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Cam Boozer is a man amongst boys, and honestly, he has been the easiest evaluation of the cycle for me thus far. He has had a super high usage rate and has been nothing but efficient with the basketball; Cam has one of the best assist (26.1 ast%) to usage rates (30.3%) in the class, with an insanely low turnover rate (8.0%), which he has a 3.1 assist to turnover ratio to show for it. He has been doubled, he has been tripled, he has fought in traffic for offensive rebounds, he\u2019s been hacked, you name it, and this man has still been a statistical outlier & one of the best players in college basketball \u2014 truly on track to have one of the most dominant individual seasons from a Duke basketball player ever. Cam\u2019s point-of-attack defense has been great; he has good foot speed, and he moves his hips well, which allows him to stay in front of players. He reads the opponent\u2019s offense really well and finds a way to constantly be around the basketball, where he breaks up plays or forces the opposing team to make a different read. All of these defensive buzzwords that I\u2019m using show up in the statistical categories as well; Cam has an 8.1% stock rate (4.7 blk% + 3.1 stl%), which is better than Caleb Wilson, who is another incredibly gifted wing defender in this class. I believe that Cam is a true multi-positional defender who can guard 1-4 and even some 5s depending on the matchup. With his 6\u20199 250lb frame with broad shoulders and tree trunk legs, I think he can guard opposing teams\u2019 centers on the block or when they face him up, but I do believe there would be some defensive lapses when it comes to guarding the pick-and-roll \u2014 Cameron is a player with super high basketball IQ, so I choose to believe that the PnR defense will be awful by any means, and it\u2019s not something that would be a reason for a team to take him any lower than wherever they have him.<\/p>\n
Many also speculate if Boozer is an offensive tweener, meaning he is a 4 on defense and a 5 on offense. I\u2019ll answer this for you right now: Cameron Boozer is a PF, and a dominant one at that. The speculation comes from his offensive playtypes (the way he plays).<\/p>\n
Cameron Boozer Playtypes – hoop-explorer.com<\/p>\n He has some big man tendencies on offense: He posts up, he crashes the glass for putbacks, he is used as a cutter, and he is used as a popping big at times. Many \u201ceye-test scouts\u201d will say he has a limited advantage creation, and I\u2019ve had my doubts too about him being an on-ball forward who attacks from the perimeter, takes people off the dribble, and does the cute little pull-up jumpers that are associated with dynamic scorers, but what if I told you that\u2019s not the only way to create your own shot? Cam has only been assisted on 39.1% of his shots at the rim \u2014 that means 60.9% of his shots are self-created. How? You can see it above, his most used playtype, putbacks (Reb & Scramble). Putbacks aren\u2019t the prettiest form of self-creation, but they are efficient self-creation. Basketball analysts have repeated time and time again that baskets at the rim and 3PT attempts are the most efficient shots in modern-day basketball, and that\u2019s Cam.<\/p>\n Being efficient at both posting up and putbacks is a great thing, but it gets even better when you realize he earns his way to the FT line at a high rate. One of the most prevalent things you will see when you look at the top players in the league. His usage to free-throw rate at his height is up there with Zion Williamson, Blake Griffin, Kevin Love, and others\u2026 AND CAM HAS BETTER TOUCH AND FEEL THAN ALL OF THEM. Cameron Boozer has been shooting it at a 38% clip from 3 his entire career, and that\u2019s following suit at Duke. This dude is a weapon inside and out; the in-between-game is a developing part of his game, and it has already been efficient, not that he needed it at all. Ladies and gentlemen, you\u2019re looking at an all-timer here, a player with a 14+ year career ahead of him, and someone who will impact basketball games at the highest level. I\u2019m trying not to get too excited about him, but this is really modern-day Charles Barkley \u2014 like for real, Barkley and Minnesota Timberwolves Kevin Love rolled into one. I think I\u2019ve said enough about Cam, but I believe he is ONE OF the greatest prospects we\u2019ve seen since LeBron James.<\/p>\n Getty Images<\/p>\n Talk about another sensational prospect, wow. Darryn is everything that you would want in a franchise guard. A dribble, pass, shoot guard who can defend multiple spots on the floor, run in transition, and is unguardable, frankly. DP has only played in 2 games so far in his year at Kansas, so this evaluation won\u2019t be as extensive and in-depth as Cameron Boozer\u2019s was (nor will anyone else\u2019s be that long), but in the 2 games he did play, he looked every bit of the best guard prospect in the 2026 draft class.