The top two players selected in last year’s NBA draft and four of the top five picks in 2023 had never played in an NCAA Tournament before beginning their pro careers.
That trend figures to end this year with Duke forward Cooper Flagg.
Flagg sprained his ankle in Duke’s opening game at the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament and didn’t play the rest of the week. Duke has indicated Flagg will be available for March Madness. As the No. 1 seed in the East Region, Duke (31-3) plays its first tournament game Friday.
If Flagg is healthy enough to play, basketball fans will be able to watch the likely No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft at this year’s NCAA Tournament. That’s something they weren’t able to experience the last couple of years.
The first two picks in last year’s draft were Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr, international prospects who didn’t play college basketball. The only college player taken among the first five selections in the 2023 draft headed by San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama was Alabama’s Brandon Miller, who went second overall to the Charlotte Hornets.
The last No. 1 pick with NCAA Tournament experience was Paolo Banchero, who led Duke to the 2022 Final Four before the Orlando Magic selected him first overall.
Flagg already was considered the likely No. 1 pick even before the 6-foot-9 swingman backed up the acclaim accompanying his arrival on campus by emerging as a national player of the year front-runner his freshman season. Flagg is averaging 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks.
While Flagg is one of the headline attractions in this year’s tournament, two other likely top-five picks won’t be participating in March Madness despite playing college basketball this season. Rutgers went just 15-17 this season despite having Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper, who could end up being the next two picks in the draft behind Flagg.
Even so, this year’s tournament field features plenty of NBA prospects , including Baylor guard V.J. Edgecombe, the Big 12 freshman of the year by the league’s coaches. He averages 15 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists for the Bears (19-14).
Another freshman, 6-8 Lithuanian Kasparas Jakucionis scored at least 20 points in six straight games for Illinois (21-12) earlier this season.
And Maryland’s own Derik Queen enters the NCAA Tournament with eight double-doubles in his last 10 games. He’s coming off a 31-point performance in a Big Ten Tournament semifinal loss to Michigan. The 6-10 freshman, a Baltimore native, is a traditional post player who doesn’t have a 3-point shot at this point — he’s just 2 of 24 from beyond the arc this season — but he’s done great work around the basket. Queen is averaging 16.3 points and 9 rebounds for the Terrapins (25-8).
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