Five freshmen not named Cade Cunningham that could make deep impact in NCAA Tournament

03/19/2021

Though Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham has solidified his status as the No. 1 pick in the eyes of many executives around the NBA, he’s not the only lottery prospect who will be playing in this year’s NCAA Tournament.

The 68-team extravaganza tipped off Thursday night with the First Four play-in games and continues Friday with the opening day of the first round, which features 16 games at six sites in and around Indianapolis.

So while you keep your eye on Cunningham and his special talents, also look for some shine from these five freshmen from an NBA draft standpoint this March:

Evan Mobley, Southern Cal

Rated as the No. 4 high school senior by Rivals last year, the 7-footer delivered for the Trojans in a big way and was rewarded with Pac-12 player-of-the-year honors. Mobley has tremendous lateral quickness and showed the ability to switch and guard on the perimeter, which makes him a huge weapon in the NBA game. He also showed a little bit of potential to stretch his shooting range while making 58% of his field goals.

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Jalen Suggs, Gonzaga

The 6-foot-5 guard has vaulted into the top-five discussion this season and has all the makings of a strong two-way player in the NBA. Given all of Gonzaga’s experienced talent, Suggs looked at times like he was content to blend in and defer. But he really showed more assertiveness in the West Coast Conference tournament, particularly in a tight game against BYU when he took over down the stretch and finished with 23 points.

Moses Moody, Arkansas

Razorbacks guard Moses Moody dribbles against Tigers guard Mark Smith. (Photo: Christopher Hanewinckel, USA TODAY Sports)

It was a big deal for Arkansas coach Eric Musselman to land the top in-state player so early in his tenure, but Moody has outperformed the various recruiting rankings that had him around the 40-50 range. Moody has legitimate wing size at 6-foot-6 and averaged 17.4 points while shooting 38% from the 3-point line. Since Feb. 9, he’s had three 28-point games and had made 24-of-57 threes, including games against LSU, Alabama, Florida and Missouri.

Greg Brown, Texas

A top-10 player coming out of high school, his quick-twitch athleticism and leaping ability will jump off the screen a few times per game. The production, though, isn’t always there. In fact, he had a little bit of an emotional outburst during the Big 12 quarterfinal game against Texas Tech and went to the locker room on his own in the second half. He didn’t play in the semifinals and got just six minutes in the championship game. Brown, who averaged 9.6 points and 6.4 rebounds, has been a huge part of the Longhorns’ rotation this year so it will be interesting to see if he’s righted the ship going into the NCAA Tournament.

Keon Johnson, Tennessee

The Volunteers attempted to construct a team around veteran players while adding two blue-chip perimeter players in Johnson and Jaden Springer, but the mix has been off all season. Johnson was pretty bad in December and January, but the 6-foot-5 guard has started to look more comfortable lately and has made 30-of-55 field goals over his last four games. The offensively-challenged Vols need all the production they can get from him.

LAST-MINUTE BRACKET TIPS:

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Don't count on 'em: These are teams to avoid picking to go far
Every first-round upset: Easy list of our experts' first-round upsets
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