Monday night’s March Madness finale between No. 1 seeds Florida and Houston features a litany of future NBA talent from both teams with one common — and rather unusual — through-line: all of the game’s participating prospects are peaking in terms of draft stock.
The spotlight of the NCAA Tournament doesn’t hurt — Walter Clayton Jr. doing his best Steph Curry impression the last few weeks has unquestionably changed how NBA teams view him — but it’s clear each title game participants’ most valuable pieces also happen to be playing some of the best ball of their career to boot.
As such, I’m resetting the table with a fresh look at some of the big names rising up boards and on the NBA Draft radar. I’ve done so below by evaluating their current draft ranges and labeled each — from 🔥 to 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 — based on how hot they are right now.Â
I’ll also highlight each player’s postseason flashpoint — when their stock really ignited — and discuss the smolders fueling their rise.
I won’t bury the lede here: We’ll start with the 🔥 of 🔥 players in all of college basketball this month in Clayton Jr.Â
Monday night’s national title game tips at 8:50 ET on CBS (stream it at March Madness Live or Paramount+).
Walter Clayton Jr.
Draft range: 10-25
Heat watch: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Flashpoint: A 15-point second half against UConn in the second round of the NCAA Tournament propelled Clayton to a 23-point game and he’s not cooled since. He has scored 30 and (a career-high) 34 points in the last two games for the Gators.
Smolders: Clayton finished the season as a first-team CBS Sports All-America selection, but somehow elevated his game to another plane for the NCAA Tournament. He is averaging 24.6 points per game during the tourney and has thrice bailed Florida out in March Madness, displaying an array of shot-making mastery that has twisted up even the best defenses in the sport. He is rated in the 91st percentile on dribble jumpers this season, per Synergy Sports data, which has helped elevate him to Curry status as one of the best performers in March Madness history.
Alijah Martin
Draft range: 20-40
Heat watch: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Flashpoint: Thirty-five combined points in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament put Martin’s magestic two-way style on the map. Then, Saturday’s 17-point outing vs. Auburn was a cherry on top. He’s hit at least two 3s in four of the team’s five tournament games and is averaging 4.6 rebounds and 0.8 steals per contest.
Smolders: Martin plays bigger than his 6-foot-2 frame suggests thanks to an athletic pop that allows him to flourish on both ends of the floor. His transition dunk in the second half against Auburn was perhaps the best on-tape example of an athletic audacity that few would test in live competition.
Thomas Haugh
Draft range: 25-40
Heat watch: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Flashpoint: Florida isn’t still dancing if not for Haugh’s 20-point, 11-rebound game against Texas Tech in the Elite Eight. He helped lead UF’s second-half comeback with four made 3s and finished 6-of-11 shooting.
Smolders: Florida’s fifth-leading scorer, third-leading rebounder and buried in a deep frontcourt, Haugh has played his way into the first-round mix with sublime shot-making and versatility. He’s drained six 3s during the tournament and made the deepest frontcourt in college hoops even more dynamic with off-the-dribble playmaking. At 6-foot-9 he has essentially risen from an off-the-radar prospect to a potential first-round pick.
Milos Uzan
Draft range: 30-50
Heat watch: 🔥🔥🔥
Flashpoint: Twenty-five points and four assists in the Big 12 Tournament championship game was as big, if not bigger, than his 22-point and six-assist outing vs. Purdue in the Sweet 16. He has shown a mix of playmaking and versatility as a shot-creator for a deep Houston backcourt.
Smolders: Fifty-three points in three Big 12 Tournament games put Uzan on the first-round radar, though he has since posted some less inspiring performances to cool his stock. Against Duke, he played 28 minutes and finished with seven points, two assists and two turnovers. He missed seven of his 10 shots in the win and was a minus-4 in the second half.Â
Alex Condon
Draft range: 25-40
Heat watch: 🔥🔥🔥
Flashpoint: Condon detonated for 27 points and 10 rebounds on March 5 vs. No. 7 Alabama then turned around three days later to post 17 points and 15 rebounds against Ole Miss. He combined for 10 3-pointers in those two games and the displayed shot-making and shot-blocking that has juiced his stock all season.
Smolders: It’s been a forgettable NCAA Tournament for Condon on offense: He’s averaging 6.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.0 assists — all below his season averages. But he’s knocked down three of his eight outside shots and had one block in each of the last three games. He was part of a defensive rotation that stifled Auburn Johni Broome, and he took a key charge in the second half that helped shift momentum toward the Gators. He’s also helped Florida grab nearly 40% of its misses on the season.Â
JoJo Tugler
Draft range: 30-50
Heat watch: 🔥🔥🔥
Flashpoint: The most fearsome defender in the Big 12 — and maybe in college basketball — resides in Houston, America. Tugler is a 6-foot-8 forward with arms that stretch for days. He had four blocks in just 25 minutes of action against Duke.
Smolders: In November, Tugler logged eight (!!!) blocks vs. Alabama in 31 minutes. Weeks later, he had nine points, seven boards and five blocks vs. then-No. 12 Kansas. He made Cooper Flagg’s life miserable late in the Final Four. Led by Tugler, Houston claims the No. 1 in adjusted efficiency, per KenPom. He’s a game-wrecker who still lacks a punch on offense but could be a gamble worth taking for a team betting he develops.Â
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