March Madness: Top 100 Update, Plus Risers and Fallers
March Madness: Top 100 Update, Plus Risers and Fallers
Heading into the NCAA Tournament, let's set the stage with our current top 100 prospects for the 2023 NBA Draft
March Madness is here.
What better time than now to sprinkle in our thoughts on the 2023 draft class and give an initial ranking of our top 100?
We’ve written extensively about many, and over the coming weeks will be doing video scouting reports about the players who are certain to declare and will be in this draft class. Upon those final re-watches and deep dives, we tend to make plenty of adjustments. This ranking reflects the final views that we have before beginning those deep dives and just what we’ve seen throughout the regular season.
Similar to our friend Sam Vecenie over at The Athletic, we are going to omit players who we don’t believe will declare this year or are unlikely to do so. Plenty of talented freshmen (Tyrese Proctor, Dillon Mitchell, Donovan Clingain) could be on the list, but we have left them off either due to intel or just a belief that they haven’t earned a declaration just yet. If a freshman is left off the list, it isn’t necessarily because we don’t see them as top-100 talent.
Victor Wembanyama, Metropolitans 92
Scoot Henderson, G-League Ignite
Brandon Miller, Alabama
Amen Thompson, Overtime Elite
Cam Whitmore, Villanova
Nick Smith, Arkansas
Jarace Walker, Houston
Cason Wallace, Kentucky
Gradey Dick, Kansas
Anthony Black, Arkansas
Ausar Thompson, Overtime Elite
Dariq Whitehead, Duke
Jalen Hood-Schifino, Indiana
Taylor Hendricks, UCF
GG Jackson, South Carolina
Sidy Cissoko, G-League Ignite
Keyonte George, Baylor
Rayan Rupert, NZ Breakers
Kris Murray, Iowa
Dereck Lively, Duke
Jett Howard, Michigan
Kobe Bufkin, Michigan
Jordan Hawkins, Connecticut
Brice Sensabaugh, Ohio State
Kyle Filipowski, Duke
Maxwell Lewis, Pepperdine
Julian Strawther, Gonzaga
Adem Bona, UCLA
Colby Jones, Xavier
Judah Mintz, Syracuse
Leonard Miller, G-League Ignite
Terquavion Smith, NC State
Julian Phillips, Tennessee
Jalen Slawson, Furman
James Nnaji, Barcelona
Jaime Jaquez, UCLA
Noah Clowney, Alabama
Tucker DeVries, Drake
Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana
Bilal Coulibaly, Metropolitans 92
Ricky Council, Arkansas
Trey Alexander, Creighton
Kobe Brown, Missouri
DaRon Holmes, Dayton
Mike Miles Jr., TCU
Marcus Sasser, Houston
Trevon Brazile, Arkansas
Coleman Hawkins, Illinois
Jalen Wilson, Kansas
Terrence Shannon Jr., Illinois
Arthur Kaluma, Creighton
Andre Jackson, Connecticut
Jalen Pickett, Penn State
Tyler Burton, Richmond
Brandin Podziemski, Santa Clara
Nikola Djurisic, Mega
Jaylen Clark, UCLA
Adam Flagler, Baylor
Emoni Bates, Eastern Michigan
Justyn Mutts, Virginia Tech
Reece Beekman, Virginia
Oso Ighodaro, Marquette
Zach Edey, Purdue
Kevin McCullar, Kansas
Isaiah Wong, Miami (FL)
Ben Sheppard, Belmont
Bryce Hopkins, Providence
Mohamed Gueye, Washington State
Jamal Shead, Houston
Tristan Vukcevic, Partizan
Norchad Omier, Miami (FL)
Emanuel Miller, TCU
Matthew Murrell, Ole Miss
Efe Abogidi, G-League Ignite
Leonardo Okeke, CB Prat
Braxton Meah, Washington
Colin Castleton, Florida
Cliff Omoruyi, Rutgers
Jordan Miller, Miami (FL)
Eric Gaines, UAB
Fedor Zugic, Ulm
Taevion Kinsey, Marshall
Drew Timme, Gonzaga
Jacob Toppin, Kentucky
Baylor Scheierman, Creighton
Grant Nelson, North Dakota State
Olivier Maxence-Prosper, Marquette
Harrison Ingram, Stanford
Justin Moore, Villanova
Kendric Davis, Memphis
Ousmane N’Diaye, Baskonia
Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky
Isaiah Stevens, Colorado State
Juan Nunez, Ulm
Drew Pember, UNC-Asheville
Matthew Cleveland, Florida State
Matthew Mayer, Illinois
Azuolas Tubelis, Arizona
Dillon Jones, Weber State
Tajion Jones, UNC-Asheville
Top Returners to Watch (in alphabetical order)
Terrance Arceneaux, Houston
