2023 NBA Draft Top 100: March Madness Watch Guide

I’d like to bring up some important caveats before we get started. There’s still lots of time before the June 22 draft date — which the Phoenix Suns will only be lightly involved in, if at all — and even before the May 16 lottery date, so naturally, that means this board will still shift a bunch over the next three months.

Posting a top 100 now more serves as a guiding light for where my head’s at on certain prospects, their general ranges, and my overall philosophy. Posting one now especially can help to give some of our NBA-leaning friends an idea of what to look for in the NCAA Tournament; the bracket was set earlier on Sunday in case you missed it.

As for the Suns’ draft capital, their 2023 first-round pick is headed to the Brooklyn Nets, but their second-round pick, currently slotted in the early 50’s, is still theirs. It’s worth noting that Phoenix hasn’t kept a draft pick into camp since Jalen Smith (#10 in 2020).

I’ll be sure to make a note of the prospects that would be good Suns fits in the 40-and-later range with a single asterisk at the end of their entry (see: #47 Mike Miles Jr. for example). I’ll also give you the rundown on how you can watch a particular prospect in March Madness, where applicable.

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Tier 1:

1. Victor Wembanyama, 7’4 center, Metropolitans 92 (LNB Pro A, France)

Tier 2:

2. Scoot Henderson, 6’2 point guard, G League Ignite

Tier 3:

3. Amen Thompson, 6’7 wing creator, Overtime Elite

4. Ausar Thompson, 6’7 wing, Overtime Elite

5. Brandon Miller, 6’9 wing, Alabama***

#1 Alabama vs #16 Texas A&M-CC/SE Missouri State on Thursday.

***pending legal proceedings may influence this ranking

6. Nick Smith Jr., 6’5 combo guard, Arkansas

#8 Arkansas vs #9 Illinois on Thursday.

7. Jarace Walker, 6’9 forward, Houston

#1 Houston vs #16 Northern Kentucky on Thursday.

Tier 4:

8. Cam Whitmore, 6’7 wing, Villanova

9. Cason Wallace, 6’4 combo guard, Kentucky

#6 Kentucky vs #11 Providence on Friday.

10. Keyonte George, 6’5 off guard, Baylor

#3 Baylor vs #14 UC Santa Barbara on Friday.

11. Gradey Dick, 6’7 off guard, Kansas

#1 Kansas vs #16 Howard on Thursday.

12. Dariq Whitehead, 6’6 wing, Duke

#5 Duke vs #12 Oral Roberts on Thursday.

Tier 5:

13. Taylor Hendricks, 6’9 forward, UCF

14. Anthony Black, 6’7 wing creator, Arkansas

#8 Arkansas vs #9 Illinois on Thursday.

15. Leonard Miller, 6’10 wing, G League Ignite

16. GG Jackson, 6’9 wing, South Carolina

Tier 6:

17. Kyle Filipowski, 6’11 forward, Duke

#5 Duke vs #12 Oral Roberts on Thursday.

18. Jett Howard, 6’8 wing, Michigan

19. Terquavion Smith, 6’4 lead guard, NC State

#11 NC State vs #6 Creighton on Friday.

20. Jalen Hood-Schifino, 6’5 lead guard, Indiana

#4 Indiana vs #13 Kent State on Friday.

21. Brice Sensabaugh, 6’6 wing, Ohio State

Tier 7:

22. DaRon Holmes II, 6’10 forward, Dayton

23. Maxwell Lewis, 6’7 off guard, Pepperdine

24. Rayan Rupert, 6’6 wing, New Zealand Breakers (Australia, NBL)

Tier 8:

25. Colby Jones, 6’6 combo guard, Xavier

#3 Xavier vs #14 Kennesaw State on Friday.

26. Dereck Lively II, 7’1 center, Duke

#5 Duke vs #12 Oral Roberts on Thursday.

27. Marcus Sasser, 6’2 combo guard, Houston

#1 Houston vs #16 Northern Kentucky on Thursday.

28. Sidy Cissoko, 6’6 wing, G League Ignite

29. Kris Murray, 6’8 forward, Iowa

#8 Iowa vs #9 Auburn on Thursday.

