NBA Draft

Center prospects that could be had in the second round or undrafted

While not a very top-heavy center class, there is decent depth of players with third big potential

By Matt Modderno Apr 30, 2023, 8:00am EDT

Phil Knight Legacy Tournament : Purdue v Gonzaga — Drew Timme defending Zach Edey

On Friday’s Bleav in Wizards podcast, I was joined by Garrett Johnson, a scout for Between the Lines Sports and a Wizards fan. In this episode, we broke down the center class heading into the 2023 NBA Draft.

In part one, I showed you the centers who could potentially be first round picks. For part two, here are the center prospects that are likely to fall to the second round or could be had on a two-way contract.

Zach Edey, 7’4, Purdue: consensus ranking: 54

Stats: 22.3 points, 12.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 2.1 blocks, 60.7% FG, 73.4% FT

Case for: huge, good touch around the rim, still relatively new to the game so he’s improved a lot in a short amount of time and may have room to develop

Case against: slow and limited laterally, he will get hunted by perimeter players, drop coverage-only big, how does he stay on the floor in a playoff series?

Fairleigh Dickinson v Purdue — Zach Edey dunking in the NCAA Tournament

Tristan Vukcevic, 6’11, Partizan Belgrade, consensus ranking: 55

Stats: 5.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, .9 assists 38.2% 3PT, 56.5% FG, 80.5% FT

Case for: shoots it, moves the ball well, held up against grown men in limited minutes

Case against: questionable athleticism, what else does he give you besides shooting

Partizan Nis Belgrade v Boulogne Metropolitans 92 - EuroCup Basketball — Vukcevic driving to the basket

Oscar Tshiebwe, 6’9, Kentucky, consensus ranking: 57

Stats: 16.5 points, 13.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1 blocks, 1.6 steals, 0% 3PT, 56% FG, 72.9% FT

Case for: plays hard, great rebounder

Case against: very limited offensively, undersized, no shooting, got hunted on defense this year

Kentucky v Kansas State — Oscar Tshiebwe shooting against Kansas State

Adama Sanogo, 6’9, UCONN

Stats: 17.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, .8 blocks, .7 steals, 36.5% 3PT, 60.6% FG, 76.6% FT

Case for: has improved as a shooter, runs the floor hard, physical, not afraid to bully-ball people

Case against: serious tunnel vision, probably undersized to play the way he does against NBA competition, may be the benefit of recency bias from a strong NCAA Tournament

Iona v Connecticut — Adama Sanogo dunking in the NCAA Tournament

Mouhamed Gueye, 6’11, Washington State

Stats: 14.3 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists, .8 blocks, .8 steals, 27.5% 3PT, 48.8% FG, 67.4% FT

Case for: big and pretty athletic, shown flashes of high-end offensive upside

Case against: still raw, could use more strength, should be a better shot-blocker than he is based on his tools

Washington State v Utah — Mouhamed Gueye blocking a shot

Drew Timme, 6’10, Gonzaga

Stats: 21.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1 block, 16.7% 3PT, 61.6% FG, 63.2% FT

Case for: elite footwork, elite low-post scoring, maybe the best passing center in this draft, great in pick-and-roll, good track of Gonzaga bigs being able to translate

Case against: below average physical tools, probably maxes out as net-neutral defender, hasn’t shown the ability to space the floor, will the offensive value be enough to offset the defense if he can’t also space the floor?

Connecticut v Gonzaga — Drew Timme dunking in the NCAA Tournament

Ryan Kalkbrenner, 7’1, Creighton

Stats: 15.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 2.1 blocks, .6 steals, 31.6% 3PT, 69.5% FG, 79.5% FT

Case for: great rim-protector, great at staying vertical and not fouling, projectable jumpshot, Creighton was bad on both ends of the floor when he was out/limited and great with him

Case against: limited to just a drop coverage big as he’s not switchable

Creighton v Villanova — Kalkbrenner blocking Cam Whitmore

Colin Castleton, 6’11, Florida

Stats: 16 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 3 blocks, 13.3% 3PT, 50% FG, 72.9% FT

Case for: good offensive hub in college, underrated passer, much better lateral mobility than he gets credit for, jumpshot looks solid in terms of form despite not making many threes

Case against: pretty old, didn’t shoot it as well as I would have expected

Florida v Alabama — Colin Castleton shooting against Alabama

Azuolas Tubelis, 6’10, Arizona

Stats: 19.8 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2 assists, .7 blocks, 1.1 steals, 31.2% 3PT, 57% FG, 76.4% FT

Case for: runs the floor hard on offense, good scoring around the rim, maybe has some shooting potential, extremely productive college player

Case against: undersized center, doesn’t project as much of a floor-spacer. probably more of a power forward based on size and physical tools but plays like a center offensively, not much defensive upside

Arizona v UCLA — Tubelis shooting over Jaquez of UCLA