Draft Notes: Whitmore, Black, Bailey, Podziemski, Wembanyama, Morsell
Villanova forward Cam Whitmore is held in higher esteem by The Athletic’s John Hollinger than many other draft experts. Hollinger ranks Whitmore as the No. 3 prospect in the draft, one spot ahead of Alabama forward Brandon Miller.
Hollinger believes Whitmore’s level of athleticism and scoring ability as a wing makes him a top-three prospect. Arkansas point guard Anthony Black also makes Hollinger’s top five, while his top 10 includes a couple more surprises, including Michigan guard Kobe Bufkin.
We have more draft-related notes:
- UCLA’s Amari Bailey helped himself at the draft combine in Chicago and now deserves first-round consideration, according to Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report. Another combo guard, Santa Clara’s Brandin Podziemski, may also have earned a first-round ticket. On the flip side, North Carolina State guard Terquavion Smith and Kansas forward Jalen Wilson were among the prospects who didn’t make favorable impressions in Chicago, per Wasserman.
- Why is Victor Wembanyama considered the best prospect since LeBron James? The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie goes into great detail on that subject, concluding that Wembanyama has the upside to be the best player in the world at some point and the ability to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame when his career is over.
- North Carolina State guard Casey Morsell is withdrawing from the draft and returning to the Wolfpack, CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein tweets. Morsell has one more year of eligibility remaining.
NBA Reveals Players Expected At 2023 Draft Combine
The NBA has announced 78 players that are expected to attend this year’s draft combine, scheduled for May 15-21 at in Chicago, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweets.
Additionally, a select number of standout players from the G League Elite Camp, which takes place May 13-14 in Chicago, will be invited to participate in the combine.
Players will have interviews with NBA teams and participate in five-on-five scrimmages, as well as shooting, strength and agility drills. Some top prospects opt out of the scrimmages.
Victor Wembanyama, the projected top pick, is not on the list. His French League season is still ongoing.
The list of invitees is as follows:
- Trey Alexander (Creighton)
- Amari Bailey (UCLA)
- Emoni Bates (Eastern Michigan)
- Reece Beekman (Virginia)
- Anthony Black (Arkansas)
- Adem Bona (UCLA)
- Kobe Brown (Missouri)
- Kobe Bufkin (Michigan)
- Toumani Camara (Dayton)
- Sidy Cissoko (G League Ignite)
- Jaylen Clark (UCLA)
- Noah Clowney (Alabama)
- Ricky Council IV (Arkansas)
- Gradey Dick (Kansas)
- Nikola Djurisic (Mega [Serbia])
- Zach Edey (Purdue)
- Adam Flagler (Baylor)
- Keyonte George (Baylor)
- Mouhamed Gueye (Washington State)
- Coleman Hawkins (Illinois)
- Jordan Hawkins (Connecticut)
- Scoot Henderson (G League Ignite)
- Taylor Hendricks (UCF)
- DaRon Holmes II (Dayton)
- Jalen Hood-Schifino (Indiana)
- Jett Howard (Michigan)
- Andre Jackson Jr. (Connecticut)
- GG Jackson II (South Carolina)
- Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana)
- Jaime Jaquez Jr. (UCLA)
- Keyontae Johnson (Kansas State)
- Colby Jones (Xavier)
- Ryan Kalkbrenner (Creighton)
- Arthur Kaluma (Creighton)
- Mojave King (G League Ignite)
- Bobi Klintman (Wake Forest)
- Maxwell Lewis (Pepperdine)
- Dereck Lively II (Duke)
- Chris Livingston (Kentucky)
- Seth Lundy (Penn State)
- Kevin McCullar (Kansas)
- Mike Miles Jr. (TCU)
- Brandon Miller (Alabama)
- Jordan Miller (Miami)
- Leonard Miller (G League Ignite)
- Judah Mintz (Syracuse)
- Dillon Mitchell (Texas)