Tier 9:

30. Noah Clowney, 6’10 big, Alabama

#1 Alabama vs #16 Texas A&M-CC/SE Missouri State on Thursday.

31. Jaime Jaquez, 6’7 wing, UCLA

#2 UCLA vs #15 UNC Asheville on Thursday.

32. Kobe Brown, 6’8 forward, Missouri

#7 Missouri vs #10 Utah State on Thursday.

33. Judah Mintz, 6’3 off guard, Syracuse

34. Andre Jackson Jr., 6’7 wing, UConn

#4 UConn vs #13 Iona on Friday.

35. Adem Bona, 6’10 center, UCLA

#2 UCLA vs #15 UNC Asheville on Thursday.

Tier 10:

36. Coleman Hawkins, 6’11 big, Illinois

#9 Illinois vs #8 Arkansas on Thursday.

37. Keyontae Johnson, 6’6 wing, Kansas State

#3 Kansas State vs #14 Montana State on Friday.

38. Kel’el Ware, 7’0 center, Oregon

Tier 11:

39. James Nnaji, 6’10 big, Barcelona (Liga ACB, Spain + Euroleague)

40. Jordan Hawkins, 6’5 wing, UConn

#4 UConn vs #13 Iona on Friday.

41. Terrence Shannon Jr., 6’6 combo guard, Illinois

#9 Illinois vs #8 Arkansas on Thursday.

42. Bilal Coulibaly, 6’6 wing, Metropolitans 92 (LNB Pro A, France)

43. Jalen Wilson, 6’7 wing, Kansas

#1 Kansas vs #16 Howard on Thursday.

44. Baylor Scheierman, 6’6 wing, Creighton

#6 Creighton vs #11 NC State on Friday.

Tier 12:

45. Tucker DeVries, 6’7 wing, Drake

#12 Drake vs #5 Miami (FL) on Friday.

46. Emoni Bates, 6’9 wing, Eastern Michigan

47. Mike Miles Jr., 6’2 point guard, TCU*

#6 TCU vs #11 Arizona State/Nevada on Friday.

Not only is Miles Jr. a good fit on Phoenix by my eyes, I have good intel that Suns representatives have been to quite a few TCU games this season with Miles Jr. being the main draw. He could very well be too good for the Suns’ range, so that’s the only concern on that front; he’d be a highly-qualified late-second round pick.

48. Jaden Bradley, 6’5 combo guard, Alabama

#1 Alabama vs #16 Texas A&M-CC/SE Missouri State on Thursday.

Tier 13:

49. Reece Beekman, 6’3 combo guard, Virginia

#3 Virginia vs #14 Furman on Thursday.

50. Julian Phillips, 6’8 wing, Tennessee

#4 Tennessee vs #13 Louisiana on Thursday.

51. Trey Alexander, 6’4 wing, Creighton*

#6 Creighton vs #11 NC State on Friday.

52. Tyler Kolek, 6’3 point guard, Marquette*

#2 Marquette vs #15 Vermont on Friday.

Tier 14:

53. Tristan Vukcevic, 6’11 center, Partizan (KLS, Serbia + ABA, eastern Europe + Euroleague)

54. Nikola Durisic, 6’7 wing, Mega (KLS, Serbia + ABA, eastern Europe)

55. Arthur Kaluma, 6’7 forward, Creighton*

#6 Creighton vs #11 NC State on Friday.

56. Mark Mitchell, 6’8 forward, Duke*

#5 Duke vs #12 Oral Roberts on Thursday.

57. Drew Peterson, 6’8 wing creator, USC

#10 USC vs #7 Michigan State on Friday.

Tier 15:

58. Nae’Qwan Tomlin, 6’10 forward, Kansas State

#3 Kansas State vs #14 Montana State on Friday.

59. Mojave King, 6’4 wing, G League Ignite

60. Trayce Jackson-Davis, 6’9 big, Indiana

#4 Indiana vs #13 Kent State on Friday.

61. Dillon Mitchell, 6’8 wing, Texas

#2 Texas vs #15 Colgate on Thursday.

62. Mouhamed Gueye, 6’11 center, Washington State

63. Ryan Kalkbrenner, 7’1 center, Creighton

#6 Creighton vs #11 NC State on Friday.

