2024 NBA Draft: Stock WatchBy: Drew Wolin

Rising

6–8 | 180 | Small Forward | Colorado | Freshman

The smooth and lengthy (he’s 6’8″ with a 7’3″ wingspan) ultra-versatile guard/forward is the prototypical modern NBA player. Cody Williams, while just a freshman, is shooting a remarkable 60%+ both from the field and from three (though it’s small volume from three, just 1.4 attempts per so far). He displayed his huge upside and playing point guard in high school, which speaks to his versatility. Over the past three games, Cody has put up 17, 21 and 21 points, and knocked down all 4 of his three point shots. Despite Cody’s smooth play, some questions still linger among NBA scouts about his toughness and competitiveness. It will be up to him to play consistently and show the dedication and toughness that was perceived to be missing from his game at the high school level. Remember, his brother was a late bloomer and is blossoming into a star at the NBA level. Despite the low key demeanor, Cody has a chance to be special and has moved back up to the number one pick on our most recent mock draft update.

6–9 | 200 | Forward | JL Bourg-en-Bresse (French Pro League) | Age 18

Risacher has been on a tear of late, re-establishing himself as one of the top prospects for the 2023 NBA Draft. After struggling some when the season started, Risacher has scored in double digits in each of his past 4 games.  He’s averaging 46% from three and 53% overall from the floor. When evaluating Risacher it is important to keep in mind that he is only 18 years old. Risacher is building his name mostly as a shooter: He’s 9/15 from three over his past 5 games, and the majority of his offense is predicated on him being a deep shooting threat. While he’s only averaging 3.7 rebounds per game, his 1 steal per game illustrates his  defensive intensity. His 69% FT shooting is puzzling considering his shooting stroke, and in need of improvement.

6–2 | 170 | Guard | Kentucky | Freshman

While Kentucky still tries to figure things out (most recently, the team fell to unranked UNCW), Sheppard has been a major bright spot. Not only is he shooting absolutely lights out. But he’s doing a bit of everything. Over his last 3 games, Sheppard is averaging 20 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals on better than 55% —  both from three and from the field overall! He’s also been perfect from the free throw line. In terms of where he goes from here on the draft board, size would be the concern. Listed at 6-3, he appears to be a shade under that, and his reported 6-2 wingspan does him no favors. Lights out shooters like this tend to find their way into an NBA rotation one way or another, and he likely has enough size to be a solid rotation guy. Can he really become a first rounder and fill a role at the next level similar to Seth Curry? Time will tell.

6–10 | 215 | Power Forward | G-League Ignite | Age 19

Tyler Smith is a long, lefty stretch big competing for the G League Ignite. He shows great potential as a shot blocker and is remarkably mobile for his size. One of the more consistent and impressive parts of his play has been his three-point shooting. He’s 41% on the year on decent volume. That said, he’s only 2/14 from three in his past 4 games. In general, consistency and playing-identity is a question for Smith. He seems to still be figuring out exactly what his game will look like at this level. But scouts love the raw package of the 6–10 mobile big man.

6–6 | 215 | Shooting Guard | Tennessee | Senior

If Knecht wasn’t already on scouts’ radars, he sure was after a 37 point explosion last week against a strong UNC team. After two years at Northern Colorado, the sharpshooter transferred to a more competitive team and conference in Tennessee. Knecht can hit the three and he has a great looking release. But he does his damage from anywhere on the floor really. He’s a great slasher and finisher at the cup. Powerful, confident, and a real hooper. In the NBA, he doesn’t exactly project as a go-to microwave scorer. So it will be a matter of carving out his niche and improving in the other areas of the game and intangibles to earn his keep.

6–7 | 210 | Shooting Guard | Kansas | Senior

McCullar transferred to Kansas from Texas Tech and is now playing his fifth season of college basketball. Previously a role player, McCullar is now, in his final season, a feature player of one of the best teams in the country. Last season, McCullar played about 30 mpg with averages of 11 ppg / 7 rpg / 2.4 apg. He’s only playing a few more mpg this year, but has bumped his offensive output up by nearly double. His splits this season are 19 ppg / 7 rpg / 5 apg, including with much better shooting efficiency. he’s had two recent triple doubles, taking over as one of the team’s go to offensive options. He does a little bit of everything. He’s long been known as a lockdown defender throughout his career. But this season he’s added to his repertoire and is becoming a formidable threat on offense. Due to his age,  23 in March, it’s unlikely that he will be a first rounder, but he appears to be playing himself into a early to mid second round pick.

Falling

7–0 | 250 | Center | Duke | Sophomore

Following offseason hip surgery which reportedly added some flexibility for the sophomore, Filipowski does appear to be moving better. Regardless, he is still a below average athlete by NBA standards. Reports out of Durham were the Filipowski had been working on his outside shot this offseason. But we’ve seen little evidence of the payoff so far. Filipowski is a big body who will also need to prove that he has the lateral speed to keep up with the defensive-switch-obsessed NBA, where bigs often find themselves defending nimble perimeter players. He drops down the board due to his role in Duke’s recent struggles, lack of ability to display outside shooting improvement, and sustained questions about his mobility. His 28% from three will need vast improvement if he’s going to be a lottery pick in June.

6–5 | 185 | Point Guard | Duke | Sophomore

Proctor has had an up and down season, as have his Duke Blue Devils. It’s tough to tell who exactly shoulders the blame here. But the Point Guard would be a reasonable place to point to. Proctor has had an especially rough past couple of outings (again, as have the Blue Devils, who dropped two straight). He had a bad game in a loss to Arkansas last week, and then only played one minute the following game after going down with an ankle injury in a loss to Georgia Tech. Proctor shows flashes but will need to improve his 32% three point shooting and limit the turnovers when looking to set up teammates on the move. As a big point guard with excellent size and physical attributes, Proctor has lottery pick potential. But so far he has failed to consistently show it.