The OKC Thunder are currently 11-15, if the season ended today their draft pick would sit at the 7th slot, with plenty of games ahead of them. The College basketball season is well underway as conference play is about to tip off and before you know it, it will be time for March Madness.
No one knows how many games the Oklahoma City Thunder will win the rest of the way, or how their draft position will shake out. What we do know is the 2023 NBA Draft is incredibly deep. From people I have talked to, I have heard “7-8 players” be the answer when I ask how many prospects could be franchise players. Note: Defining franchise players in this context was how many players in this draft can be a top three members of an organization?
Three names to watch in college basketball the rest of the way as the OKC Thunder prepare for the loaded 2023 NBA Draft
The College Basketball season is roughly a month old, and we have seen key players light it up, return from injury, and in some cases stumble a bit out of the gate. Now, as the season reaches the night-in and night-out grind of conference play as the turn of the calendar year is near, is when some of the most valuable scouting is done.
In this article let’s look at three big names to watch for the rest of the College Basketball season when you have some spare time to click away from the association and check in on the next wave of NBA talent.
Cam Whitmore can be a perfect fit for the OKC Thunder in the 2023 NBA Draft and is quickly climbing up the NBA Draft boards
Wow. That is all you can say about the first few games of Cam Whitmore’s college basketball career. Through three games, Whitmore is averaging 15 points, five rebounds, and nearly two steals per contest. Despite starting the season sidelined with injury, Whitmore has hit the ground running shooting 50 percent from the floor, and 35 percent from beyond the arc.
If you look at his per 40 minutes number, Whitmore is averaging 27 points, nine rebounds, an assist, and three steals per game. The lottery talent still has not started a game for the Wildcats yet as the team brings him back slowly from injury.
Cam Whitmore is my number three prospect on my big board right now, and that is only because there are two branded generational stars in this draft class in Scoot Henderson and Victor Wembanyama that will be impossible to overcome for any draft prospect.
A 6’7 232 pound forward that can really shoot the ball, has the length and ability to defend, comes from a program in Villanova that just produces professionals (which is a tag that will follow the program for now even with Jay Wright no longer pacing the sidelines), and can provide some much-needed offense for the OKC Thunder as well as buy into Mark Daigneault’s defensive style, it all adds up to Whitmore being the perfect fit.
NBA Draft range for Cam Whitmore: 3-8
Gradey Dick can be a fantastic sharpshooter to add to the OKC Thunder in the 2023 NBA Draft
That College Basketball world was introduced to Gradey Dick pretty early on in the season. When the Kansas Jayhawks faced off with the Duke Blue Devils in game three of the season.
Gradey Dick put on a show, nailing five triples on seven attempts on his way to 14 points and a steal defensively. This followed up on his season opener against Omaha where he had 23 points, two steals, and nailed five triples as well.
Through ten games, Gradey Dick has already seen 27 three-point shots fall on 58 percent for a jaw-dropping 46 percent from downtown. That three-point shot has netted two 20-point games already and seven games of 14 or more points through the first ten contests.
Gradey Dick would be perfect in OKC. Spot up 1.324 PPP in the 90th percentile on synergy, 1.444 PPP in transition (89th percentile), shoots 46.5% on catch and shoot, 69th percentile at rim, shooting 46% on long 3's. I remember the last time OKC drafted a Jayhawk that wore 4. pic.twitter.com/wFFaHCRfD5
— Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) November 29, 2022
Synergy grades Gradey Dick out as an “excellent” offensive player averaging 1.181 points per possession in the 95th percentile in all college hoops. Defensively, synergy grades Dick out as average which given his 6’8 frame is a good baseline for his NBA future once he gets into an NBA gym with NBA coaching he can expand his game defensively.
The big tool for Gradey Dick is the three-point shooting Oklahoma City desperately needs. You can see how much better Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey are when you add shooters, like Isaiah Joe, around them this year. Next season, there is a shot you are adding two 40-plus three-point shooters from college to the fold in Chet Holmgren and Gradey Dick. That could do wonders for OKC’s offense and star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
NBA Draft Range: 8-15
Brandon Miller is one of the most interesting prospects in the 2023 NBA Draft for the OKC Thunder
For this final slot, it is obviously a difficult choice, from the Arkansas prospects in Anthony Black and Nick Smith to the Duke trio, and Keyonte George at Baylor, but I eventually settled on Brandon Miller because I find his skillet just so appealing for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
While Miller is a 20-year-old freshman which will sound the alarm for many people, the OKC Thunder are not that far away from competing, and as we have seen with other players like Desmond Bane in Memphis, maybe we should not totally freak out over age. How many incredibly young players did OKC select that never materialized vs passing up on “older” prospects that turn into really good NBA players?
Brandon Miller is a 6’9 200-pound forward who averages 19 points, nine rebounds, an assist, and a block per game while shooting 43 percent from beyond the arc on seven attempts per game.
Synergy grades his defense as “very good” ranking in the 83rd percentile, to match his great offensive game.
While people worry about Miller’s ability to create his shot, I call it the “Jabari Smith Jr effect” sure Jabari Smith Jr has struggled in Houston due to his lack of self-creation and trouble playing alongside the Rocket guards, but what if he was playing with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey who are excellent playmakers with Giddey’s passing ability and Gilgeous-Alexander’s drive gravity to force a kick out to Miller who will be wide-open to knock down a triple.
If you have not caught on, the theme to this NBA Draft for me in regards to the Oklahoma City Thunder is shooting and projectable defense.
Brandon Miller’s NBA Draft range: 4-9
Who are some of your top prospects in college basketball to watch this year?
Note: as a reminder, Victor Wembanyama, Scoot Henderson, and the Thompson twins are not playing college basketball so that is why they were excluded from this list.