Rising
Kanaan Carlyle
6–3 | 185 | Point Guard | Stanford | Freshman
Carlyle (pictured) was a former 4-star college recruit who became a 5-star player during his final season of High School basketball. Then, he took a nontraditional path of playing last season with Overtime Elite.
This season, Carlyle finds himself as one of the top players for the Stanford Cardinal. Carlyle has long been an intriguing prospect. But importantly, he’s developed his three point shooting where scouts are now taking a more serious look at him as a legit potential first-rounder. Both the rate at which he improved his game, and what he’s currently showing in his ability to knock down outside shots, are very positive.
So far this season at Stanford, Carlyle is putting up impressive averages of 14 ppg / 4 rpg / 2 apg in just 24 minutes per. His shooting splits are a very good 50% FG / 50% 3P / 89% FT. In a recent “signature game,” he dropped an amazing 28 points (including shooting 6–8 from three) in 29 minutes in an upset win against #4 Arizona. Carlyle has great size and length for a point guard. And he’s reportedly a high-character guy.
Carlyle missed the beginning of the season due to Stanford academic standard reasons. His first game was on Dec 17 (a win against Idaho). He only has five games under his belt. And despite his length — an asset for defense — questions remain about his interest as a defender. However, we liked his defensive potential two summers ago when we scouted him at the 2022 Nike Chris Paul Camp.
Last season, Carlyle averaged 9 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists per game for the YNG Dreamers of Overtime Elite. He has previously led Milton High School to a Georgia state championship as a sophomore in 2021, and was one of the youngest player on the gold medal winning Team USA at the 2022 FIBA U18 Americas championship in Tijuana.
Note: Overtime Elite is a pro league aimed at developing young talent. But players who choose to compete in the Overtime Elite league can reportedly forego a salary and retain their NCAA eligibility, as Carlyle did.
Ja'Kobe Walter
6–5 | 180 | Shooting Guard | Baylor | Freshman
A case could be made that Walter has been the best freshman in the country. This smooth shooting long range bomber doesn’t have the eye-popping athleticism of some of the others on this list. But the freshman’s body control, scoring ability, and relative maturity have been on full display so far this season for the 10–2 Baylor Bears.
Walter has a knack for getting to the free throw line more than your typical shooting specialist, and converts at a high rate. He’s only missed one free throw (out of 12 attempts) in his last 4 games.
Walter exploded onto the scene this year in the first game of the year (an 88–82 win over Auburn) where he scored 28. He hasn’t been quite as consistently high octane throughout the season. But he still has given scouts plenty to keep their eyes on. He’s hit 12 threes over his past 4 games (three per game) on better than 50% shooting. And he had zero turnovers in 4 of his last 5 games, taking care of the ball. His offensive package and maturity have scouts excited about this prospect. He is currently projected as a top-5 pick in 2024 and moves up to 2 on our latest mock.
Kevin McCullar
6–7 | 210 | Shooting Guard | Kansas | Senior
McCullar makes our list for stock rising for the second time this season. He 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 doubled his offensive output. His splits this season are 21 ppg / 7 rpg / 5 apg, including with much better shooting efficiency.
McCullar has been on an absolute tear lately, scoring north of 20 points in 5 of his last 6 games, including a 34 point outing on December 22. 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. Despite his age (23 in March), he is playing his way into the first round with his improved shooting ability.
Jared McCain
6–3 | 195 | Guard | Duke | Freshman
Jared McCain shares the Duke backcourt duty with two other top prospects in Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster, both of whom are potential lottery picks in the 2024 NBA Draft. Proctor has been out with an ankle injury, leaving more responsibility to McCain. He has stepped gracefully into his expanded role.
McCain is a lightning-quick combo guard is a talented all-around offensive player who can set up for teammates as well as get his own. His pedal-to-the-metal approach, control, and skill is what catches scouts’ eyes. He is both quick and fast and plays a sort of “controlled chaos” that is fun to watch and can really inspire a team. He also seeks and absorbs contact well, keeping a constant pressure on the opposition. After a steady start to the season, McCain has finally put together a few signature performances. He scored 21 points on 64% shooting in a win against #10 Baylor. In his last 4 games he averaging 20 ppg, hitting 3.3 threes per game at 50%, and turning it over less than once per game. McCain currently projects more as a 2025 late-first round draft prospect. But if he continues with his recent strong play, he should continue to move up.
