5 Sneaky NBA Prospects to Watch in the 2022 NCAA Tournament

With all eyes on the 2022 NCAA tournament, many will be watching closely as some of the top NBA prospects all duke it out for a chance to become national champions.

From Chet Holmgren to Paolo Banchero to Jabari Smith, NBA fans want to see how this next crop of potential superstars perform under the bright lights of March Madness. But as we have seen in years past, there are always a handful of guys who enter this tournament under the radar and then play themselves onto or up draft boards.

This list is about that crop of guys. The players who NBA scouts might not be extremely high on at the moment but could easily make them have a change of heart with a great performance or two. Here are five sneaky NBA prospects to watch out for who might just bust your bracket and move up on a few draft boards in the process.  

1.  David Roddy, Colorado State

Starting out in the Mountain West Conference, we have Junior guard David Roddy who was the driving force of the 25-5 Colorado State Rams.

This season he is averaging a career-high 19.4 points along with 7.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.1 blocks and 1.2 steals. One of the most notable improvements for Roddy in Year 3 with the Rams is his efficiency as a scorer. 

Last season, he shot 51.2% from the field and a disappointing 27.8% on threes.This season he has taken a significant leap in both categories but especially from beyond the arc as he is shooting 57.4% from the field and 45.5% from three. 

Now these shooting splits are not on a high volume as shots as he is only taking just over 12 shots a game and only about three three-point attempts per game.

But that is actually what makes his season that much more impressive. He has been able to assert himself as a Top-50 scorer in the country without being as much of a high-volume shooter like many of the guys ahead of him.

Roddy has a well-rounded offensive game as a three level scorer while also having potential multi-positional ability as a guy standing at 6-foot-5, 252 pounds. He also has the tools to be a switchable defender that can guard the 1 through 5 on defense while being interchangeable on the wing offensively.

This combination of unique size mixed with his craftiness with the ball in his hands will allow him to smoothly transition to the pro level as a potential second unit playmaker or a secondary ball handler.

Looking at where some draft boards currently have him slotted, NBADraftRoom.com has him going 55^th overall to the Detroit Pistons. Tankathon.com has him mocked to the Orlando Magic with the 35th pick.

He may not step in as a Day 1 starter, but he is a guy who could be like Chris Duarte for the Indiana Pacers, a player who can step in Day 1 and make an immediate impact when called upon.

Roddy and the Colorado State Rams open up the tournament taking on the Michigan Wolverines. They are in a pretty stacked South region that hosts a handful of other wing prospects including Ben Mathurin for Arizona, Kennedy Chandler for Tennessee, and Colin Gillespie for Villanova.

Roddy would have the physical edge against all three of those guys making him and the Rams an interesting threat in the South on the road to the Final Four.

2.  Hyunjung Lee, Davidson

Moving along to the Atlantic-10 we have Junior guard Hyunjung Lee of the Davidson Wildcats.

The Wildcats enter the NCAA tournament with the 15^th best offensive rating in the country (113.8) and the 7^th best three-point shooting percentage in the country (38.6%). This has a lot to do with the prolific play of Lee who has been one of the nation’s best shooters this season.

Standing at 6-foot-7, 210 pounds, Lee is known for his efficiency as a three level scorer which projects well as a reliable rotational piece at the next level. This season he is averaging 16 points along with 6.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists while shooting 37.9% from beyond the arc.

Lee notably hit 5-of-10 threes en route to scoring a career-high 32 points along with ten rebounds in a win against East Carolina. He is a player who can heat up from beyond the arc in a hurry and once he gets started, it’s hard to slow him down.

Looking at draft boards, NBADraftRoom.com ironically has him mocked to the Golden State Warriors at 58, while Tankathon.com does not have him anywhere in the Top-60.

This is a guy who could really pave a way for himself as a potential draft pick with a strong performance or two in the tournament.

As part of the West region, the Wildcats open the tournament with a tough matchup against head coach Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans. But according to TheScore.com, as of March 16^th the line for the game only favors the Spartans which goes to show you how much the odds makers respect Davidson’s offensive talent led by Lee.