64. Kevin McCullar Jr., 6’6 wing, Kansas*

#1 Kansas vs #16 Howard on Thursday.

65. Jaylen Clark, 6’5 wing, UCLA*

#2 UCLA vs #15 UNC Asheville on Thursday.

66. Jamal Shead, 6’1 point guard, Houston*

#1 Houston vs #16 Northern Kentucky on Thursday.

67. Nolan Hickman, 6’2 lead guard, Gonzaga*

#3 Gonzaga vs #14 Grand Canyon on Friday.

Tier 16:

68. Oumar Ballo, 7’0 big, Arizona

#2 Arizona vs #15 Princeton on Thursday.

69. Taran Armstrong, 6’5 point guard, Cal Baptist

70. Mike Sharavjamts, 6’8 wing creator, Dayton

71. Julian Strawther, 6’7 wing, Gonzaga*

#3 Gonzaga vs #14 Grand Canyon on Friday.

72. Amari Bailey, 6’4 combo guard, UCLA

#2 UCLA vs #15 UNC Asheville on Thursday.

73. Zach Edey, 7’4 center, Purdue

#1 Purdue vs #16 Texas Southern/Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday.

Tier 17:

74. Josiah-Jordan James, 6’6 combo guard, Tennessee

#4 Tennessee vs #13 Louisiana on Thursday.

75. Oscar Tshiebwe, 6’9 big, Kentucky

#6 Kentucky vs #11 Providence on Friday.

76. Adam Flagler, 6’3 combo guard, Baylor

#3 Baylor vs #14 UC Santa Barbara on Friday.

77. Terrance Arceneaux, 6’6 wing, Houston

#1 Houston vs #16 Northern Kentucky on Thursday.

78. JJ Starling, 6’4 combo guard, Notre Dame

79. Caleb Love, 6’3 off guard, North Carolina

80. Tyrese Hunter, 6’1 point guard, Texas

#2 Texas vs #15 Colgate on Thursday.

Tier 18:

81. Baba Miller, 6’11 wing, Florida State

82. Drew Timme, 6’10 big, Gonzaga

#3 Gonzaga vs #14 Grand Canyon on Friday.

83. Colin Castleton, 6’11 center, Florida

Tier 19:

84. Jordan Walsh, 6’7 wing, Arkansas

#8 Arkansas vs #9 Illinois on Thursday.

85. Trevon Brazile, 6’9 forward, Arkansas

#8 Arkansas vs #9 Illinois on Thursday.

86. Hunter Dickinson, 7’1 big, Michigan

87. Jalen Pickett, 6’4 lead guard, Penn State

#10 Penn State vs #7 Texas A&M on Thursday.

88. Jalen Bridges, 6’7 wing, Baylor

#3 Baylor vs #14 UC Santa Barbara on Friday.

89. Matthew Cleveland, 6’6 wing, Florida State

90. Rylan Griffen, 6’5 wing, Alabama

#1 Alabama vs #16 Texas A&M-CC/SE Missouri State on Thursday.

Tier 20:

91. Kerr Kriisa, 6’2 lead guard, Arizona

#2 Arizona vs #15 Princeton on Thursday.

92. Efe Abogidi, 6’10 big, Washington State*

93. Pelle Larsson, 6’5 wing, Arizona

#2 Arizona vs #15 Princeton on Thursday,

94. Harrison Ingram, 6’8 wing creator, Stanford

Tier 21:

95. Brandon Murray, 6’5 off guard, Georgetown

96. Roko Prkacin, 6’9 wing creator, Cibona (HT Premiere League, Croatia + ABA, eastern Europe)

97. Jayden Nunn, 6’4 combo guard, VCU

#12 VCU vs #5 Saint Mary’s on Friday.

98. Cliff Omoruyi, 6’11 big, Rutgers

99. Houston Mallette, 6’5 combo guard, Pepperdine*

100. Boogie Ellis, 6’3 point guard, USC

#10 USC vs #7 Michigan State on Friday.

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Phoenix might not have a lot of skin in the game when it comes to the NBA Draft, you never know who could end up coming your way. Tune in and watch the tourney to potentially see the future, not necessarily of the Suns, but of the NBA!