Ulrich Chomche
6–11 | 235 | Center | Cameroon (International)
Chomche is an extremely raw prospect who only has a few years of playing basketball under his belt — although he is only 18 years old. The Cameroonian reportedly only picked up the sport once friends pressured him — the tallest in his friends circle — to play a sport befitting of a 7-footer. He’s a potentially game changing defender who is developing fairly rapidly. His placement in this week’s stock watch is thanks to his phenomenal physical tools (strength, explosiveness, length) and the rate at which he is developing in all areas. For example, he has made strides in developing a more reliable corner three pointer. He currently projects as an extremely high upside (high risk / high reward) guy, especially defender, who could be in either the 2024 or 2025 draft. If he comes to the US for college next season, University Arizona is currently reportedly one of the leaders along with Kansas and G League Ignite.
Antonio Reeves
6–6 | 195 | Shooting Guard | Kentucky | Senior
Reaves, who started his collegiate career at Illinois State before transferring to Kentucky last season, is tough in the classical sense, and he is also tough in that he’s tough to guard! The Kentucky 5th-year player has an extra gear on offense. He uses his speed and toughness to his advantage and often has success at the hoop. He’s great at drawing the foul on the drive or on the fast break. He has a low but quick release from the outside that is mostly a one-motion shot.
Reaves is averaging 19 ppg / 4 rpg / 2 apg and only 1 turnover per game. He’s shooting 52% FG / 46% 3P / 84% FT. He’s scored 27 and 30 points in each of his last two games, respectively, on excellent efficiency.
He’s currently projected as a second round pick but is playing his way to a better draft position as a potential microwave scorer.
PJ Hall
6–10 | 245 | Center | Clemson | Senior
PJ Hall has demonstrated consistent improvement over his 4 years at Clemson, with a major leap this current season compared to prior. Hall currently boasts averages of 21 ppg / 7 rpg / 2 apg / 2.4 blocks / 1.2 steals on 56% FG / 40% 3P / 79% FT and only 1.6 TO per game. All of these are very good for a 6–10 mobile big.
Hall has been consistently dominant all season for the 11–1 Clemon Tigers. But scouts are more recently taking more notice of him given the huge and sustained leap from previous years. Most notably, what has improved is Hall’s 3P shooting accuracy, total offensive output (both scoring and playmaking), and defensive impact. Hall currently projects as a second rounder, but may be playing his way into the late first round given his strong all-around game and improvement.
AJ Johnson
6–5 | 160 | Point Guard/Shooting Guard | USA | International
AJ Johnson had signed a Letter of Intent to Texas a year ago. But he de-committed a few months later and has since been in Australia competing in the NBL for the Illawarra Hawks. The 6’5″ lanky guard passes the eye test athletically, as a threat in the NBA. He’s lightning fast, and in terms of skill, has range on his shot. His NBL stats won’t blow you away by any means, but his raw talent is what has scouts watching. Note that you may see reports of former lottery pick Jalen Green of the Houston Rockets as Johnson’s brother circulating the internet. The two are not related, but Johnson and Green consider each other to be like “brothers”.
Falling
Isaiah Collier
6–5 | 210 | Point Guard | USC | Freshman
Collier is an absolute bull of a player and is a fun watch — he looks like an NFL Running Back with his strength and explosiveness, in a 6’5″ frame.
This freshman got off to a strong start to the season after being considered one of, if not the top prospect in his class in high school. But his production has really dipped these past couple of weeks, and the losses have started piling up for his USC Trojans (USC has dropped 6 of its last 8 games).
It’s worth noting that Collier’s decline in production coincided with two events, both in the same game: On December 10, Collier’s much-hyped backcourt mate and future NBA Draft pick Bronny James made his season debut for USC; and in that same game, Collier went down with a leg injury after stepping on a defender’s foot when landing on a lay-up.
Collier was back on the court for USC’s next game (against Auburn). But his production has not been the same since the injury. In Collier’s last 8 games, his scoring average has dipped to just 12 ppg (with no meaningful boost in any other category) and is shooting just 25% from 3-point range. The good: On the season Collier has average an impressive 15 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds, and 1.3 steals on 50% FG shooting. But there’s a “bad” too: He also is doing 4 turnovers per game (which is way too high) and only 32% 3-point shooting on 3 attempts per game.
Terrence Shannon
6–6 | 225 | Shooting Guard | Illinois | Senior
The senior made our last edition of Stock Watch on the favorable side. Based on his play, he had moved himself firmly into the first round of the 2024 draft. Sadly, his mention this week is not due to play, but something off the court. Prior to Illinois’s game against Farleigh Dickinson on Dec 29, Athletic Director Josh Whitman addressed the media regarding pending rape charges filed against Shannon Jr. Shannon is suspended indefinitely from Illinois. It is probably best to suspend judgement until more information comes forward, but unfortunately the situation affects his ability to play basketball and further solidify his place in this year’s draft.