Lee actually has a few chances to make a splash early in the tournament with potential matchups against Duke and Alabama or Texas Tech who all have a handful of their own NBA prospects. Even that Michigan State game will feature Max Christie who is a projected draft pick.

As a guy who is relatively off the radar of most Top-60 big boards, this is the perfect opportunity for Lee to catapult himself into the national spotlight.

3.  Trevor Keels, Duke

It may seem odd to have a Duke player on the “sneaky” list considering they are a 2-seed in the West region, but Freshman guard Trevor Keels is an interesting case.

When looking at the Blue Devils roster in terms of the draft, most boards start with Paolo Banchero then AJ Griffin, Mark Williams, and Wendell Moore Jr. before getting to Trevor Keels.

There’s even Jeremy Roach who may not be viewed as a better prospect than Keels, but has taken some of the shine as of late. Especially with his recent 19-point outing in the first round of the ACC tournament to help Duke beat Syracuse.

So, in a sense, Keels is slowly becoming an afterthought for this team which of course hurts his draft stock.

This season Keels is averaging 11.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

The two big things that have been hurting him all season are his struggles from beyond the arc and his inconsistent play from game to game.

Starting with the three-point shooting, he is shooting 32.1% from three this season on five attempts per game and that just is not going to cut it. Plus, he does not even have the luxury of calling it a shooting slump because his 67.8% free throw shooting indicates that he just might be a good three-point shooter.

Then there is the inconsistency from game to game. In his opening game he caught a lot of eyes when he scored 25 points along with three assists and three steals in that win over Kentucky.

He followed that game by scoring only 16 points total in his next two games. Those two games were against Army and Campbell where he shot 6-of-24 from the field and 3-of-11 from three. He did end up bouncing back after those two games with 18 points in a win over Gardner Webb.

Looking at his more recent performances, he dropped a career-high 27 points and hit 5-of-7 threes in a win over Pittsburgh in the second to last game of the regular season. He later followed that up by scoring ten points total in the semifinal and final round of the ACC tournament. He was 1-of-7 from the field and 0-of-4 from three in both games.

So in short, he was pretty much a non-factor for the majority of Duke’s run to the ACC title game.

But the intrigue is still there with him because he is a physical guard at 6-foot-4, 221 pounds that can be a complete mismatch for anyone when he is playing downhill.

Nobody is saying that he has to go from being the team’s third leading scorer to being their top scorer. But you just want to see him perform better in big moments and be more consistent while doing so.

For the sake of his draft stock and even the sake of Duke’s championship hopes, he needs to show that he can be reliable in big moments.

When looking at where he lands on draft boards, NBADraftRoom.com has him going 30^th to the Oklahoma City Thunder. NBA Draft Room actually states in their notes on Keels that he “has the tools and talents of a lottery pick but needs to be more consistent.” Tankathon.com also has him in a similar range going 29^th to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Being slotted firmly around the bottom of the first round, this is exactly the kind of stage Keels needs to help elevate himself comfortably into a Top-15 or Top-20 position. The question is just whether or not he is up to the task.

4.  Malaki Branham, Ohio State

Heading back to the South region, Freshman guard Malaki Branham for Ohio State is a real wild card.

When it comes to the Buckeyes, the top of the scouting report is always going to lead off with his teammate E.J. Liddell who has been one of the most dynamic wings in the Big Ten this season.

But beyond Liddell, Branham is really the only other consistent source of offense for this team. Both Kyle Young and Zed Key have missed time in the frontcourt and even with them available, they are not necessarily guys you want carrying an offense.

Branham on the other hand is and has been a real spark plug for this team.

This season, Branham is averaging 13.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists while shooting 49.2% from the field and 42.5% from three. Standing at 6-foot-5, 180 pounds, he is a hyper athlete with real two-way potential which gives him a high ceiling.