<\/p>\n One of my newly found gimmicks that I have decided to use is if a guard prospect has touch around the basket (rim%) and the FT line (FT%), role-predicated feel for the game of basketball (ast:to & ast:usg\/shot volume), and lastly, a positive wingspan (wingspan to height differential). I have found that it\u2019s very common in successful guard prospects. The Thunder\u2019s youth in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cason Wallace, Jalen Williams, and Isaiah Joe all share these similarities. Donovan Mitchell, Tyrese Haliburton, Ja Morant, Cade Cunningham, Tyrese Maxey, James Harden, and it\u2019s even found in one of the best rookies in the 2025 class so far, Cedric Coward. Darryn also falls under the touch, feel, plus wingspan as well. Darryn is likely to be a guy who gets most of his assists because of usage rather than a traditional guard who is trying to set up an offense, and that\u2019s fairly common in scoring guards in today\u2019s game (ex. Anthony Edwards, early years Devin Booker, Donovan Mitchell, Jalen Brunson, etc.).<\/p>\n One of the gripes from stat nerds coming into the college season was that Darryn had a sub-30% 3pr (three-point rate) going into college, but Bill Self\u2019s (Kansas\u2019 coach) system is going to allow Darryn to take a lot more 3-point jumpers than he did pre-NCAA \u2014 Darryn has already been increasing his 3PR throughout the years in HS, too! I\u2019m not worried about Darryn\u2019s pull-up jumper game at all; he has had great FT touch his entire career. The game looks super easy for Darryn; he doesn\u2019t get sped up, he doesn\u2019t get slowed down, he plays at his pace, and the defenders are always on their heels. He has gone toe-to-toe with some of the top-ranked recruits in his class and has even hit game-winning shots on their team *cough cough* AJ Dybantsa & Utah Prep *cough cough*.<\/a> DP has the goods, and I\u2019m excited to see him play, hopefully, in the near future.<\/p>\n CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 18: Caleb Wilson #8 of the North Carolina Tar Heels brings the ball down the court during the second half against the Navy Midshipmen at Dean E. Smith Center on November 18, 2025 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen\/Getty Images) Getty Images<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve been following the draft, Caleb Wilson has made a LOT of noise early in the cycle. Caleb Wilson is a 6\u201910 forward with a listed 7-foot wingspan who has a knack for basketball. This kid makes stuff happen. He is always crashing the defensive glass, getting out in transition, passing the basketball, crashing the offensive glass, draws fouls, and oh my goodness, he is an absolute terror on defense. That\u2019s not even the fun part, either; he actually cares about his name being respected. Caleb Wilson sees the disrespect on social media, screenshots it, and sets it as his wallpaper. Not only that, he takes not getting the basketball in a McDonald\u2019s All-American game as disrespect, and called out Darryn Peterson. You see this stuff from time to time in the draft process, like Matas Buzelis calling out Zaccharie Risacher for a 1v1 during the 2024 draft cycle, and usually I don\u2019t take it too seriously because it isn\u2019t really production on the court, BUT HE TALKS THE TALK AND THEN WALKS THE WALK! He embodies production at such a high level; his rebounding is phenomenal (24.7 Dreb% & 9.9 Oreb%), his steal and block rates are super high (4.3 blk% & 3.4 stl%), he has a freaking 69.1% FT rate (he\u2019s getting to the stripe a ton) and he\u2019s shooting the FT% better than he ever has in his career on solid volume. Caleb has polished up his face-up game, he\u2019s dunking everything, and man, there\u2019s just so much improvement from him since HS.<\/p>\n Now, there are some concerns, he isn\u2019t shooting a lot of 3s, and his non-dunk rim% has not been efficient at all (31.6%, I believe). The touch around the basket makes me feel like the FT% improvement is fake, especially when you pair that with his lack of 3pt attempts. The only notable NBA players who have had a non-dunk rim% under 40% are Max Christie and Peyton Watson\u2026 that is not good company to be in if those are the only 2 NBA players worth noting. There are some better players when you push it to 50% as the threshold: Lu Dort, Jaden McDaniels, Zach LaVine, VJ Edgecombe, Avery Bradley, Bam Adebayo, Dereck Lively, and Jaren Jackson Jr. It\u2019s interesting because most of those players that made it were defensive oriented, but still, there\u2019s like 70+ other drafted college players since 2010 who failed. However, we are rocking with Caleb Wilson for now. One comparison someone brought to my attention the other day (shoutout @AJ3Jazz on X) was Kevin Garnett, and honestly, I see it. I laugh at it too because of how crazy it sounds out loud, and people were making that comparison for the Jazz\u2019 Taylor Hendricks who went 9th in 2023, but Caleb Wilson actually fits the mold of Kevin Garnett. KG wasn\u2019t a guy who had elite touch coming into the league either.