Michigan basketball: CBS Sports has two Wolverines in first round of 2023 NBA Draft
Michigan basketball stars Jett Howard and Kobe Bufkin headline the program’s output to the 2023 NBA Draft, and both appear primed for first-round status.
CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish put out his latest first-round mock recently with Howard heading to the Utah Jazz at No. 16 overall and Bufkin off to the Houston Rockets at No. 20 overall.
Howard averaged 14.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2 assists per game in his lone year in the maize and blue. He shot 41.4 percent overall and 36.8 from three-point range. Howard’s 78 made three-pointers are tied for the ninth-most by a Michigan player in a single season.
“High-IQ wing who knows how to be a playmaker, not just a scorer,” The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor says about his game, rating him as the No. 17 overall prospect in the class. “He thrives in NBA-style actions, a lot like Desmond Bane and Dillon Brooks do for the Grizzlies. He’ll slingshot around screens or handoffs toward the middle of the floor, take a dribble to draw the defense, and then fire a pass to a big man rolling to the basket. It’s an action every pro offense runs, and he runs it to perfection because of his improvisational feel.
“He wants to be a good defender. The effort is never an issue; it’s just his positioning and awareness. But he hustles to recover to shooters, logs help blocks, and fights over screens. In overtime against Ohio, he made multiple clutch plays down the stretch to help Michigan get the win with on-ball stops and blocks.”
Bufkin averaged 14 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game this past season, shooting 54.6 percent on twos and 35.5 percent on threes. The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie recently named him the No. 11 prospect on his board.
“Bufkin is the biggest mover up the board after having done more of a deep dive into his game following the season,” Vecenie wrote. “Not only is he clearly Michigan’s best prospect, but I have a lottery grade on him right now. There isn’t really anything he does poorly. A couple of NBA executives have brought up the idea to me that he doesn’t necessarily “pop” for them, and there are some concerns we’ll delve into, but Bufkin is a well-rounded, long-armed 6-foot-4 guard who I think has upside to play as a true lead long term. And more importantly, he’s the kind of two-way player who likely won’t take anything off the floor.”
Michigan has sent nine first-round picks to the NBA since 2013, good for most in the Big Ten. If current trends hold, it appears that margin will grow by two this summer.
