Two Under-the-Radar NBA Draft Prospects to Watch This Season

With the college basketball season two months away, let's take a look at two under the radar players to watch for this season.

Dec 5, 2023; Syracuse, New York, USA; Cornell Big Red guard Chris Manon (30) tries to move the ball past Syracuse Orange forward Chris Bell (4) in the first half at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images / Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

With the college basketball season nearing, scouts and fans alike are beginning to look toward the 2025 NBA Draft and research the next wave of NBA prospects. While players like Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, Nolan Traore, Ace Bailey, and VJ Edgecombe are all well-known names with high likelihoods of being drafted in the top ten, let's take a look at two under-the-radar players who could be drafted or receive two-way contracts prior to the 2025-26 NBA season.

Dasear Haskins | Redshirt Freshman | St. Joseph's

Haskins is a 6-foot-8, 200-pound athletic wing with NBA length and mobility who will be a redshirt freshman this upcoming season. He was the former sixth man on a talented Camden High School team, where he played alongside DJ Wagner, Aaron Bradshaw, and Billy Richmond. Haskins has a smooth, lefty, catch-and-shoot jumper (made exactly one 3-pointer per game) and converted 92% of his free throws (26 attempts) at Camden his senior season.

Additionally, Haskins has shown potential in putting the ball on the floor and attacking closeouts at times. Defensively, Haskins has real tools (mobility, lateral quickness, wingspan) to be an excellent on-ball defender and has shown flashes of activity off-ball as well. Overall, he averaged 0.8 blocks and 0.9 steals per game at Camden.

Most clear in their similar stature and height, Haskins shows flashes of Tari Eason in a multitude of ways -- including the way Eason drove, moved, and defended at LSU. The biggest difference is that Eason was listed at 200 pounds in high school while Haskins was listed at 185 pounds. Haskins is now listed at 200 pounds on the St Joe's roster, however, which is another positive sign for his pathway to production this upcoming season.

Read More: High School Scouting Report on Dasear Haskins

Read More: Interview with Dasear Haskins

Chris Manon | Graduate Senior | Vanderbilt

Dec 17, 2022; Syracuse, New York, USA; Cornell Big Red guard Chris Manon (30) drives to the basket past Syracuse Orange guard Judah Mintz (3) during the second half at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-Imagn Images / Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

Manon is a 6-foot-5, 215-pound guard who will be a graduate senior at Vanderbilt this season after transferring from Cornell. A prospect I've gotten to see many times in person, Manon has real explosiveness and verticality that becomes evident in transition. He's a high-motor player who was the engine of a Cornell men's basketball team that went 22-8 last season, losing to Yale in the Ivy Tournament and Ohio State in the NIT (by only five points).

Manon was very productive this past season at Cornell, where he averaged 12.5 points, three assists, 2.2 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game while recording a 7.9 Box Plus-Minus. For context, this was a greater Box Plus-Minus than other notable seniors this past season, such as Pelle Larsson, PJ Hall, Isaac Jones, and Grant Nelson as well as notable graduate seniors like Keshad Johnson, Antonio Reeves, and Kevin McCullar Jr. Manon is a legitimate point-of-attack defender, and has the size, lateral quickness, and hands to fulfill a similar defensive role at the next level (8.3 stock percentage).

Additionally, his verticality, physicality at the rim, and finishing through contact are evident both on film and statistically as he finished 67.7% of his rim attempts this past season (130 attempts). Lastly, Manon has shown legitimate passing flashes, recording a 25.4 assist percentage this past season and a 1.4 assist/turnover ratio.

Offensively, Manon projects as a player who will be effective in transition with potential as a secondary ball-handler. His playmaking and size, combined with his improving catch-and-shoot jumper (a key area for him this upcoming season), gives him an opportunity to fulfill the secondary ball-handler archetype or standout defender/stationary shooter archetype.

At the end of the regular season, Manon had converted 34.6% on C&S threes (52 attempts). Additionally, he shot 44.4% from three the last ten games of the season (27 attempts) and is a capable shooter off-the-dribble. However, he converted 73.4% of his attempts from the FT line over past two seasons (173 attempts) -- a percentage scouts likely want to see creep up to the 75-80% range. Lastly, Manon was unassisted on 62% of his made field goals this past season and has shown an ability to create rim pressure at times. This will be something to monitor in SEC play and an area of his game that could also help him fulfill that secondary ball-handler outcome.

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