<\/p>\n Caleb Wilson Playtypes – hoop-explorer.com<\/p>\n Caleb Wilson also plays like a big man. He gets a lot of post touches and he crashes the offensive glass. However, his perimeter game is even more lackluster than Boozer\u2019s was. I\u2019d say there is potential for a small ball 5 who can be an impactful basketball player at the same time. I mean, look at the names we have listed above already, Bam Adebayo, Jaren Jackson Jr, and freaking Kevin Garnett. There is nothing wrong with being a toolsy small ball 5 who can defend multiple positions, pass the ball, and score at the same time. I\u2019d say there is a lot of patience that needs to be done before we make a complete decision on Caleb Wilson for now. With all of this being said, I\u2019m riding with him for now, and we\u2019ll check back at a later date.<\/p>\n Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n When you talk about potential all-defense guys, Jayden Quaintance has to be in the mix. JQ was playing college basketball last year on a terrible Arizona State team before he transferred to Kentucky. 24 games into the season, Quaintance tore his ACL, and from what it sounds like, Jayden has healed up quicker than Kentucky was hoping, and we should be seeing a return here soon. On ASU, Quaintance showed us that he is very mobile at 6\u20199 (potentially 6\u201910) and can be everywhere on defense, and he makes that even easier with a crazy long wingspan of 7\u20195.<\/p>\n Not only does Jayden have elite anthro metrics, but Jayden Quaintance has also shown that he can put the ball on the ground and swing the rock. Now, last season JQ had a very questionable shot selection at times, but now that he has joined a team with more structure, better players, and a team that is trying to make a legitimate run at an NCAA title, it\u2019s likely that he will not be fooling around as much as he did on ASU when he was 17 years old.<\/p>\n Even with the offensive rough edges, the appeal with Quaintance is simple: big, young, tools, and real feel. He doesn\u2019t have to be a polished scorer to make an impact early \u2014 his defensive activity, ground coverage, and timing already translate. If he buys into a defined role offensively, finishes plays, keeps the ball moving, and cuts out the low-percentage stuff, he\u2019s the kind of modern frontcourt piece who can swing lineups. The path is straightforward: defend at a high level, stay disciplined, and let the physical tools carry the baseline value while the skill slowly catches up, like, he\u2019s going to be 18 on draft day even after already playing 2 years of college basketball, buy stock now.<\/p>\n Boston Globe via Getty Images<\/p>\n For me, AJ Dybantsa has been nothing but disappointing in his start of the season vs BYU. I\u2019ll make this quick as well. Though there are many things to love about AJ: He creates his own shot and get\u2019s down hill in a variety of ways, he does pass the ball, and he plays within BYU\u2019s system the way that he should \u2014 particularly running an action with Keba Keita where he receives a Gortat screen from him for an easy & open layup.<\/p>\n My qualms stem from his lack of defensive production. In high school, AJ did not have a high steal or block rate, in fact, it was rather low. AJ was blessed with all of the tools to be a monster on defense, but instead, he is a straight-up chud. He looks lost half of the time, he isn\u2019t blocking anything, and he isn\u2019t getting in any lanes. He kind of just stands around, awaiting the next offensive possession. That\u2019s not even the part that frustrates me. You mean to tell me you can\u2019t assert yourself on defense against unranked teams and low-major schools like Holy Cross or Delaware? He hasn\u2019t even been crashing the offensive glass as much either! Offensive rebounding is something I value a lot for guys who predominantly score in the paint, and especially if you\u2019re 6\u20199. This just screams \u201clow motor\u201d player to me. Another indicator of that is the foul rate because, typically, when players have a higher foul rate, it can mean\/show that a player is trying on defense, and AJ\u2019s foul rate is low. So, with all of those indicators, it turns me off from him quite a bit. The only reason I\u2019m not putting him lower is because a team is going to take him high, he\u2019s going to get a lot of usage for many years, and he\u2019s going to be a usage PRA (points, rebounds, assists) guy rather than a true impactful basketball player. I\u2019ve said it\u2019s more likely he brings Carmelo Anthony-level impact to a team than, let\u2019s say, a Rudy Gobert-level impact \u2014 fight me. I do think it\u2019s going to be hard for him to bring back crazy net negative value on defense, but I suspect it won\u2019t be super positive. He will have a mix of good moments, bad moments, eh moments, and fine moments, but what matters the most is which moment will we see the most frequently.