March Madness field in Pittsburgh chock full of prospective NBA talent
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If and when South Carolina forward Collin Murray-Boyles hears his name called in the NBA Draft, the wacky start to his collegiate career will offer analysts plenty of talking points.
The true freshman forward joined the Gamecocks last summer as a blue-chip recruit aiming to make a quick impact but instead contracted mononucleosis ahead of the regular season, causing him to lose more than 20 pounds and miss South Carolina’s first six games.
For the 6-foot-8 Murray-Boyles, that adversity appears to be firmly a thing of the past.
Since the start of February, after averaging 6.5 points over his first 15 appearances, Murray-Boyles is putting up 15.7 nightly, helping to lead the No. 5 seed Gamecocks (26-7) to the NCAA Tournament amid a 15-game win improvement from last season.
Murray-Boyles recently indicated he would be returning to South Carolina for his sophomore campaign in 2024-25.
To South Carolina coach Lamont Paris, Murray-Boyles’ potential is immense.
“There’s growth, and then there’s the word you would use — metamorphosis, possibly,” Paris said. “Sometimes you go into a cocoon, you look like a worm or caterpillar and you come out and you look like a butterfly or a moth. That to me is metamorphosis, which is another whole level of growth. That’s what Colin has done.
“His ceiling is so incredibly high. It’s really hard to put it into perspective because he’s still not there, as crazy as that is. He’s nowhere near the player that he’s going to be. But he’s grown a whole lot throughout this whole season.”
Murray-Boyles, whose Gamecocks face No. 11 Oregon on Thursday afternoon at PPG Paints Arena in the Round of 64, is one of many prospective NBA-caliber players coming through Pittsburgh this week, as the city serves as a March Madness regional host for the seventh time.
If he does return to school, his professional future won’t be determined at the end of June, when the 2024 NBA Draft is to be held in Brooklyn, N.Y.
The same probably could not be said of Creighton seniors Ryan Kalkbrenner and Baylor Scheierman, both of whom are back in the Big Dance after leading the No. 3-seeded Bluejays (23-9) to their first Elite 8 since 1941 last year.
The 7-foot-1 Kalkbrenner ranks sixth nationally in field goal percentage (64.9%) and second in blocks (97) while averaging 17.1 points.
Not to mention, he has won three consecutive Big East Defensive Player of the Year awards.
Scheierman, a South Dakota State transfer in his second season with the Bluejays, has done just about everything this year, leading the team in points (18.4) and rebounds (9.0).
Both players, as well as junior Trey Alexander, have received consistent speculation as draft picks this year, most of which projects them as second-round selections.
Alexander, Kalkbrenner and Scheierman tested the waters of the draft to varying degrees last year, with the three all making the same decision to return for another year of college hoops and continue refining their game.
“(They) took the information that they got from the NBA on things that they needed to improve on, and then they went to work at it,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. “A lot of guys will say they’re going to do it and just kind of go through the motions. These three guys have taken it to heart. They’ve really improved.”
Unsurprisingly, the majority of NBA prospects in the field of teams competing in Pittsburgh this week are on Kentucky’s roster.
ESPN ranked the Top 50 NBA Draft prospects in the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky dominates the list with SEVEN players.
READ: https://t.co/XywRmOqVwU pic.twitter.com/gj9YhDo47r
— KSR (@KSRonX) March 20, 2024
John Calipari and the No. 3 Wildcats (23-9) face 14th-seeded Oakland Thursday and, with a win, would be in line to play the winner of No. 6 Texas Tech and No. 11 N.C. State on Saturday.
Effectively illustrating the elite talent Kentucky has is the extent to which senior guard Antonio Reeves has been overshadowed by teammates this season.
Under normal circumstances, most would have a hard time stealing the spotlight from a player contributing as Reeves does, a first-team All-SEC honoree who leads Kentucky with 20.0 points per game.
And yet, freshmen Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham, both considered prospective lottery picks this summer, have done just that.
Sheppard recently took home SEC Freshman of the Year honors behind a 12.8-point campaign, and Dillingham (15.4 points) was named league Sixth Man of the Year.
For his part, Reeves has appeared little bothered by ceding the spotlight.
“He’s humble — he’s a humble beast,” Wildcats senior Tre Mitchell said of Reeves. “He’s not a guy that’s going to come out here and brag or seek attention. … Because we have had some young guys with really big names, some people are focused on that. But at the end of the day, when you look at it, (Reeves) gives us production night in and night out.”
As far as Reeves’ future NBA prospects are concerned, he’s been projected in the second round.
Another addition to Kentucky’s current long list of NBA hopefuls is freshman Justin Edwards.
A top national high school recruit like Sheppard and Dillingham, Edwards has started 29 of Kentucky’s 31 games this year, averaging 8.7 points and 3.5 rebounds.
Zvonimir Ivisic, Ugonna Onyenso and D.J. Wagner also have been discussed as draft picks, with Onyenso and Wagner receiving first-round consideration.
Of course, Calipari is no stranger to his teams being flush with NBA-level talent.
With this year’s team, he’s been pleased that no one’s star power or future prospects have led to a loss of focus regarding the task at hand: advancing out of the NCAA Tournament’s opening weekend for the first time since 2019, a quest that starts Thursday against Greg Kampe and the Golden Grizzlies.
“Can I do some humble brag up here?” Calipari said at the podium during Thursday afternoon’s press availability. “Seventy percent of the players who accept a scholarship with us get drafted. Of that, 73% get to second contracts. … You come to Kentucky to prepare yourself for the rest of your life.
“And you learn to be a great teammate. You’ve got to share. You’re not going to be told you’re going to start, how many minutes, how many starts. That’s why there are kids that will never come here.”