1. Cameron Boozer, Duke

2. Darryn Peterson, Kansas

3. AJ Dybantsa, BYU

4. Caleb Wilson, North Carolina

5. Kingston Flemings, Houston

6. Patrick Ngongba II, Duke

7. Tyler Tanner, Vanderbilt

When Swish Theory’s Big Board 1.0 dropped on December 2nd, we ranked Tyler Tanner 33rd when no other major outlet had him ranked in the top 60. Naturally, with his meteoric rise over the past month and a half that now has him in some outlets’ top 40, he’s similarly skyrocketed up our board as well.

The first criticism of a Tanner at 7 ranking would be his measly 6-foot height… but how much does that mean when he’s dunking, finishing, rebounding, and blocking shots against SEC competition at the rate of a 6-foot-4 guard? Once you go beyond his height, you find a lead guard prospect with a blend of feel and physicality on par with the greatest guard prospects in NCAA history, who’s applied this blend towards outlier scoring development without sacrificing ancillary production. With this newfound scoring prowess further opening passing windows that he’s capitalized on, the young-for-class sophomore is now the engine of a 7th-best Vanderbilt offense while also maintaining strong defense. Boasting an incredibly well-rounded profile, the question should not be “why Tyler Tanner top 10,” but “why not Tyler Tanner top 10.”

Maurya Kumpatla

8. Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan

Yaxel Lendeborg continues to fly up draft boards as he dominates college basketball. His BPM is off the charts, and what makes his game special is the dynamic, all-around feel he brings on both ends of the floor. How many potential defensive anchors can dribble, pass, shoot, and attack as well as Lendeborg? With good-to-great attributes as a scorer, shooter, passer, rebounder, shot-swatter, and ball-stealer via Cerebro, that all-around skillset laid on top of a potentially elite and versatile defensive foundation provides a realistic path to a super high two-way potential ceiling and offers a very high floor as a high-end NBA rotation player.

Ryan Kaminski

9. Jayden Quaintance, Kentucky

10. Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State

After some unusual (for him) struggles mid-January, Joshua Jefferson returned to form with one of the most productive prospect games of the cycle: 17 points, 12 assists (0 turnovers), 10 rebounds (4 offensive), 4 steals, 1 block. How many prospects this class could do that, or in any class? Jefferson is listed at 6’9” and is highly skilled for a 240-pound player. While outside shooting is a weakness, he has still managed an acceptable 36% on 53 threes attempted this season. But you’re drafting Jefferson for his unique intersection of passing (5.3 assists per game, 2.1 ATO), rebounding (7.0 per game), and defensive playmaking (1.6 steals, 1.0 blocks per game). All signs point towards Jefferson being one of the highest feel players in class, which, when mixed with productivity and good NBA size, has a high hit rate of working out. With a major, versatile two-way burden on a top 20 NCAA offense and defense, Jefferson can take on all kinds of roles at the next level.

Matt Powers

11. Dailyn Swain, Texas

12. Bennett Stirtz, Iowa

13. Labaron Philon, Alabama

14. Koa Peat, Arizona

15. Hannes Steinbach, Washington

16. Aday Mara, Michigan

17. Malachi Moreno, Kentucky

18. Mikel Brown Jr., Louisville

19. Christian Anderson, Texas Tech

20. Darius Acuff, Arkansas

6’2 Arkansas guard Darius Acuff has quickly become one of the more polarizing draft prospects in this year’s draft. In a class featuring impressive depth at the guard spot, Acuff has managed to stand out by shouldering one of the highest offensive burdens of any high major freshman in recent memory. Currently, Darius Acuff is sporting a 45.3 Offensive Load, which is in the 80th percentile of all draft prospects since 2008. Acuff’s prioritization of the Arkansas offense has not been unwarranted, with Arkansas’ offense sitting 7th in the country in adjusted offensive rating, per Bart Torvik. Despite Acuff having a suboptimal scoring process (38% three point attempt rate would be in the 25th percentile for all guards since 2008), he’s managed to lead a prolific offense by avoiding mistakes (2.9 assist-to-turnover ratio) and pushing the pace to allow Arkansas’ supporting cast to capitalize on their open-court athleticism. Acuff is not without his flaws, though: his lack of defensive contributions has been a major limiting factor for Arkansas’ title aspirations. Versus teams ranked in the top 150, Arkansas’ defense is 13.1 points per 100 possessions BETTER without Acuff on the floor (101 possessions). Acuff’s effort and cognizance on the defensive side of the floor leave much to be desired at the moment. However, with Acuff possessing a strong 195-pound frame and a reported 6’7 wingspan, he has the physical tools to be a potential positive and transcend the roster limitations his archetype typically imposes. Ultimately, while I am skeptical Acuff will return value commensurate with his presumed draft position, there are indicators that he may be the exception to the rule when it comes to small, ball-dominant guards.