But when looking at his overall body of work this season, he has not been the most consistent player for the Buckeyes.

In his first ten games, he only scored in double figures once. But in his last ten games of the season including the first round loss to Penn State in the Big Ten tournament, Branham has scored double figures in every single game including a 31-point outburst in a win against Indiana.

The big fear for Ohio State is that despite Branham playing so well as of late, they did not necessarily end the season on a high note. Along with that disappointing loss to Penn State, the Buckeyes ended the season losing four of their last five games with two of them coming to non-tournament teams.

Now they open the NCAA tournament with a tough Loyola Chicago team which has Ohio State fans feeling nervous about their hopes of a deep postseason run. Even the odds makers are a bit shaky about the Buckeyes as TheScore.com favors them in a pick-em meaning they really think it could go either way.

Branham will have a tough individual matchup in that game against the Ramblers going against Lucas Williamson who leads Loyola Chicago in scoring with 14 points a game and is shooting nearly 40% from three. Then even if Ohio State manages to get past Loyola Chicago, Branham has an even more interesting matchup up next if they catch Collin Gillespie and Villanova.

Unlike the other three guards on this list, Branham’s elite athleticism and potential as a versatile wing has made him a bit more intriguing on draft boards. But his inconsistency this season has also bred some volatility in his draft stock.

For example, NBADraftRoom.com has him in the lottery going 12^th overall to the Washington Wizards. But if you look at Tankathon.com he is all the way down at 40^th going to the New York Knicks.

Then if you check ESPN’s Best Available shooting guard rankings, he is the 4^th highest ranked shooting guard on the board. That’s behind only Shaedon Sharpe who may not even be entering this draft class, Johnny Davis who is in the running for National Player of the Year and the NBA G-League Ignite’s Marjon Beauchamp.

So, when looking around, there really is not a great read on where Branham could fall in the draft. A strong performance during March Madness may be just what he needs to convince scouts that he is more worthy of being mentioned in the Top-14 rather than being discussed as a mid-second round guy.

5.  Justin Lewis, Marquette

Last up we have some show some love to the big guys, so let’s talk about Sophomore forward Justin Lewis of the Marquette Golden Eagles.

In Year 2 with Marquette, Lewis has really elevated his game in his first season under head coach Shaka Smart.

As a freshman, Lewis averaged only 7.8 points and 5.4 rebounds while only starting in 1 of 21 games. He also was shooting 41.7% from the field and struggled from three, shooting 21.9% on just under two attempts a game.

This season, coach Smart has really empowered Lewis and he has responded by opening up a lot of his game. He has jumped all the way up to 17.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and is even averaging just over a steal per game.

But more impressively, Lewis’s three point shooting percentage has skyrocketed all the way up 35.2% on 5.1 attempts per game. So, he has actually improved his efficiency as a shooter despite significantly increasing the volume.

Signs that the shooting touch may be real also shows in his free throw shooting percentages. Lewis jumped from shooting 57.7% from the line last season up to 67.1% this season, again on more attempts.

Standing at 6-foot-7, 235 pounds, he has the tools to be multi-positional as a combo forward with the ability to play both inside and outside. He is a skilled big guy who has a little bit of everything in his game and adding the three-ball this season has really taken him to another level.

Looking at where draft boards have him, NBADraftRoom.com has him going 50^th to the New Orleans Pelicans while Tankathon.com has him going 51^st to the Minnesota Timberwolves. With that, it seems that right now he is locked in around that mid-second round area.

Marquette is opening up the tournament against North Carolina where Lewis will be squaring off with Armando Bacot who was one of the best bigs in the ACC this season. Between this matchup and potential matchup against the defending champion Baylor Bears in the round of 32, Lewis will have a real chance to make headlines in the draft community if he can show out in the first two rounds.

Also, I have to mention that Lewis is a Baltimore, Maryland guy. So, with the Maryland Terps out of the tourney, Lewis, and his teammate former Terp Darryl Morsell are good players for locals to root for as they represent the Baltimore area in the tourney.