- Omari Moore (San Jose State)
- Kris Murray (Iowa)
- Grant Nelson (North Dakota State)
- James Nnaji (Barcelona [Spain])
- Julian Phillips (Tennessee)
- Jalen Pickett (Penn State)
- Brandin Podziemski (Santa Clara)
- Olivier-Maxence Prosper (Marquette)
- Rayan Rupert (New Zealand Breakers [Oceania])
- Adama Sanogo (Connecticut)
- Marcus Sasser (Houston)
- Brice Sensabaugh (Ohio State)
- Terrence Shannon Jr. (Illinois)
- Ben Sheppard (Belmont)
- Jalen Slawson (Furman)
- Nick Smith Jr. (Arkansas)
- Terquavion Smith (North Carolina State)
- Julian Strawther (Gonzaga)
- Amen Thompson (Overtime Elite)
- Ausar Thompson (Overtime Elite)
- Drew Timme (Gonzaga)
- Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky)
- Azuolas Tubelis (Arizona)
- Tristan Vukcevic (Partizan [Serbia])
- Jarace Walker (Houston)
- Cason Wallace (Kentucky)
- Jordan Walsh (Arkansas)
- Dariq Whitehead (Duke)
- Cam Whitmore (Villanova)
- Jalen Wilson (Kansas)
- Isaiah Wong (Miami)
Draft Updates: Bailey, Tubelis, Sanogo, Phelps, Johnson
UCLA guard Amari Bailey is declaring for the 2023 NBA draft and will forgo his remaining college eligibility, his mother, Johanna Leia, tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link).
As a freshman for UCLA in 2022/23, Bailey averaged 11.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.2 APG and 1.1 SPG on .495/.389/.698 shooting in 30 games (26.9 MPG). He helped lead the Bruins to a 31-6 record and a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where they ultimately lost in the Sweet 16 to Gonzaga.
In his analysis at ESPN, Givony writes that Bailey was a projected first-round pick entering the season who had a rough start to his freshman campaign, particularly pointing to his questionable jump shot and uneven decision-making.
However, according to Givony, Bailey had a strong finish to the season and could see his stock rise if he performs well in pre-draft workouts. He is currently No. 42 on ESPN’s big board.
Here are some more early entrants for the 2023 draft:
- Arizona junior Azuolas Tubelis (No. 68 on ESPN’s board) is entering the draft, he tells Givony, who adds that the Lithuanian forward is expected to forgo his eligibility and turn pro. Tubelis had an impressive junior season for the Wildcats, averaging 19.8 PPG, 9.1 SPG, 2.0 APG and 1.1 SPG while shooting 57% from the field and 76.4% from the line in 35 games (30.1 MPG). According to Givony, Tubelis plans to play at the NBA draft combine next month in an effort to boost his stock.
- UConn big man Adama Sanogo, who was named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament after leading the Huskies to the championship, plans to enter the draft, sources tell Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (Twitter link). It’s unclear if Sanogo, a junior, will be testing the draft waters or keep his name in and go pro. He averaged 17.2 PPG and 7.7 RPG on .606/.365/.766 shooting in 39 games (26.5 MPG) this season. Sanogo is ranked No. 87 on ESPN’s board, so he’s considered a long shot to get drafted.
- SMU guard Zhuric Phelps is entering the draft while maintaining his college eligibility, as is San Diego State forward Keshad Johnson, who is also entering the transfer portal, the two players announced on social media (Twitter links). Phelps averaged 17.5 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 3.2 APG and 2.3 SPG on .394/.309/.609 shooting in 30 games (31.4 MPG) as a sophomore for the Mustangs. Johnson, a senior who has one year of eligibility left due to COVID-19, averaged 7.7 PPG and 5.0 RPG on .532/.262/.648 shooting in 39 games (22.2 MPG) for the Aztecs, who made it to the title game for the first time before losing to UConn. Neither player is ranked on ESPN’s board.