<\/p>\n The lack of 3pt scoring frustrates me because he\u2019d rather shoot a contested fade-away mid-range jumper if he can\u2019t find his way to the basket. There\u2019s just a lot going on with AJ right now that has been frustrating a lot of people in the draft space, including me, obviously.<\/p>\n Really hoping AJ gets it going because 1) I live in Utah and want BYU to go all the way, and 2) I love the NBA and want my eyes to witness another fantastic NBA career. So please, AJ, get it together!<\/p>\n Getty Images<\/p>\n A forward on one of the best frontcourts in college basketball, Yaxel Lendeborg is off to a fantastic start in what hopes to be is best season yet. After dominating mid-major basketball for years, Yaxel has come up to play with the big boys, and by gosh, he is not disappointing. A forward with high IQ who can dribble, pass, shoot, and has amazing anthros (big frame, long wingspan). He is an impact player who crashes the glass, has amazing touch at the rim, and is not holding back from deep after having a lower three-point rate in previous years.<\/p>\n He may be old, but all you will get from drafting Yaxel will be gold. There is value in drafting older players, and Yaxel could be one of them ones who pop like the other ancient college players who made it into the league. (ex. Draymond, Jimmy Butler, Zach Edey, Jimmy Butler, Grant Hill, Tim Duncan, okay, maybe not that good, but Derrick White good).<\/p>\n Getty Images<\/p>\n Another \u201cold but gold\u201d prospect who I have grown to love is Bennett Stirtz. Stirtz is one of the best point-guards in college basketball and plays a very traditional guard style of basketball. Think Tyrese Haliburton. Stirtz is efficient at the rim, has elite feel for the game, draws a lot of contact, can shoot the peel, and is a neutral to solid defender.<\/p>\n He\u2019s someone who grabbed a lot of people\u2019s attention late in the year last year, and it only increased as he went on a tear in the NCAA tournament. He transferred to Iowa, following his coach and teammates from Drake, and wants to show people that he can perform in high-major basketball.<\/p>\n Getty Images<\/p>\n Koa is a player who I can\u2019t get a full grasp on yet, and I still need a larger sample size to form a better opinion, but he\u2019s been productive early. Another guy with a monster body, Koa is a fantastic defender; he moves well, he uses his length to disrupt defenses, he blocks shots, he doesn\u2019t foul more than he should, and he\u2019s been crashing the defensive glass.<\/p>\n On offense, he also nabs a lot of putbacks and has been great in the pick and roll, but that hasn\u2019t been his greatest skill. In my opinion, his greatest asset is his passing. Not a lot of guys at his size and length have the ability to find the open man or just make a simple dump off pass to the other big man down low, but Koa has excelled when operating as Arizona\u2019s hub.<\/p>\n The biggest questions I have are about his shooting touch. As it stands, he is shooting 65.9% from the stripe on fairly high volume this early in the season \u2014 his pre-NCAA FT% was 61.6% on the sample size I have. His far 2% has not been great so far either, at 33.3% FG on 30 attempts. It is something that scared me even before he played a game at Arizona, too; Koa Peat has a mediocre 2PT% (53.6%), in my eyes, for a guy who had a very low three-point rate (11.2 3pr). One thing that stood out to some draft evaluators is that Koa Peat created almost all of his shots in HS, excusing his low 3pt% and low 2pt%, and after his first few games into the year with Arizona, it looked like that was true. Now that the Koa game vs Florida hype has died down, and some bad shooting performances outside the paint have accrued, I\u2019m growing hesitant on Koa.<\/p>\n I do believe that he can find a role in the NBA quite easily because of his efficiency in the paint, passing, and defense, so I am holding on to that for now. I\u2019m thinking along the lines of an Aaron Gordon. However, Kawhi had these same problems at San Diego State, and he mid-range spammed his way into being a great shooter, so maybe Koa can too.