Welcome to the Draft Sleepers, another banger series from your favorite creator's favorite creator, kicking out the 2023 offseason posts. In this lovely series of quick posts we'll briefly discuss some decent prospects outside the consensus top 25 range that have been a little overlook considering their stock. The first edition will have Julian Phillips, Emoni Bates, Nikola Djurisic and Charles Bediako. How many posts in this we'll have? Well let's wait and see.
Julian Phillips
Julian Phillips is likely a really good long term defensive prospect in the class. He's exceedingly reliable about making simple rotations, has S tier physical tools at 6'7" and a 7' wingspan next to excellent leaping ability and lateral quickness that allow him to guard 1-5 at the college level (and the inevitably condensed version of that at the next level that runs like 1.5-5's but not Embiid), and occasionally does some more complex problem solving. Offensively, well, let's just say you're hoping it was Tennessee's fault. Which isn't to say there were no positives - he was able to draw a lot of fouls using his athleticism, and while his direct numbers at the rim are a little weak for an athlete of his caliber (55.7%), that's heavily impacted by Tennessee's absolutely terrible spacing and the previously noted foul drawing. He's also surprisingly good, for a limited shooter, at spacing around the perimeter. He repositions around the 3 point arc as well as anyone in this class. His ballhandling process is a little weak, but not totally terrible, so there might be something there. The big thing, though, as with any defensive role player, is the shot, which, flatly, didn't go in. He only made 24.4% of 45 attempts on the season. So not only did he not make 3's, he barely took them. Since the combine, I think most indication are that Phillips will go 25~35 instead of his prior late second stock - which was incredibly dumb. Still, in a weak forward class his defensive talents could validate him as a player worthy of a late 10 pick.
Emoni Bates
Bates is 6'9" and a high caliber shooter. His HS hype damaged him more than did good, he didn't show what was expect after reclassyifing and spending last season at Memphis, and this season his choice to go to a small school at home let him demonstrate all his upside but didn't help him improve his overrall game. He needs significant growth defensively and as a passer, but has shown signs of improving those when placed in non-garbage environments. It's also worth noting that for as much as his off the court stuff has been panned, he is an incredibly hard worker. He is going to be one of the better upside bets available in a second round devoid of talent.
Nikola Djurisic
An intriguing prospect from Mega. Again, a case of underrated projection, he's closer to being the second best international prospect in the class than to being a player only worth of a mid to late second. He's a really skilled big guard as a passer and handler, and while the 3 point percentages are low, that's more about degree of difficulty than ability. Similarly to Bates, his archetype and offensive upside put him as one of the best high ceilling bets after the top 25.
Charles Bediako
Bediako is a guy that got severely underrated by even his own coach. He's a fairly high level drop defense defender with good tools. He's mostly a rim running dunker on offense, but has shown some flashes of being, at minimum, an above average passer, primarily out of the short roll. He's closer to being a top 40 prospect and the second better prospect in Alabama (over Clowney), than being an undrafted player. Most of the reason why Brandon Miller and Clowney are viewed as positive defenders is a result of Charles' impact protecting the basket.
Please share your thoughts.