The dog days of the NBA schedule are almost over, and to get basketball fans over the finish line and into the playoffs March Madness has arrived. The first weekend of the NCAA Tournament just concluded, with a number of NBA prospects showing their worth in impressive performances.
Cooper Flagg continues to dominate as the future No. 1 overall pick, and other Top 10 prospects had big games. Yet the Cleveland Cavaliers are not shopping at the top of the draft, or even anywhere in the first round. They will send the 29th or 30th pick in the draft to the Phoenix Suns, and instead head into the NBA Draft with two mid-to-late second-round selections.
Plenty of intriguing talent will be available even at that point in the draft, and the Cavs' own roster bears that out as Max Strus, Sam Merrill and Dean Wade play key roles. The Cleveland front office will be hard at work scouting the draft prospects currently playing in the NCAA Tournament.
Which players potentially in play for the Cavaliers in the second round of the draft had big performances this past weekend? Let's look at three college stars and discuss how they could fit into the Cavs' roster if selected in June.
No. 3: Darrion Williams, Texas Tech
Texas Tech's best player is JT Toppin, an All-American who continues to light it up on the scoreboard. Yet on Saturday the Red Raiders held off an extremely well-coached Drake team to advance to the Sweet Sixteen, and their leading scorer was not Toppin, but rather Darrion Williams.
The 6'6" wing scored a season-high 28 points to lead all scorers, shooting 11-for-18 as he dropped 14 points in each half. He consistently took the ball and created offense for Texas Tech, which was cold from 3-point range and needed to generate offense inside. Williams did just that, bullying Drake in the paint again and again, adding five free throws to his tally. He also put up six rebounds, five assists and two steals in a complete performance.
The Cavaliers have their backcourt and their bigs in place, so they need to continue stocking up on wings. Williams is a career 38.5 percent shooter from deep with excellent defensive chops and a nose for the hoop. His combination of secondary playmaking, strength and motor make him an intriguing addition if he lasts until the Cavaliers' pick in June.
Next Game: Thursday vs Arkansas, 10:09pm ET
No. 2: Koby Brea, Kentucky
The Kentucky Wildcats found themselves in a dogfight on Sunday against an Illinois team with plenty of NBA talent. This was not your mother's Kentucky team, either; John Calipari moved on last summer, and this was a Kentucky team built not on 5-star freshmen but through the transfer portal. That included 6'6" guard Koby Brea who joined the Wildcats after four years at Dayton.
Brea's calling card? He can absolutely shoot the basketball. Last season at Dayton he led the entire nation in 3-point shooting, hitting a whopping 49.8 percent of his 6.1 attempts per game. This season at Kentucky he led the SEC at 43.8 percent. He doesn't bring a lot of other high-end skills to the table, but with decent size and an absolutely pure stroke, he has real value at the NBA level if he is developed properly.
NBA teams, the Cavaliers included, will certainly be intrigued by his performance against the Fighting Illinini. Brea broke the game open, going on a personal 8-0 run at one point to fend off Illinois. He scored 23 points and forced the defense to shade help toward him, opening up offense for his teammates. Without Brea, Kentucky doesn't make it to the Sweet Sixteen.
Some shooters make it in the NBA; others have glaring weaknesses that wash them out. Each of them gets a chance, however, and Brea will get a two-way deal to prove himself - could it be with the Cavaliers?
Next Game: Friday vs Tennessee, 7:39pm ET
No. 1: Walter Clayton Jr., Florida
The UConn Huskies should have won that game.
The two-time defending champions did not have a dominant season, which pushed them down to an 8-seed. That set them up to face the white-hot Florida Gators in the Second Round. Rather than roll over against a superior foe, however, the Huskies came out and dominated the court on both ends, with a superior game plan and an incredible amount of intensity.
Florida should have lost, should have been the only one seed to bow out before reaching the Sweet Sixteen. Then Walter Clayton Jr. happened.
The senior guard is not stranger to big performances. He was a First Team All-American this season, scoring 17.9 points per game for one of the four best teams in the country. Yet it was still incredible for him to put Florida on his back and take over the game against UConn, including nailing multiple huge shots down the stretch of the second half to key an 8-0 run to put Florida ahead. His pure 3-pointer against tough defense to push the lead to six ultimately proved to be the winning shot of the game.
Clayton is just 6'2" and is a good, not elite, playmaker. He has to work on his game to make it as a point guard sized player. But explosions against high-end competition show that he has something to offer at the next level. If the Cavaliers lose Ty Jerome this summer, Clayton could be the answer to replace him.
Next Game: Thursday vs Maryland, 7:39pm ET