NCAA Basketball: Top 50 players from 2023 NBA Draft most likely to succeed

We’re entering the last few days before the 2023 NBA Draft, marking the last time we can talk about some of the stars of the past NCAA Basketball season. There are several All-American players, Conference Player of the Year winners, and even a former National POY in the draft.

The headliners in this draft features players who didn’t play in NCAA Basketball, such as Victor Wembanyam, Scott Henderson, and the Thompson twins, Amen and Ausar. But there are still plenty of guys from the college ranks that have bright futures ahead of them.

Here’s my version of a “Big Board”, ranking the top 50 players in terms of most likely to succeed at the NBA level.

50. Kendric Davis – Memphis Tigers

2022-23 season stats: 21.9 ppg and 5.4 apg

Being a 5’11 guard that doesn’t play a ton of defense is going to limit the ceiling for Davis at the next level. However, his elite scoring ability still gives him a chance to stick around on a roster. The former AAC Player of the Year had a number of big scoring performances, including a career-high 42 points in double-overtime against UCF. He’s not likely to get his name called but look for Davis to get a Summer League invite.

49. Sir’Jabari Rice – Texas Longhorns

2022-23 season stats: 13.0 ppg and 3.5 rpg

Not only was Rice the Big 12 6th Man of the Year in his lone year at Texas, but he was the best guard on the roster in the latter half of the season. That included six games of at least 20 points, with one being 23 against Colgate in the NCAA Tournament. He was good in his first few seasons at New Mexico State but his stint with the Longhorns gave him a real path to the NBA.