{"id":129320,"date":"2025-03-19T07:00:25","date_gmt":"2025-03-19T11:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=129320"},"modified":"2025-03-19T06:01:18","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T10:01:18","slug":"2025-nba-draft-top-forward-prospects-ncaa-tournament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/03\/19\/2025-nba-draft-top-forward-prospects-ncaa-tournament\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 NBA Draft: Top Forward Prospects In The NCAA Tournament"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2025 NCAA Tournament has many talented prospects participating in the event. Not only are there many talented guards<\/a> in the tournament, but there are also many gifted forwards. Let’s dive into the top forward prospects in the class participating in the NCAA Tournament.<\/p>\n

2025 NBA Draft: Top Forward Prospects In The NCAA Tournament<\/h2>\n

Cooper Flagg<\/h3>\n

Duke forward Cooper Flagg<\/a> is clearly the best forward prospect participating in March Madness and the best overall prospect in the class.\u00a0 Unquestionably, Flagg will be the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and the player that all the worst-performing teams<\/a> will want. Standing at six-foot-nine, Flagg possesses excellent size, length, and athleticism. Specifically, he fully utilizes his physical tools to be an elite player on both ends of the floor. Offensively, Flagg can score on all three levels and get himself in position without the ball. While there were questions about his offense earlier in the season, Flagg has completely shut down those concerns with his improved play. He also has excellent court vision, which allows him to be a capable playmaker on the floor.<\/p>\n

Defensively, Flagg uses his physical tools to be a versatile defender who can guard multiple positions. Furthermore, he has great basketball IQ and feel for the game. Most importantly, Flagg is a relentless competitor who always strives for the win. He is one of the most complete prospects in the draft and someone with can shape the fortunes of a franchise. While it is unclear how his ankle injury<\/a> will affect his play during the tournament, Flagg has clearly locked himself into the top of the draft with his play throughout the season.<\/p>\n

Kon Knueppel<\/h3>\n

Another Duke player makes the list as Kon Knueppel<\/a> is one of the better forwards in the class. Standing at six-foot-seven, Knueppel brings a diverse offensive skill set to the table for any team that drafts him. Not only can he fill the need for a spot-up three-point shooter, but he can also handle the ball as well. He operates well in the pick-and-roll and can be a solid playmaker. Knueppel is excellent at using footwork and craft to break down defenses when going to the rim. Additionally, while Knueppel can operate as a spot-up shooter, he can also shoot threes in various ways like off the dribble. Knueppel isn’t the best defender, but he has good size and strength. Furthermore, Knueppel does play defense with a high motor. With Flagg’s injury, Knueppel has the chance to up his draft stock even further with increased offensive responsibility.<\/p>\n

Carter Bryant<\/h3>\n

Despite playing limited minutes for Arizona, Carter Bryant<\/a> has done his best to showcase his skills. Standing at six-foot-eight, Bryant possesses a 3-and-D skill set that many teams covet. He has the athleticism to be a versatile defensive piece who can guard multiple positions. Bryant has been great at being a pesky on-ball defender who can smother his opponent. Furthermore, Bryant has been solid in reading passes and picking them off. He uses his length well as he has flashed potential as a weakside shot blocker. Offensively, Bryant operates well as an off-ball spot-up shooter and cutter. Additionally, his athletic ability allows him to be a force in transition. Bryant is exactly the type of player that any team will want. His 3-and-D skill set will fit on every team and it will be interesting to see how he performs in March Madness.<\/p>\n

Asa Newell<\/h3>\n

Georgia forward Asa Newell<\/a> is one of the better forward prospects in the class, possessing an interesting blend of athleticism, defense, and offensive potential. Standing at six-foot-eleven, Newell possesses great quickness and athleticism for his size. His physical tools show up the most on defense, where he can be a versatile defensive piece who can guard across multiple positions. He has little issue serving as a rim protector or as a switchable perimeter defender. Furthermore, his athleticism shows on the offensive end as well as he can be a force in transition. Newell thrives offensively as a cutter, offensive rebounder, and pick-setter. He does have the potential to be a shooter at the next level, though there is still a lot of work needed to improve his shot. Overall his physical tools and ability to be a two-way player has Newell in the upper echelon of forward prospects.<\/p>\n

Liam McNeeley<\/h3>\n

UConn forward Liam McNeeley<\/a> is another top forward prospect in this class, who can be a great 3-and-D wing at the NBA level. Offensively, McNeeley can score on all three levels and is particularly an excellent three-point shooter. He can shoot the ball in various ways including spot-up or off the dribble. McNeeley is also capable of attacking closeouts and handling the ball in a very limited capacity. While McNeeley isn’t the best defender nor the most athletic, he is solid enough as a defender to be potentially a versatile defensive piece. McNeeley is easily one of the safest prospects in the class. An impressive performance in the tournament will give him a big boost in terms of draft stock.<\/p>\n

Photo credit: \u00a9 Bob Donnan-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 2025 NCAA Tournament has many talented prospects participating in the event. Not only are there many talented guards in the tournament, but there are also many gifted forwards. Let’s dive into the top forward prospects in the class participating in the NCAA Tournament. 2025 NBA Draft: Top Forward Prospects In The NCAA Tournament Cooper […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5121,"featured_media":129535,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[556,1608,62],"tags":[49375,50008,49858,48964,49839,49784],"class_list":["post-129320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba-draft","category-basketball","category-nba","tag-2025-nba-draft","tag-2025-ncaa-tournament","tag-asa-newell","tag-cooper-flagg","tag-kon-knueppel","tag-liam-mcneeley"],"modified_by":"Kenny Kluska","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5121"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129320"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":129536,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129320\/revisions\/129536"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}