The second week of NCAA tournament games tips off Thursday night, and despite some unexpected early exits from highly ranked teams, top draft prospects remain well represented in the Sweet 16. NBA-minded observers were hoping to see big names—including Jabari Smith, Keegan Murray and Johnny Davis—play deep into the tournament, but hey, we don’t always get what we want. And there’s still plenty of appointment viewing on tap over the next four days at minimum, with three widely projected top-five picks (Chet Holmgren, Paolo Banchero and Jaden Ivey) and a handful of other projected first-rounders still hanging around.
Here are the biggest remaining prospect story lines for NBA fans to follow in the coming days, some of which may have real bearing on how the top of the 2022 draft shakes out.
How far can Jaden Ivey take Purdue?
Ivey turned in one of the most impressive performances I’ve seen in person all season, and perhaps the most complete game of his college career, in Purdue’s second-round win over Texas. He was patient, picked his spots, drew defenders and made plays for teammates. He hit a pair of huge shots to help close the game, too. The highlight reel just from that game sufficiently illustrates his upside, including a vicious dunk in traffic, a full-sprint chase-down block and a few eye-popping passes that led to open shots. Ivey has been visibly more bought-in on defense, as well, communicating with teammates and playing more focused away from the ball, where his athleticism and length should theoretically be a major plus.
If Ivey continues to play with that level of focus and Purdue keeps rolling—which is certainly possible given their relatively easy route to the Final Four (the Boilermakers draw Saint Peter’s and, if they advance, would face the winner of UCLA–North Carolina)—the likelihood he cracks the draft’s top three will keep increasing. While his general status as a likely top-five pick has been more or less solid for a couple of months, there were salient questions from NBA teams coming into this tournament, which centered less on his talent and more on his inconsistent effort and engagement level over the course of the season. For those skeptical on that front, it’s certainly been helpful to see Ivey is capable of tapping into a heightened competitive gear.
Ivey likely projects better as a dynamic combo guard and not a true point in the NBA, but to some extent those are semantics in a league where so many teams deploy multiple ballhandlers. It was already hard to see him lasting long on draft night, and if he continues this level of play, he becomes a more viable name in the discussion at No. 1. As things stand, Jabari Smith remains the best bet to go first, but the fact he struggled as Auburn bowed out early gives the other contenders a chance to leave lasting impressions in the tourney.