<\/p>\n Getty Images<\/p>\n Leek is 6\u20194 – 6\u20195, and has the touch, feel, and plus wingspan that I have said I love before. Leek has been putting up a TON of 3s, and shots in general. He is shooting 66.7% at the rim, has a FT% of 83.3%, a 3pr of 54.4 and shooting it on an average clip of 34.5%. That\u2019s not even the wildest part. Currently, he is a passing outlier \u2014 27% usage rate with a 23.8%, AND ONLY A 6.9% TO% (he has an a:to of 3.9). History says that it\u2019s not sustainable for a player at his age to keep it up, and shoutout Cam Boozer for being in that conversation as well, but even then, Meleek is marginally better than them in that department.<\/p>\n Meleek is just an amazing prospect so far in my eyes. Even with the 3pt volume, he is still crashing the offensive glass, too, and he has a great stl% so far. I do wish he had a better FTR, but if you look at most of Calipari\u2019s (Arkansas\u2019 HC) guard prospects with 3pt volume, the FTR is almost always underwhelming due to the system & coaching. Meleek hasn\u2019t been a volume PnR guy in his career from what I\u2019ve seen, and the small sample of playtype data we have so far backs that up, but he can run it. He\u2019s played the 2\/3 wing spot for most of his career, and I think he could even be playing out of position because has the ball on the string, can beat people with his first step, pass out of double teams, and create some shots, I just wish there was more on ball actions and BH PnR stuff run where he is the primary playmaker instead of a scorer because he definitely has feel. Anyways, wingspan, touch, and feel, with some positive stl+foul rates. Meleek has the early indicators of being a great guard prospect, and hopefully, it continues as conference play gets rolling here soon.<\/p>\n Getty Images<\/p>\n Hannes Steinbach projects as a functional, connective frontcourt player whose best NBA outcome mirrors the long, steady career of Mason Plumlee (as a median outcome). Opinions on Steinbach vary, but the middle ground is the most realistic: a reliable, role-driven big with strong feel, efficient interior scoring, and the ability to elevate lineups through decision-making rather than athletic pop.<\/p>\n Steinbach, like Plumlee, fits the mold of a rhythm-based athlete. He isn\u2019t an explosive leaper from a standstill, but he compensates with timing, coordination, and excellent hands. His rebounding approach reflects this \u2014 he frequently tips the ball to himself, uses his frame to seal defenders, and wins on positioning rather than burst. Compared at the same developmental stage, Steinbach is already the better offensive rebounder, generating extra possessions through body control and anticipation.<\/p>\n One of his most intriguing traits is his ability to handle the ball. Whether pushing in transition, flowing into dribble attacks out of the roll, or operating from the perimeter, Steinbach plays with composure and keeps actions alive. He makes quick, correct reads, showing real potential as a short-roll facilitator and connective passer in modern NBA spacing.<\/p>\n His measurements support an NBA-ready frame. Steinbach\u2019s most recent numbers \u2014 6\u20199.5\u201d without shoes, 229 lbs, and a 7\u20191\u201d wingspan \u2014 are in the same ballpark as Plumlee\u2019s combine marks (6\u201911\u201d, 238 lbs, 6\u201911\u201d wingspan at age 23). The physical comparison isn\u2019t exact, but stylistically it\u2019s strong: both rely on functional strength, coordination, and timing rather than elite vertical tools.<\/p>\n This comp may feel modest to those looking for a flashier projection, but it reflects a high-probability, high-value outcome. Plumlee carved out a 10+ year career as a starter, backup, and dependable rotation piece thanks to his rim efficiency, screening, connective passing, and defensive competence. If Steinbach lands in that developmental lane, he becomes a winning player who fits across multiple lineups and schemes.<\/p>\n Overall, Steinbach profiles as a smart, disciplined, physical big who brings stability, extra possessions, and decision-making to the frontcourt. The archetype isn\u2019t glamorous, but it\u2019s durable \u2014 and for teams prioritizing functionality and feel, Steinbach represents a strong and realistic long-term investment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We are only 1 month into college basketball and have about 4 months left. There is a lot…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":320290,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,80139,590,85],"class_list":["post-320289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-jazz-draft","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=320289"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320289\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/320290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=320289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=320289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=320289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n