Amari Bailey, UCLA
Kylan Boswell, Arizona
Donovan Clingain, Connecticut
Jayden Epps, Illinois
Kam Jones, Marquette
Miles Kelly, Georgia Tech
Bobi Klintman, Wake Forest
Teafale Lenard, Middle Tennessee
Chris Livingston, Kentucky
Baba Miller, Florida State
Dillon Mitchell, Texas
Mark Mitchell, Duke
Arterio Morris, Texas
Tyrese Proctor, Duke
Jalen Reed, LSU
MJ Rice, Kansas
Mike Sharavjamts, Dayton
JJ Starling, Notre Dame
Adou Thiero, Kentucky
NaeQwon Tomlin, Kansas State
Jordan Walsh, Arkansas
Kel’El Ware, Oregon
Tre White, USC
Biggest Risers
Taylor Hendricks, UCF
Alright. We did it. We moved Hendricks up to the lottery. He’s improved too much on offense and been far too consistent on defense to deny this level any longer. Hendricks translates so well to the modern NBA game as a multi-positional defender and a 3-point floor-spacer who can finish above the rim. The boxes he checks aren’t just theoretical or based on future production, though. He’s doing it right now as a freshman for the Golden Knights. The highest-end role player. We’re in on Hendricks.
Sidy Cissoko, G-League Ignite
Over the last month, Cissoko has been outstanding for the G-League Ignite. He’s a powerful, athletic 6’5” and is one of the leaders across the entire G-League in dunks. A former point guard overseas, Cissoko is starting to tap into those playmaking traits more confidently while also knocking down catch-and-shoot 3-pointers at a high level. He’s a positionless player, but does so many things on both ends that he should be closer to going in the lottery than the second round.
Adem Bona, UCLA
A few weeks ago, we mentioned that Adem Bona had earned himself a first-round grade on our board. Bona is killing it on the defensive end, where his mobility really shows up when he hedges on the perimeter, switches and contests any driver, or recovers to block shots at the rim. His motor never quits. While we wish Bona had softer hands and a little more perimeter impact on offense, he’s efficient near the rim. We’re worrying less about him being slightly undersized and instead salivating over the long-term defensive potential.
Biggest Fallers
Keyonte George, Baylor
We’re finally starting to sour on Keyonte. After a third loss of the year to Iowa State, the issues Keyonte has with pressure have caught up to him in our rankings. There’s just not enough athletic separation for him to be a top-option scorer in the NBA. His jumper is a little slow — it’s pure, but it’s a tad slow as an undersized 2-guard.
These are minor complaints, but ones that will drop him down from being a first or second option to being more of a third option. He doesn’t generate enough easy looks. While he’s a solid passer and smart playmaker, he’s not elite at either handling or passing in a way that would overcome those athletic deficits. George might be on the outside of the lottery looking in.
Jett Howard, Michigan
While we’ve been somewhat skeptical of Howard being a lottery pick all season, he’s starting to fall closer to the 20s on our board. He’s 6’8” with a smooth shot and shooting versatility off the catch and bounce. But Howard does very little else to impact the game. He’s a poor defender, a really subpar athlete, and disappears for stretches too easily. He’s been surpassed on our board by other guys with just as much upside.
Jaylen Clark, UCLA
Clark will miss the rest of the season with what is believed to be a torn Achilles. That’s a brutal blow for the Bruins going into the NCAA Tournament, but a major disruptor in Clark’s draft stock. His 3-point shooting is very hit-or-miss, and he needed a strong finish to the season to keep his stock high. For Clark, the inability to shoot during pre-draft workouts could hurt his ability to prove to scouts that he can be a reliable offensive threat in the NBA. Clark may opt to return to UCLA.