The college basketball season is on and several NBA draft hopefuls have already increased their stock with significant performances.
Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock recently updated his big picture for the 2023 NBA Draft. While the top four contenders remain the same, Alabama freshman Brandon Miller, climbed to fifth place as the highest-ranked male college player.
It’s still early in the scouting season, with plenty of time to slide up and down in the eyes of pro teams. I checked in with Babcock to get some of his first takeaways so far and ask about his process as an analyst.
1. The first four remain the same in this Big Board update. Specifically, with the Thompson twins, what makes you think they remain above college talent?
matt babcock: This is at the beginning of the process. There’s a part of me that would rather not even make big boards at this time of year because there’s so much work to do between now and the draft, and naturally I expect that my big board will be very different by the end of the season. When it comes to the Thompson twins in particular, I’m very high on both. Like most scouts, I prefer Amen to Ausar, but I think it’s close. But I’m still trying to figure out how close it is. So, like I said, I have a lot of work to do and I’ll be heading back to Atlanta to see them again.
2. What assets does Brandon Miller have to propel him to No. 5?
Babcock: I was in Portland for Thanksgiving for the Phil Knight Invitational, and that first night against Michigan State, Brandon Miller was awesome! He’s 6-foot-9 and such a smooth shooter and scorer. I was also impressed with his ability to put the ball on the ground. He needs to get stronger, which I think will help him finish better on the edge and defensively, but he has a lot of attacking talent and upside, whatever.
3. In the absence of a center in the top 10, how open do you think the hierarchy is to this position?
Babcock: Traditional big men have continued to lose value in recent years, so that’s a big part of that. And our top prospect this year, Victor Wembanyama, is 7-foot-4 with an 8-foot wingspan, but isn’t usually rated as a center because he has a lot more of a perimeter game. The top male prospects this year are real freshmen Kyle Filipowski and Derek Lively from Duke, Kel’el Ware from Oregon and Adem Bona from UCLA. We are at the start of the season, so we don’t need to take any definitive positions on the outlook at this time, as these players have plenty of time to develop and progress throughout this season.
4. Which lead project has impressed you the most as an in-person viewer so far?
Babcock: It’s easy: Victor Wembanyama blew me away. His combination of length and skill is exceptional. Victor is a generational talent, and I expect him to become the No. 1 pick in the 20223 NBA Draft.
5. Which prospects got off to a slow start but should not raise serious concerns?
Babcock: Some of the freshmen start slowly. Dereck Lively at Duke and Chris Livingston at Kentucky started slow. And then Dariq Whitehead, also of Duke, and Nick Smith of Arkansas are just recovering from injuries, so they haven’t done much yet. It is early, however; all these guys have time to rewrite their stories.
6. What is more valuable in in-person scouting games versus watching a movie?
Babcock: It’s about seeing all the little things. I do my best to make sure I have a good place for games. Closer to the field, the better. I want to learn more about the physical tools and movements of players, and it’s easier to determine a player’s skills in person. However, the main reason for making such an effort to see prospects in person is to learn more about players’ personalities, attitudes and coaching ability, for example. When evaluating players, I ask myself questions like: Is he a leader? Is it competitive? How does he manage the physical? Is it sweet? Is he selfish? I could list thousands of things like this, but the main point is that to fully understand who prospects are as people and what motivates them, you need to see them in person.
7. Emoni Bates captivated social media with some of his early games – do you think he could return to first-round pick status?
Babcock: I never doubted that Emoni had top talent; he was always there from that point of view. The biggest questions are its maturity and reliability. I saw attitude issues in high school, and he showed that he sometimes lacked composure and maturity. On top of all that, he’s in real trouble. So basically it comes down to the same question when evaluating draft prospects, are they a good investment for a team? I always try to calculate the risk/reward ratio with Emoni. So we’ll see how it goes.
8. What are you most excited about in the final weeks of non-conference action?
Babcock: I took the scouting trail in November, so I’m switching gears here the next two weeks by attending some high school events including HoopHall West in Arizona and the City of Palms Classic in Florida. But I look forward to seeing some specific teams soon, including Arkansas, Creighton, Houston and South Carolina.
