Five sleepers for the 2024 NBA Draft
Everyone loves sleepers. With college basketball in the final week of the regular season, we have been given a pretty good sample size of the players. The 2023 NBA Draft is starting to be talked about regularly, so I wanted to look ahead to the 2024 NBA Draft.
In today’s game, a look across the first round of most drafts, the majority of players taken are freshmen. However, every year you see more and more sophomores and juniors sprinkled into the mix. In the 2022 NBA Draft, there were 14 college players taken in the first round who were not freshmen.
With this trend growing, I took a look through the college basketball landscape at five players not many are talking about yet, who, if the work continues and things break right, could hear their names called in the 2024 NBA Draft.
F Ryan Dunn (Virginia)
Ryan Dunn was hidden in plain sight for most of his high school career. He started at Oak Hill, then went to Long Island Lutheran for two seasons, and finally spent his final year at Pennsburg (PA) Perkiomen School.
Dunn was No. 104 in the final 2022 On3 Industry Rankings. Dunn’s recruitment was quiet, he picked up numerous offers along the way, but nothing really brought much noise for whatever reason. None of that bothered Dunn, however, as each year in high school, he progressively got better.
Part of a 2022 Virginia class that redshirted two of its players, Dunn has found his way on the floor, playing a pivotal role off the bench, especially on the defensive end. Dunn is a 6-foot-8 forward who has great length, can knock down the three, and guard multiple positions. Virginia’s starting frontcourt duo of Ben Vander Plas and Jayden Gardner will both graduate, so there should be ample playing time available for Dunn.
This is an archetype the league looks for, and Dunn has the athleticism and the work ethic to be a defensive stopper who can space the floor.
Dunn was the No. 56 player in the final 2022 On3 150.
PF Bobi Klintman (Wake Forest)
Steve Forbes sent Jake LaRavia to the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft as a skilled 6-foot-9 forward with not many NBA thoughts leading into the season. Bobi Klintman is a 6-foot-10, 225-pound freshman forward for the Demon Deacons.
Klintman was the No. 168 player in the final 2022 On3 Industry Ranking. A quick look at Swedish forward’s numbers and nothing particularly sticks out, outside of the fact they are progressively getting better. In February, Klintman is averaging 26.2 minutes a game and scoring 7.8 points and 6.3 rebounds with 1.2 blocks and shooting 45.5 percent from three.
That is a mouthful. For a team that has its starting trio of perimeter players averaging 32.7 shots per game, Klintman’s ability to fill in the gaps has proven invaluable and got him on the floor consistently. They say that sometimes the biggest growth for a player is between years one and two in college. Rebounding, shot-blocking, and three-point shooting at a sturdy 6-foot-10, there is a lot to like with that archetype.
Klintman was the No. 85 player in the final 2022 On3 150.
C Ugonna Kingsley Onyenso (Kentucky)
Ugonna Kingsley Onyenso arrived at Putnam (CT) Science Academy in January of last season. The native of Nigeria spent the previous two seasons at the NBA Academy in Africa.
For my money, Onyenso was the best interior defensive player I had scouted over the past five years. His ability to change the course and momentum of a game by blocking shots, sliding his feet, and protecting the paint was like nothing I had seen in recent years. Onyenso immediately moved into the top five for the 2023 On3 150.
Then the 6-foot-11 center committed to Kentucky and re-classified into the 2022 class. Onyenso was the no. 27 player in the 2023 On3 Industry Rankings. Entering college a year early, this season has been all about learning and finding comfort. He has backed up the reigning NCAA Player of the Year in Oscar Tshiebwe and shared time with sophomore Damian Collins and junior Lance Ware.
Onyenso has still amassed 5.8 blocks per 40 with a 15.9 block percentage and a 90.3 defensive rating. Some off-season work on sharpening his go-to offensive move paired with some extended playing time season could do the trick. He is already a switchable big who is a high-level rim protector and a vertical floor spacer.
Onyenso finished as the No. 18 player in the 2022 On3 150.
C Mouhamed Gueye (Washington State)
Tucked away in Pullman, Washington, is a 6-foot-11 sophomore who has quietly been having his way with PAC 12 competition. Mouhamed Gueye graduated from Napa (CA) Prolific Prep, where he spent three seasons after coming to the United States from Senegal.
Gueye was the No. 46 player in the final 2021 On3 Industry Ranking. He passes the look test, you immediately see a lengthy frame with broad shoulders and a lot of projectability. When watching him play, you notice the long, fluid strides when running the floor and the twitchiness he displays when changing directions or speeds.
The Washington State sophomore has seemingly progressed each month since he has been in college. Blessed with natural ability, the eye test has never been a problem. On the court, you see that he has built on an impressive freshman season across the board. He is currently averaging 14.4 points and 8.6 rebounds while shooting 48.3 percent from the field on almost 12 attempts per game.
Gueye spent this season building some hype and getting his name out there. Next season he should enter the year with his name in the conversation.
Gueye finished as the No. 15 player in the 2021 On3 150.
SG Riley Kugel (Florida)
Riley Kugel did not make his commitment official to Florida until May. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard out of Orlando (FL) Dr. Phillips High, won a state title in 2021 and finished runner-up in 2022.
Kugel was the No. 72 player in the 2022 On3 Industry Ranking. Pushing 210 pounds, Kugel is a sturdy guard with burst at the rim. He attacks with a controlled purpose but has a smooth jump shot that he put on full display throughout high school.
This season, Kugel has been waiting for his opportunity. He received a taste of the starting lineup during a three-game stretch in non-conference play, but it was not until he was inserted into the starting lineup on January 25 that things really took off.
In the ten games since, Kugel has not relinquished a hold on that starting spot, getting more and more comfortable in the role of go-to player. In his last six games, he has averaged 17.7 points while shooting 37.5 percent from three.
Kugel finished No. 48 player in the 2022 On3 150.