There are no Cinderellas in March Madness this year with the four No. 1 seeds making the Final Four for the first time since 2008. But on my draft board? There are plenty of surprise climbers. With the draft still three months out, rankings are still fluid. But right now, March is providing clarity for where a player belongs.
You can view my updated rankings with detailed scouting reports for every prospect in the NBA Draft Guide. Below are the 10 biggest movers and why their stock is trending up:
Rank change: 55th to 30th
Against UConn in the round of 32, Clayton Jr. dropped 23 points and erupted in the final five minutes to clinch the game. He had a midrange pull-up, a side-step 3, and a fadeaway dagger to close it.
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Then came his encore. In the Elite 8 he poured in 30 more against Texas Tech, igniting a comeback. Down nine, he made a driving layup. A minute later, he tied it with a pull-up 3. And with one minute remaining, he dribbled away from the basket, turned, and drained a drifting, off-balance triple.
In Steph Curry’s building, no less!
Clayton’s shotmaking, on-ball wiggle and end-of-game confidence are undeniably Steph-like too. His severe defensive limitations and shaky playmaking had him entering March at 55th on my board, but I placed too much focus on what he doesn’t do and not enough on what he does. He’s a shotmaker, a moment seizer and just a straight-up pure hooper. That’s enough to warrant first-round consideration.
Rank change: 31st to 23rd
Philon’s play in the tournament was up and down, just like it was throughout his freshman year at Alabama. But even against Duke’s vaunted defense, he looked comfortable using his speed to get where he wanted on the floor, while playing with pace and poise. And he made 45.5% of his 3-pointers in four tournament games, which follows a trend this season of his numbers improving from month to month. Defenders often went under his screens and he made them pay, in addition to looking fluid off the catch.
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It’s hard to pass on his type of upside in the middle of the first round, which is why he’s moving up my board. But Philon has a tough decision to make whether to stay in college or go pro. With point guard Mark Sears graduating, he’d have the keys to the offense next season and the chance to play himself into the top 10.
Rank change: 38th to 31st
Uzan’s game-winning layup in the Sweet 16 was the natural extension of how steady and dependable he’s been all year. He made a clean inbound pass, then a headsy cut to position himself for the win. Typical stuff for him. Offensively, he’s seen his usage rise on the biggest stage with games scoring 22 and 16 points. But Uzan gets a bump regardless of his scoring totals, because he makes a positive impact on offense with his shooting, moving, and passing.
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He’s not built to wow you with mixtape handles, but he wins possessions with one good decision after another. That’s how you carve out a 10-year career. And with the way he’s trending, he may still have room to climb.
Rank change: 30th to 24th
Now in his third season, he’s grown into a defensive pest. And offensively, he sees the floor, makes the right reads and can drain shots all over the floor. Proctor keeps looking more and more like Celtics guard Derrick White with the way he positively impacts the game as a low-usage, high-trust guy who’s capable of handling a bigger load when needed, like with his 25-point effort against Baylor.
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March didn’t make Proctor, but it’s solidifying the case that he’s worth a first-round pick. He entered Duke as a projected lottery pick, so it’s been a longer road than anticipated. But he’s here now and looks ready to contribute to a winning team.
Rank change: 52nd to 46th
Broome is by no means an elite athlete, and from an NBA perspective he certainly has some shortcomings. But, man, the dude just impacts winning. After injuring his elbow in the Elite 8, he had his Willis Reed moment by running back up to the scorer’s table and checking in to finish the game strong. He ripped down rebounds with one arm and made a 3-pointer. Broome is the quintessential “got that dawg in him” player, and so even though it’s a subtle change, he moves up my board.
Rank change: 43rd to 39th
Rank change: 36th to 33rd
Toppin and Williams carried Texas Tech all the way to the Elite 8 and were this close to taking down Florida. It’s amazing to see the way they impacted the game in so many different ways. Toppin scored on rolls to the rim, from the post and from beyond the arc, while also playing super versatile defense. And as he did all season, Williams played everything from point guard to center, depending on what the game needed. Neither guy is a primary option, but both fit snugly into winning basketball. That’s why their stock is rising.
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Rank change: 28th to 26th
I’m admittedly a skeptic of Wolf. He made 33.6% of his 3s and only 59.4% of his free throws with Michigan, numbers just as subpar as his first two years with Yale. Big Ten play-by-play announcer Noah Eagle said on my podcast that there’s belief his struggles at the free-throw line are mental, which worries me even more since it’s hard to solve whatever’s going on between the ears. Especially after he just made only 25% of his free throws in the tournament.
But it’s hard to ignore just how fluidly Wolf moves as a 7-footer. And he dropped 20 points scoring in a myriad of ways against Auburn’s excellent defense with a step-back 3 and tons of swirly drives to the basket with crossovers, hesitations and back-downs. There’s something there worth a gamble in the late first.
Rank: 5th to 4th
Alabama shot 61.6% at the rim and 52.6% on floaters this season, which respectively ranked in the 85th percentile and 99th percentile nationally, according to Synergy. But against Duke, it shot just 50% at the rim and 25% on floaters in large part because of Maluach’s presence. The freshman contested everything around the basket, even sticking his arm up to block dunk attempts. We saw him deter players from trying layups and even switch onto the perimeter on a few occasions, moving his feet laterally with quickness. He keeps getting better defensively, which was on full display against a high-powered, modern-style offense.
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Offensively, Maluach is doing what he’s done all season. He has 13 dunks among his 20 made shots in the tournament. There was a skilled lefty hook shot in there too, and he’s made all of his free throws. During pregame last Thursday, there was also this moment:
Hmm! A big man taking step-back 3s in warmups? No surprise. That’s the state of the game with 7-footers all trying to be shooters. But it’s different with Maluach since he has such great touch from the line (76.4% this season) and near the rim (57.1% on hook shots, per Synergy). He’s made only four of his 16 shots from 3 this season, but there’s something there that could make him much more than just a standard interior center that warrants moving him up one spot.
Rank: 1st, no rank change
There’s nowhere for Flagg to move up in the rankings. But the fact he continues shining on the biggest stage only reinforces why he’s at the top of every draft board. Duke is using him everywhere: one trip down the floor he’s setting a screen and rolling to the rim, the next he’s the ball-handler in the pick-and-roll, looking off a defender to set up a teammate. Then he’ll relocate off-ball for an open jumper. He’s everywhere, doing everything.
Flagg defends all five positions, rotates like a seasoned pro and manufactures plays out of thin air. Stuff we’ve seen him do all season. So no, he hasn’t moved up the board. But every game he validates why he belongs there. At this point, the question isn’t whether he’s the best college prospect since Zion Williamson in 2019. It’s whether he’s the best since Anthony Davis in 2012. Or Greg Oden and Kevin Durant in 2007. Or even Tim Duncan in 1997. Personally, I’d argue best since ‘07. But that’s the kind of conversation Flagg’s play is forcing right now.