Ahmed Jama

21. Keaton Wagler, Illinois

Keaton Wagler has been the revelation of the freshman class. The 150th-ranked high school recruit quickly established himself as the best player on an Illinois team ranked seventh in the country by KenPom and is building a case as one of the top guards in the draft. At 6’6”, Wagler has the ideal size and offensive skillset for a two guard as an efficient, high-volume sniper with passing chops. The 18-year-old also pulls down an impressive 7 rebounds per 40 minutes, an underrated statistical indicator for guard prospects. I understand being skeptical due to weak or non-existent priors, but nearly 500 minutes into his freshman season, I think it can be safely said that Keaton Wagler is a baller.

Big Wafe

22. Karim Lopez, New Zealand

23. Daniel Jacobsen, Purdue

Daniel Jacobsen is a productive sophomore center for Purdue, listed at 7’4 and 250 pounds. This all but assures that he will play in the NBA at some point, as just two NBA players this season were listed above 7’3: Zach Edey and Victor Wembanyama. 

While he appears skinny and doesn’t play a high proportion of minutes, the argument to draft Jacobsen this year simply stems from his uniquely high likelihood of playing NBA minutes. It can be construed as an argument of scarcity: without major flaws with his touch, rebounding, or shotblocking, Jacobsen immediately has plug-and-play value in the NBA. Sure, he’s clearly raw, but most drafted underclassmen are. The difficulty in correctly identifying long-term professional players with any non-premium draft pick must be considered.

Avinash Chauhan

24. Álvaro Folgueiras, Iowa

25. Tounde Yessoufou, Baylor

26. Thomas Haugh, Florida

27. Motiejus Krivas, Arizona

28. Nate Ament, Tennessee

29. Meleek Thomas, Arkansas

30. Brayden Burries, Arizona

31. Cameron Carr, Baylor

32. Braylon Mullins, UConn

33. Paul McNeil, NC State

34. Bruce Thornton, Ohio State

35. JoJo Tugler, Houston

36. Kayden Mingo, Penn State

37. Elyjah Freeman, Auburn

38. Anthony Robinson II, Missouri

39. Amari Allen, Alabama

40. Henri Veesaar, North Carolina

41. Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State

Tamin Lipsey is a strange prospect by most measures – he’s old-ish, not a great scorer, nor does he have a phenomenal free-throw rate. Still, an early second-round grade seems like great value for a player who has a monstrous 5.6 A/TO ratio and a high steal percentage. Both are great signals of cognition, and both indicate that he creates/maintains new possessions, which is an increasingly valuable trait in a game where players and teams win on the margins. Of course, the low 3P/100 rate is scary, but he’s a good finisher at the rim (even if he’s down from last season). In combination with his physicality and cognition, he seems like a great value bet to be at least a rotation guard one day.

Joseph George

42. Morez Johnson Jr., Michigan

Johnson came in at 23 on my personal board, and he’s been steadily rising throughout the season. The thesis for Morez being high on my board is the simple paradigm of age-adjusted production and impact. 

The eye test reveals archetype problems that Morez needs to solve. At 6’9, he’s undersized for a big, and his perimeter skill set doesn’t appear up to snuff for a wing or forward in the NBA right now. The good news is this: Morez’s interior dominance is NBA caliber, as he’s shooting 76.4% at the rim. His rebounding numbers are down from last year. But, he put up a whopping 17.3 ORB% and 22.5 DRB% as a true center at Illinois. He’s shown enough to suggest he can hang physically in the pros. Additionally, he’s taken a jump in assist rate, steal rate, and free-throw shooting. Morez wouldn’t have an NBA-caliber perimeter skill set upon entering the league. But this rate of improvement in his touch and cognition suggests some upside for him to get there.

