Top 10 NBA Draft prospects in the NCAA Tournament’s West Region
The NCAA Tournament creates a set of March Madness heroes each year, thrusting Cinderella stories into the spotlight with big upsets at every turn. However, one other unique feature of the month-long format is the number of top-tier talent which assembles in one place to face each other each week.
With plenty NBA prospects in this year’s NCAA Tournament field, including nine of ESPN’s top 10 best available players for the 2022 class, perhaps no region of the bracket is more loaded than the West.
The NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 and Elite Eight set to take place in San Francisco, California, and the second weekend could still feature plenty NBA Draft prospects in the West Region. With No. 1 overall ranked Chet Holmgren headlining the Gonzaga roster which also ranked No. 1 overall and a long list of Duke stars, the floor could look like a future NBA All-Star game. Other schools with highly touted prospects include Alabama, Memphis, Michigan State and Notre Dame.
Here is a look at all the top NBA Draft prospects, featuring their On3 Consensus rankings as four- and five-star recruits, who will face off in the West Region, including plenty projected first round picks.
Top NBA Draft prospects in the West Region
1. Chet Holmgren – PF (Gonzaga)
ESPN draft rank: 1, On3 Consensus rank: 1 (2021)
2. Paolo Banchero – PF (Duke)
ESPN draft rank: 3, On3 Consensus rank: 3 (2021)
3. Jalen Duren – C (Memphis)
ESPN draft rank: 6, On3 Consensus rank: 8 (2021)
4. AJ Griffin – SF (Duke)
ESPN draft rank: 8, On3 Consensus rank: 23 (2021)
5. Trevor Keels – SF (Duke)
ESPN draft rank: 25, On3 Consensus rank: 22 (2021)
6. Mark Williams – C (Duke)
ESPN draft rank: 26, On3 Consensus rank: 27 (2020)
7. Blake Wesley – SG (Notre Dame)
ESPN draft rank: 31, On3 Consensus rank: 99 (2021)
8. JD Davison – PG (Alabama)
ESPN draft rank: 33, On3 Consensus rank: 11 (2021)
9. Wendell Moore Jr – SF (Duke)
ESPN draft rank: 35, On3 Consensus rank: 20 (2019)
10. Max Christie – SG (Michigan State)
ESPN draft rank: 41, On3 Consensus rank: 19 (2021)
More on NCAA Tournament
The First Round of the NCAA Tournament officially starts on Thursday, with 6-seed Colorado State and 11-seed Michigan starting things off at 12:15 p.m. ET on CBS. That game tips off two days with 16 games each spread across four television stations with staggered starts to ensure constant gameplay over the full length of the slate.
To see a full list of First Round matchups with channels and times, click here. To see the broadcast assignments for each NCAA Tournament game over the First Round, including play-by-play broadcasters, color commentators and sideline reporters, click here.
The NCAA will release information on the Second Round after matchups are determined on Thursday and Friday. Teams will move to new locations for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight before playing the Final Four in New Orleans.