2024 NBA Draft: Stock WatchBy: Drew Wolin

Stock Up

6–6 | 215 | Shooting Guard | Tennessee | Senior

Knecht (pictured) has been just unbelievable — one of the best players in college basketball — these past few weeks. Where to begin? There was 39 points in a big win against Florida on Jan 16. And there was 36 points just a few days prior in a win over Georgia. In his past four games, he has a total of 128 points and just four turnovers. Knecht is always in attack mode on offense. But has a nice all-around game as well.

As one of the older players in this draft, he may be in a position to slot in and help a team immediately, a la a Jaime Jaquez. He currently projects as a mid 2024 lottery pick.

6–8 | 190 | Small Forward | Colorado | Freshman

Williams was placed as the top projected pick on our mock on December 6th. A month and a half later, he seems to be gaining more traction around the league. At the time a league wide poll was placed by one of the “bigger draft outlets” and none of the scouts polled mentioned Cody at one. Expect that to change. The younger brother of NBA rising star Jalen Williams missed the entire month of December due to a wrist injury. He’s been back in action since January 10 and quickly reminded us of what we were missing.

Williams is the highest rated and likely to become the best player (Chauncey Billups being the other) to pass through Colorado’s program, Williams is a smooth, do-it-all guy who can handle lead guard responsibilities as well as serve as a major threat as a shooter. He’s knocking down an incredible 50% from three this season on decent volume (2 attempts per game). Williams gets criticized by some for a lack of outwardly-aggressive demeanor on the court, with assertiveness and vocal leadership being something he’s working on. Regardless, his combination of great size, length (7-foot-3 wingspan), mobility, IQ, and shooting / make him our favorite to go number 1 in 2024!

6–9 | 200 | Shooting Guard | Kansas | Freshman

Furphy started this season receiving inconsistent play time. Kansas head coach Bill Self loves to ride the guys he trusts (eg. Kansas senior Kevin McCullar Jr. has a number of games this season playing 39–40 minutes), leaving little time for those who are not his top guys. It appears that as of last week, Furphy earned the coach’s good graces. Furphy played 30+ minutes in three straight games. And he’s produced, helping Kansas and showing NBA scouts his excellent all around game.

The athletic Australian can really do it all. This recent stretch was highlighted by an incredible 23 point (shooting 3–4 from three, 7–8 overall) and 11 rebound 36 minute outing in a tight win against Cincinnati. Furphy has boosted his draft stock all the way to being a possible 2024 first rounder.

7–2 | 235 | Power Forward/Center | Kentucky | Freshman

The big Croatian had previously been projected to be chosen at the very end of the 2025 draft. But he’s playing his way up draft boards. He has only played one game for Kentucky — a win over Georgia. He filled up the stat sheet with 13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals, 2 assists, and hit 3/4 from three point range! The Bulldogs are not ranked. But they’re no slouch of an opponent either. Ivisic reportedly first had issues with Kentucky’s own school admission process. And once that cleared, the next battle to win was regarding his NCAA eligibility. Those appear to both be solved and firmly behind him. And Kentucky gets a big (no pun intended) boost.

For someone his size, he moves very fluidly. And his vertical instincts and control is at a high enough level to be a problem on the defensive end. His shot form is a bit interesting, as we need to see some consistency as the season goes on. If he continues to produce like he did in his 1-game sample so far, expect him to be a serious candidate for the 2024 draft.

6–6 | 225 | Shooting Guard | Illinois | Senior

Terrence Shannon had been listed as Falling in a previous Stock Watch — and dropped 17 spots in our most recent mock (14 to 31). Something that was noted in his recent injunction. Despite strong on court play, there was an off-court issue that caused him to miss games recently — a rape allegation.

The University of Illinois had initially instituted a suspension for Shannon. But a Federal judge recently overturned it, clearing the path for Shannon to return to his status as a student-athlete.

It would be understandable for such an accusation and legal battle to take its toll on a young player, if not just distraction from being removed from the routine and day to day activities with the team. He’s been okay, but not great, in the two games since his return, where he’s been faced with “guilty” chants in opposing arenas from opposing fans.

Of course any allegation of this magnitude will be taken seriously. But in the absence of any suspension and guilty verdict, Shannon remains a very strong prospect for the first round of the 2024 draft.

Shannon built a reputation for being a high character guy before the allegations. Regarding the hearing for the allegations against Shannon: They were initially scheduled for February. But have now been pushed back to May 10 (after the season, but before the draft), so teams should have more clarity about the case before making a long term decision on him. Nevertheless, him being able to finish the season and solidify his draft stock has him as a Stock Up.

6–5 | 195 | Shooting Guard | UConn | Senior

At almost 23 years old, Newton is on the older side for this draft. But we all ought be careful not to discount a guy too far just because he’s past the two-decade mark. Newton started his career at East Carolina, where he was a dominant player. He transferred last season to UCONN as a senior, and made an immediate impact. This season, he plays for UCONN as a fifth-year player. UCONN is currently riding a 7-game win streak and Newton has arguably been the team’s best player. Newton is more of an all-around (scoring, rebounding, play-making) guard. But don’t sleep on his playmaking ability specifically— he averages an impressive 6 assists per game.

It’s worth noting that Newton’s percentages have fallen off a cliff compared to last season. He’s shooting just 30% from deep so far this season compared to 36% last year. Something to keep an eye on — though he’s managed to be very effective regardless.

Note that this is the same player who had double-double (19 points, 10 rebounds) in the 2023 NCAA National Championship game vs. San Diego State. As a fun fact, Newton is the cousin of Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones, and former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Alvin Jones.

Stock Down

6–6 | 190 | Point Guard/Shooting Guard | Pittsburgh | Freshman

Carlton “Bub” Carrington went from a 4-star high school recruit skyrocketed up to a top-5 projected pick in the 2024 NBA draft. He’s had an incredible season, which is why he remains in the top-10 of the 2024 draft first round. That said, he’s had a rough past couple of weeks, including an absolutely brutal 0–10, zero point performance in a loss to unranked Syracuse.

Yeesh. Read that again.

The game before that, Carrington had 10 points on 4–16 shooting in a blowout loss to Duke. Things got a little better when Pitt beat Duke on Jan 20. But Carrington still did not have the level of performance that had scouts so intrigued by him as a prospect. Any number of things could explain his recent drop off in performance. But most likely is just some combination of being a little banged up as the season goes on, and that he’s a freshman with a big role at a tough position (lead guard). There are no specific major injuries reported. We believe the talent is there, but his 2024 draft chances could be fleeting, we’d love to see Carrington turn things around and solidify his spot near the top of the 2024 draft board.

As a fun fact, Carrington has basketball in his blood. He’s the second cousin of former UCONN legend Rudy Gay.

6–5 | 185 | Shooting Guard | Wake Forest | Junior

After an incredible start to the 2023–24 season, the junior transfer from Gonzaga cooled off a touch in December. His percentages dropped across the board: He shot 44% from three in 5 games in November, but just 24% in 7 games in December. And his free throw shooting dropped 67% in December, down from 87% in November. He seems to be mostly back on track and has been strong in January with similar production to his November output. We still really like Sallis as a prospect. But that said, this rollercoaster was a reminder that Sallis, who played sparingly last season for Gonzaga, may need a bit more patience and time to develop. We’re evaluating him with high expectations: He’s currently projected as a late-lottery pick in 2024.