It would be easy to dismiss him as a Michigan merchant, given the number of great players around him. But Morez’s impact seems to outshine that of his frontcourt teammate Aday Mara. BartTorvik has Morez at a 12.6 BPM compared to Mara’s 10.1, while Hoop-Explorer has Morez with a +11.2 RAPM compared to Mara’s +7.7. I thought I preferred Mara to Morez when I formed my board, but all evidence points to more good things happening on the court as a result of Morez Johnson. He’s not a mere passenger on the Michigan train this year; he’s a co-conductor along with Yaxel Lendeborg. This is a fascinating player and prospect that deserves top 20 consideration in the 2026 draft.

Michael Neff

43. Ebuka Okorie, Stanford

44. Neoklis Avdalas, Virginia Tech

45. Killyan Toure, Iowa State

46. Zvonimir Ivisic, Arkansas

47. Isaiah Evans, Duke

48. Flory Bidunga, Kansas

49. Braden Smith, Purdue

50. Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Tennessee

51. JT Toppin, Texas Tech

52. Nolan Winter, Wisconsin

53. Nate Bittle, Oregon

54. Jalen Washington, Vanderbilt

55. Matt Able, NC State

56. Chris Cenac Jr., Houston

57. Darrion Williams, NC State

58. Acaden Lewis, Villanova

59. Richie Saunders, BYU

60. Mario Saint-Supery, Gonzaga

The post 2026 NBA Draft Big Board 2.0 appeared first on Swish Theory.

I’ll be making a preliminary argument for Donnie Freeman using highlights only. This time of year, I am not looking to make completely detailed evaluations of prospects. I’m painting with a broad brush and simply taking note of players who catch my eye. Highlights are great for that. This article advocates for Freeman while also showing you how I use highlights in a productive way.

Let’s start with the basics. Donnie Freeman is a former 5-star recruit who was listed at 6’9, 205 pounds for Syracuse last year as a freshman. In 2024-25, he averaged 30.5 points and 18 rebounds per 100 possessions and had a 56.6 2P%, 33.3 3P%, and 79.6 FT%. Other notable statistics include a 4.1 OBPM and 3.1 assists per 100 compared to 4.1 turnovers. Below are all his per 100 and advanced metrics, courtesy of Sports Reference.

Before we get into highlights, I should note that Freeman has allegedly grown an inch in the offseason and is now 6’10. What we know so far is already quite intriguing. Freeman has a pedigree going back to high school, produced well on a per-possession basis, might still be growing, and is a good bet to shoot based on the FT% and decent enough 3P%. That brings us to the highlight plays. Let’s dive in.*

First, a midrange shot. Watch how Freeman stays calm amidst chaos in the paint. As soon as he finds space, his eyes are on the rim, and his energy transfers cleanly into a shot. The ball gets a shooter’s bounce off the rim, too.

Next up, Freeman finishing through contact after a post catch. Love that he stays patient with his footwork and that he seeks out contact. Additionally, he doesn’t get thrown off his spot. Sometimes, young players resort to awkward movement patterns when faced with contact. But Freeman doesn’t do that here. Great stuff.

This next one screams NBA forward to me. Freeman is operating at the top of the key and quickly makes the correct decision to keep the dribble handoff and take it all the way to the rim. This play requires great court mapping and coordination, which has become increasingly necessary for NBA forwards.

Now for the one that made me sit up in my chair a bit.

Oftentimes, I’ll watch a high-level flash play and wonder how translatable it actually is. Not on this one. That self-creation was pretty damn cogent. Freeman seems comfortable sizing up his man, and he has a knack for getting low on his drives and exploding into a high-release point jumper. More on that later.

Opportunistic cutting is one of the most important off-ball indicators for future offensive success. This next clip shows Freeman doing just that. Great job by Freeman to cut behind his man as soon as he sees his head turn towards the ball. He puts himself in a great spot to make the pass easy for his teammate as well. The timing and positioning on cuts is often taken for granted, but if cutting were easy, more prospects would be good at it!

Next, a clean pull-up two that showcases Freeman’s high release point. All the previous observations about Freeman’s eyes and energy transfer on his pull-ups apply here, too.

Next, Freeman gets really low on a drive to the rim and showcases soft short-midrange touch.

