Prospects to Watch - March Madness 2023

Rolling prospect tracker for March Madness 2023

Welcome back to my annual prospect tracker for March Madness. This list is a rolling tracker of players to watch for either the 2023 NBA Draft or beyond, as well as other professional basketball prospects (G League, overseas, etc.). This list is NOT complete as of Tuesday, March 14.

Last updated: 10:34 a.m. CST Tuesday, March 14

South Region

(1) Alabama

A number of Alabama players are going to get looks at some looks at the next level. Two guys who stand at the top of that list are presumptive top-three pick Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney, a top-75 guy from the 2022 class and guy who’s worked his way up the boards this year.

Miller provides everything you’d want in a prospect from a scoring standpoint, and he’s pretty underrated as a live-dribble playmaker.

Outside of those two, Alabama has a few guys to keep an eye on. ‘Bama has a pair of freshmen who are unlikely to leave for the ‘23 draft but were both top-40 recruits. Jaden Bradley in particular has been a key contributor to watch out for. I also like 2021 top-30 recruit Charles Bediako.

Veteran Jahvon Quinerly seems destined for a Summer League invite down the road.

(2) Arizona

Azuolas Tubelis

Oumar Ballo

Courtney Ramey

Henri Veesaar

(3) Baylor

Baylor’s main prospect to keep an eye out for is of course, Keyonte George, a projected lottery pick who commands a ton of shot attempts. Adam Flagler is another guy to watch out for at the next level, but someone who probably ends up on a training camp or Summer League roster.

(4) Virginia

Reece Beekman

Jayden Gardner

(5) San Diego State

(6) Creighton

You could talk about pretty much any member of Creighton’s starting five and see a potential NBA opportunity for them down the road. Trey Alexander is my favorite of the bunch and someone who stood out during last year’s tournament. Ryan Kalkbrenner is a fun player, Baylor Scheierman won over a ton of people with South Dakota State in last year’s tourney and is someone who deserves a look in some form or another at the next level.

Arthur Kaluma and Ryan Nembhard round out the starting five, both of whom are top-70 recruits from the 2021 class.

(7) Missouri

Kobe Brown

(8) Maryland

(9) West Virginia

(10) Utah State

(11) N.C. State

Terquavion Smith is the name to know here in respects to the 2023 NBA Draft. As a scorching shooter and scorer, Smith has plenty of fans at the next level and his decision to come back and get N.C. State into the tournament this year earned even more.

Outside of Smith, D.J. Burns is a guy who has tested the NBA waters before and his archetype of player (Kenneth Lofton Jr.) has seen success in the NBA. Jarkel Joiner is too old and is a non-shooter to earn any draft looks but could see a Summer League invite. That last part may be true for Casey Morsell too if he chooses not to return.

(12) Charleston

(13) Furman

Jalen Slawson is a sleeper in the 2023 draft. Slawson is someone who has taken measured steps to improve every year and is just a smart player. Slawson should undoubtedly receive looks in the second round.

(14) UCSB

(15) Princeton

(16)

Midwest Region

(1) Houston

Jarace Walker

Marcus Sasser

Terrance Arceneaux

Tramon Mark

(2) Texas

Dylan Disu

Dillon Mitchell

Tyrese Hunter

Timmy Allen

Arterio Morris

Sir’Jabari Rice

(3) Xavier

Colby Jones

Souley Boum

Jack Nunge

(4) Indiana

Indiana boasts one of my favorite prospect tandems in the nation. TJD and JHS are both NBA bound and TJD has the case to be one of the, if not the, best college player in the nation. He has such a rare blend of scoring and passing for a big.

Hood-Schifino is a guy that I’m really impressed by and someone that is rocketing up draft boards. JHS may go as high as the lottery at this point. Usually, it doesn’t take much for me to be interested in a tall POA prospect but Hood-Schifino really stands out for what he’s been able to do for this team as a freshman.

(5) Miami (FL)

Norchad Omier

Isaiah Wong

Jordan Miller

Nijel Pack

(6) Iowa State

Osun Osunniyi

Jaren Holmes

Tamen Lipsey

Gabe Kalscheur

(7) Texas A&M

Henry Coleman

Manny Obaseki

Wade Taylor

(8) Iowa

Like his brother before him, Kris Murray is a name to know for the first round of the 2023 draft. While Kris won’t go as high as Keegan did last year, Kris continues to propel Iowa into the postseason.

