With Colorado and Virginia making the play-in, it turned out to be a good March Madness for NBA draft prospects and fans. March Madness provides NBA hopefuls with the opportunity to perform on the biggest stage in college basketball. Often times with good performances in the tournament, players can receive the ‘March Madness bump’ for their draft stock.
While most high-profile college prospects will appear in the big dance, there are certainly players that draft fans will mourn. For this list’s purposes, we won’t include international and G-league players as it’s a given they will not be participating.
Let’s take a look at the best prospects who won’t be going dancing this March.
2024 NBA Draft Prospects Who Missed March Madness
1) Isaiah Collier: USC
While some people may have soured on him it’s not quite time to bail on Isaiah Collier as a top prospect. After a rough USC season, Collier is the highest draft prospect to miss out on March Madness. He currently projects as a solid lottery talent. Collier is a big and physical point guard listed at six-foot-five and 210 pounds. He uses size as well as solid athleticism when finishing at the rim, and he can be a floor general on offense. At the combine, Collier will want to show better perimeter shooting and good athleticism to stabilize his draft stock. A big run in March Madness certainly wouldn’t have hurt his chances of being in top-10 conversations again though.
2) Devin Carter: Providence
Devin Carter is a fast-rising NBA draft prospect who felt the sting of Providence’s ‘snub’ from March Madness. Carter will hope to be a taller version of Pelican’s fiery defensive point guard Jose Alvarado. While he may not be the fastest or most athletic, he makes up for it with physicality and energy. Carter stands at six-foot-three and tries to keep constant pressure as an on-ball defender. He’s also adept as a team defender and chasing through screens for steals. He’s been seen as streaky on offense up to this point, but he’s had big scoring outings that have given teams confidence. Playing in March Madness would have allowed Carter to display even more big games and fight for legit lottery consideration.
3) Kel’el Ware: Indiana
Kel’el Ware is a sophomore transfer playing at Indiana this season. Standing at seven-foot-one and containing elite athleticism for his size, Ware shines on the defensive end blocking shots as well as a lob-dunk finisher. He will hope to fill the Dereck Lively role in this NBA draft class. He’s probably being asked for too much outside of that role at Indiana, but it’s given him the opportunity to show his upside. Ware shot 42.5 percent from three this year although on only 1.3 attempts per game. Scout’s main concerns have been answering questions about his motor and aggressiveness during the season. With Indiana missing the tournament, Ware will have to rely on the pre-draft process to answer questions about his game. Regardless, Ware will hope to be a steal at the center position for this NBA draft class.
4) Kyshawn George: Miami
Kyshawn George has been a late riser to NBA draft boards mostly due to upside and a coveted archetype. George is a six-foot-eight jumbo guard who’s shown playmaking upside combined with great shooting ability. He shot the ball at 40.2 percent from three on just over four attempts per game. Someone with playmaking and shooting ability at six-foot-eight always makes scouts excited. George came onto draft boards late however as he had to find his place on a talented Miami team. His role and playing time fluctuated throughout the season, but he began to find his rhythm in conference play. This is why Miami not having played well enough to make March Madness hurts NBA draft prospect monitors. George will now feel out his value through the pre-draft process and decide on entering or returning to school.
5) Carlton Carrington: Pittsburgh
Carlton Carrington skyrocketed onto draft boards after a triple-double in his first game of the season for Pittsburgh. He certainly cooled down since that point, but the potential is still there. He’s a six-foot-five guard with good creation, playmaking, and shot-making ability. Scouts built up questions around Carrington’s game throughout the season, specifically regarding his rim-pressure ability. As a draft prospect who’s a candidate to return another year, big March Madness performances could have relieved Carrington of needing that option. Similar to Providence, Pittsburgh was a notable ‘snub’ amongst many analysts having competed well in the ACC.