On this unremarkable swing pass, I wanted to point out how quickly Freeman gets the ball out of his hands as well as the communication to his teammate to keep swinging the ball. It’s not flashy by any means, but I love to see prospects tuned into what other players should do on court, not just themselves.

Next, a really smooth movement three:

I can’t get over how quick and smooth Freeman’s shot motion is at his size. I’d drop some players it reminds me of, but it’s too early to get crazy.

Next, I’ll show a couple passing highlights. The first clip is a really good entry pass, another skill sometimes taken for granted (note the wide arm angle and use of spin on this one). The second clip shows real versatility. Freeman receives a ball screen, backs down his man into the mid-post, and delivers a good skip pass.

Lastly, two more excellent shots. First, a smooth fadeaway. Second, a midrange out of the short roll that shows how soft Freeman’s touch already is.

The touch in that second clip is legitimately special. You almost never see a basketball swish through the net that softly from the free throw line besides, well, on free throws.

Ok, let’s take a breath. There’s so much to like here, and I’ll get into all of it in a second. But I want to single out a specific trait that Freeman showed us in those highlights: his ability to get his shot off using fluid energy transfer and a high release point.

My work over the years has referenced my belief in a high release point as a potential star trait. But, I’ve had some misses projecting under-the-radar star wings and forwards using this idea (among other things, of course). Reflecting on why that might be, I think quality shot preparation may help separate the hits from the relative misses.

Check out this shot from college Kawhi Leonard:

What do you notice? Well, if you’re anything like me three years ago, you fixated on the high release point on Kawhi’s pull up. But his lower body is immaculate, too. The feet are square, he explodes into the jump, and his core strength keeps him stable and balanced throughout the entire shot. These traits, combined with the high release point, made pull-up jumpers easier for Kawhi than most players.

Let’s look at another example from a player who more closely resembles Donnie Freeman physically: college Pascal Siakam.

On that play, Siakam shows smooth movement and touch in the short midrange. He keeps the ball high, and the ball falls softly through the hoop. Again, Siakam made this look easy because of fluid energy transfer from his lower body to his upper body. As a prospect, Siakam fell short of ideal thresholds on traditional shooting indicators. But, this type of fluidity and touch in the short midrange should have clued more NBA teams into potential development down the road.

Those are just two examples of NBA stars taken outside the lottery in their respective drafts who had high release points and functional lower body mechanics on self-created opportunities. That combination allowed both players to seize the on-ball opportunities they received in the NBA.

Looping back to Donnie Freeman, I saw that same functionality on his pull-up jumper. He makes shooting off the dribble look easy. Go back to the clips I showed of Freeman shooting and watch his lower body. He’s balanced, explosive, and has soft touch to boot. You almost never see that from 6’10 guys.

What else did we learn from those highlights? We saw functional strength. We saw movement shooting. We saw glimpses of decisiveness within a team structure. We saw coordination, fluidity, passing flashes, and involvement in NBA-style actions. All of that, plus a projectable pull-up jumper that shares important qualities with NBA development success stories, makes a very enticing case for Freeman.

I’m intentionally not jumping to any conclusions about where Freeman might stack up in this class. It’s too early in the cycle, not to mention that highlights alone are insufficient for doing so. That said, this guy has green flags that point to a potential star.

Look at how much we teased out of one highlight video. Pretty cool if you ask me. Going into next season, I have a lot of questions I’m excited to see Freeman answer. How does he look physically after the growth spurt and post-injury? How consistently does he play within the construct of a team? How will he look against power conference competition? Is he good at defense??? We didn’t really get any highlights of him on that end, unsurprising given his very low stock rates.

All of those questions will be answered with time and analysis of full games. Highlights, by definition, don’t directly tell us what a player needs to work on. Only full games can complete the picture. For me, highlights help build the skeleton of my understanding of a prospect. The strengths shown in these videos (and sometimes what isn’t shown) tell a story.

What I’ve tried to show you today is the story Donnie Freeman’s highlights told me. Without having watched a single full game of his, I have my initial “skeleton” understanding of Freeman. From here, I’m going to dive into some of his film at IMG Academy and full games of his from Syracuse. I also plan on watching Freeman’s Syracuse team early and often once college basketball season starts. I suggest you do the same.

*Credit to the ACC Network for the video.

The post Donnie Freeman is Extremely Underrated (+Advocating for Highlight Scouting) appeared first on Swish Theory.