Filip Rebraca

(9) Auburn

(10) Penn State

Jalen Pickett

Seth Lundy

Camren Wynter

Andrew Funk

(11) Mississippi State OR Pittsburgh

(12) Drake

Tucker DeVries

(13) Kent State

Sincere Carry

Malique Jacobs

(14) Kennesaw State

Chris Youngblood

(15) Colgate

Tucker Richardson

(16) Northern Kentucky

Marques Warrick

East Region

(1) Purdue

Zach Edey

Braden Smith

(2) Marquette

Tyler Kolek

Olivier-Maxence Prosper

Oso Ighodaro

Kameron Jones

Former Skyforce coach Nevada Smith

(3) Kansas State

Keyontae Johnson

(4) Tennessee

Santiago Vescovi

Julian Phillips

Josiah-Jordan James

Jonas Aidoo

(5) Duke

Kyle Filipowski

Jeremy Roach

Tyrese Proctor

Mark Mitchell

Dariq Whitehead

Dereck Lively II

Jaden Schutt

(6) Kentucky

Oscar Tshiebwe

Antonio Reeves

Jacob Toppin

Cason Wallace

Chris Livingston

Daimion Collins

(7) Michigan State

Joey Hauser

A.J. Hoggard

Jaden Akins

Jaxon Kohler

(8) Memphis

Kendric Davis

Deandre Williams

Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu

(9) FAU

(10) USC

USC has a plethora of players that I am tracking for either this year or for the future. Boogie Ellis, a transfer from Memphis, is somebody I’ve had my eye on for a few years as a former four-star recruit. Ellis is a high-level scorer who should provide a rough matchup in the first round for Michigan State.

Outside of that, I’m intrigued by Drew Peterson as a guy who is a 6-foot-8 ball handler and scorer for this team.

A trio of USC freshmen are worth monitoring as well. Tre White has immense potential for a wide-open 2024 draft and USC’s recent history with developing bigs (i.e. Evan Mobley, Onyeka Okongwu) has me excited for seeing more of Kijani Wright and Vincent Iwuchukwu.

(11) Providence

Devin Carter

Bryce Hopkins

(12) Oral Roberts

Max Abmas is Mr. Cinderella himself and after his 2021 tournament run, earned an invite to the NBA Combine. Abmas is short for a prospect but he’s such a high-level shot-maker that he’s impossible to not love.

Connor Vanover is another guy to watch as a 7-foot-3 center that shoot the ball a little bit.

(13) Louisiana

Jordan Brown

(14) Montana State

RaeQuan Battle is such a fun player, a 6-foot-5 forward who started his career at Washington. Battle is a high-level shot-maker who deserves his flowers. Will he be drafted? Unlikely. But he’s someone who could see some two-way looks in the draft, if he enters this year.

(15) Vermont

(16)

West Region

(1) Kansas

Gradey Dick

Jalen Wilson

Kevin McCullar

MJ Rice

KJ Adams

(2) UCLA

Adem Bona

Jaime Jaquez

Jaylen Clark

Amari Bailey

(3) Gonzaga

Drew Timme

Julian Strawther

Anton Watson

Malachi Smith

Hunter Sallis

Efton Reid

Rasir Bolton

(4) UConn

Jordan Hawkins

Adama Sanogo

Donovan Clingan

Andre Jackson

Tristen Newton

Hassan Diarra

(5) Saint Mary’s

Aidan Mahaney

Logan Johnson

(6) TCU

Mike Miles Jr.

Emanuel Miller

Damion Baugh

(7) Northwestern

Chase Audige

Boo Buie

Brooks Barnhizer

(8) Arkansas

Anthony Black

Nick Smith

Ricky Council IV

Makhi Mitchell

Jordan Walsh

Makhel Mitchell

Trevon Brazile

(9) Illinois

Coleman Hawkins

Terrence Shannon

Matthew Mayer

Dain Dainja

RJ Melendez

(10) Boise State

(11) Arizona State OR Nevada

Darrion Williams

(12) VCU

Ace Baldwin

Brandon Johns

Zeb Jackson

Jayden Nunn

(13) Iona

Daniss Jenkins

Walter Clayton

Nelly Junior Joseph

Berrick JeanLouis

(14) Grand Canyon

(15) UNC Asheville

Drew Pember

(16) Howard

Shy Odom