Draft Digest Roundtable: College Freshman Impressing Early

Which college freshman do the Draft Digest team think have been most impressive to this point in the season?

This freshman class is one of the better groups we've seen in college basketball over the past few years. It features elite prospects at every position that could make a huge impact at the next level.

With the amount of talent at the college level as well as non-college prospects, it's going to be a competitive battle to improve draft positioning between now and this summer. These freshman will need to jump off the page to get first round consideration.

This week, the Draft Digest team gives their thoughts on which which college freshman have been most impressive two weeks into the season.

Derek Parker

For my money it’s Alabama’s Brandon Miller. Despite being one of the older players in the 2023 Draft cycle, I still wasn’t expecting Miller to get off to the offensive start he has.

Averaging 17.7 points per game while shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc on a whopping 6.7 attempts per game, Miller has looked every bit the part of a lottery pick so far. He’ll continue to improve in that area, and at 6-foot-9 the sky is the limit on the defensive end as well.

Nick Crain

Jarace Walker could truly be the player that gets Houston over the hump this season en route to a championship. Through four games, he's averaged 13.0 points and 7.3 rebounds while shooting 30% from beyond the arc.

A two-way talent, he's also been impressive on the defensive end. He's a strong freshman that has a frame that's ready for the NBA. In my eyes, he's only improved his draft stock to this point.

Especially if the 3-point shot improves, he's going to be one of the best freshman in the country.

Bryce Simon

Hard to say that anyone has been more impressive than the 6-foot-4 Baylor Guard, Keyonte George. His ability to score the basketball was widely talked about coming into the season and he has impressed averaging 16 points per game including a 23 point performance against Norfolk State. The stand out aspect of his game so far has been his all around game. On top of the scoring he is also averaging six rebounds and just under seven assists per game. 

Oh, and I’m almost two steals. According to Cerebro he is above a score of 85 (elite) in 3-point efficiency, floor general skills and defensive stat impact. It’s been incredible start for the former IMG guard.

Brandon Miller, Alabama, also at least deserves a mention. His rise started in before the season as reports were coming out about how good he looked this summer and fall and it has carried over into the season. The 6-foot-9 Miller is averaging just under 18 points and 10 rebounds per game. This has firmly put him in the top 10 on most 2023 NBA Draft big boards.

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