\u201cMullins Miracle,\u201d<\/a> a 37-footer with 0.4 seconds left in the Elite Eight that completed the Huskies\u2019 19-point comeback against Duke. He fits a clear NBA archetype as a high-IQ movement shooter, and there\u2019s no question he\u2019d go in the first round.<\/p>\nMullins\u2019 injury-riddled start to his freshman season, however, meant his overall percentages weren\u2019t quite as sterling as you might expect for a slam-dunk lottery-pick shooter. He could also build out his skinnier frame to help him be more effective on defense and finishing through contact. If he returns, he\u2019d be one of the featured weapons on a preseason top-five team \u2026 and have a chance to get back to the Final Four.<\/p>\n
Patrick Ngongba II, C, Duke<\/p>\n
2025-26 stats: 10.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1.1 blocks per game<\/p>\n
The Athletic mock draft selection: 20<\/p>\n
Ngongba\u2019s situation is a bit different from the others on this list because of the injury component. The 6-foot-11 big man suffered a stress fracture in his right foot late in the season, causing him to miss five games and play limited minutes once he returned in the NCAA Tournament.<\/p>\n
Ngongba, unfortunately, has a history of injuries, too, missing most of his senior year of high school with a right foot injury and sustaining a left foot injury during the 2025 summer. There\u2019s still a month until the NBA Draft Combine, but if Ngongba isn\u2019t able to work out there \u2014 or be fully himself \u2014 it could very well influence his draft decision.<\/p>\n
When healthy, though, Ngongba was one of the breakout sophomores in the sport this season, anchoring Duke\u2019s top-five defense and serving as a high-post offensive initiator. Opponents scored 8.4 fewer points per 100 possessions when Ngongba was on the floor, per CBB Analytics, in large part because of his growth as a shot blocker. But Ngongba is arguably more intriguing on the offensive end, where Duke used him as a high-post passer to unlock its five-out offense. If he returns, he\u2019d give Jon Scheyer a go-to interior scorer for next season \u2026 and if he doesn\u2019t, it would force the Blue Devils to go hard after a top transfer, like Kansas\u2019 Flory Bidunga.<\/p>\n
Tyler Tanner, PG, Vanderbilt<\/p>\n
2025-26 stats: 19.5 points, 5.1 assists, 3.6 rebounds, 2.4 steals per game, 36.8 3-point percentage<\/p>\n
The Athletic mock draft selection: 29<\/p>\n
Tanner, a former zero-star recruit, has evolved into one of the most electric two-way guards in college basketball, as capable of dominating games with his passing and scoring as with his handsy, pickpocket defense. With injuries to fellow backcourtmates Duke Miles and Frankie Collins, Tanner often had to carry the load for Vanderbilt this season, and did so admirably. He was the engine of the Commodores\u2019 top-10 offense, and one of only four high-major players to average at least 19 points and five assists per game for the season.<\/p>\n
Defensively, Tanner\u2019s timing is excellent, as he finished top-35 nationally in steal percentage, per KenPom. However, Tanner\u2019s physical size at just 6-feet and 170 pounds makes him small by NBA standards, which complicates the evaluation. He\u2019d be a surefire first-rounder if he were 3 or 4 inches taller \u2014 but it may be best to return to school, where he\u2019d be a likely preseason All-American.<\/p>\n
Henri Veesaar, C, North Carolina<\/p>\n
2025-26 stats: 17 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.2 blocks per game, 42.6 3-point percentage<\/p>\n
The Athletic mock draft selection: 32<\/p>\n
Like Mara and Ngongba, Veesaar is another shot blocker with serious passing chops \u2014 but the 7-foot Estonian is also a legitimate 3-point shooter, hitting over 40 percent from deep on three attempts per game. As a trailer in transition or pick-and-pop threat, it\u2019s easy to see that aspect of Veesaar\u2019s game translating to the next level, more so than any other big listed here.<\/p>\n
But Veesaar is also a proficient interior scorer, making 67.7 percent of his 2s and ranking top-25 nationally in effective field goal percentage, per KenPom. He\u2019s fairly well-rounded across the board, too, scoring off cuts, offensive rebounds and as a roll man. Now the question is, does he risk sneaking into the back end of the first round \u2014 or return as the centerpiece of new coach Michael Malone\u2019s first UNC team? North Carolina will certainly make it worth his while to stay, as centers are expected to be the most sought-after position group on the market.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dan Hurley put it best. \u201cUnless it absolutely makes total sense for you to go in the draft…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":581475,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[68036,8922,2663,1777,355,7027,99,17358],"class_list":{"0":"post-581474","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-arizona-wildcats","9":"tag-connecticut-huskies","10":"tag-mens-college-basketball","11":"tag-michigan-wolverines","12":"tag-nba","13":"tag-north-carolina-tar-heels","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-vanderbilt-commodores"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=581474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581474\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/581475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=581474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=581474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=581474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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