, C Utah
92) Adama Sanogo, C/PF UConn
93) Efe Abogidi, C/PF G League Ignite
94) Armando Bacot, C North Carolina
95) Drew Timme, C Gonzaga
96) Tyler Robertson, PG/SF Portland
97) LJ Cryer, PG/SG Baylor
98) Darin Green, SG Florida State
99) Kevin McCullar, PG/SG Kansas
100) Kamaka Hepa, PF/SF Hawaii
I am originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico and bleed cherry and silver. I not only grew up a Lobo fan, but I also graduated from the University of New Mexico in 2007. I try not to be a homer when my Lobos are good and overrate their players…that being said I think Jaelen House has a lot of ready-made NBA skills.
Spending his first two years in Tempe with Arizona State, Jaelen decided to transfer in his junior season to New Mexico and incoming head coach Richard Pitino’s inaugural season. Coach Pitino immediately set he and fellow guard transfer Jamal Mashburn Jr. loose and House awarded the Lobos with career highs across the board.
In his junior year, House was primarily a mid range sniper and struggled to finish at the rim—and was a 31.8% three-point shooter. Well fast forward to the end of Jaelen’s regular season as a senior and he has put up these per game stats: 17.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 2.6 steals, and 0.6 blocks. His shooting splits for the year were: 47.2% from two, 37.9% from three, and 85.3% from the free throw line. All of these, except for the free throw percentage, ended up being career highs.
Now, not only can Jaelen attack you off the dribble in the mid range and catch you with a great floater in the paint, but he is draining threes while posting over 2:1 assist to turnover ratio and shooting over 85% from the free throw line on a 45.2% Free Throw Attempt rate. All of this SCREAMS NBA point guard skills to me.
Defensively he is going to be picked on at six-foot one-inch tall and somewhere between 160 and 170 pounds (I’ve seen him listed at both). While he is a willing defender and one of the best guys in the country at getting steals, in today’s switch happy NBA every team will be trying to get their supersized ball handlers on Jaelen—not to mention their big men.
The son of former NBA player Eddie House, Jaelen has all the point guard skills you could ask for from a prospect. Whether or not he will be a complete liability on defense because of his size is the biggest determining factor of whether or not he has an NBA future.
Someone I have debated on putting on this list all season, it is finally time to give Jordan Wright and Vanderbilt all the love they deserve. Shoutout to Coach Stack (aka Jerry Stackhouse) and the run he led his team on in the SEC Tournament and for being named co-Coach of the Year in the SEC!
Jordan Wright’s case for NBA minutes is very similar to Isaiah Crawford, but whereas Crawford is clearly a forward, Wright is the guard version of this type of jack of all trades prospect with NBA size. Standing six-foot five-inches tall and listed at 226 pounds, Wright offers great mismatch potential at shooting guard in particular at that size. He also has guard skills as evidence by his 17.5% assist percentage which was second on the team.
Wright also was the ONLY Commodore to post over 110 total: two-point attempts, three-point attempts, and rebounds. He also tied for the team lead in steals with Ezra Manjon. Wright is also a willing screener to help his teammates get open, and a fantastic communicator on defense who helps his teammates get into the right positions. Wright is what I like to call a “Mortar Player” as he fills in all the cracks in the lineup and makes the other four players out there stronger because of that.
What Wright is NOT, this season, is consistent. Shooting 33.3% from three and posting 11 games in single digit scoring (even having the dreaded ZERO point games three times this year), Wright is too content many a night to fill a role rather than make his presence felt. On defense, he is more of a constant presence with his communication, but if he is going to stick in the NBA then he HAS to get more aggressive on offense.
The SEC tournament certainly showed what happens when Wright gets more aggressive, but he also finished the year strong as in his final 22 games he posted 11.3 points per game on shooting splits of 46.4% from two, 36.5% from three, and 78.8% from the free throw line. Wright could find himself in a Theo Pinson type role in the future—only with better three-point shooting and passing ability!
Thank you for taking time to visit us here at RezBall and reading our Big Board 3.0. Comments are always welcome as we love to engage with our audience! Please leave a like for the post too should you feel so inclined. Now let the Madness Descend upon us this March…