Five sophomores building NBA Draft buzz

Every year college basketball welcomes back some sophomores who enhance their NBA Draft stock after returning to school. Players who built some NBA Draft buzz but did not get the feedback they wanted and chose to bet on themselves. The 2022 draft featured sophomores like Benn Mathurin, Keegan Murray, and Jaden Ivey, who might have been back-end first-rounders if they left for the 2021 NBA Draft but came back and bumped into the top five.

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The 2022 NBA Draft also featured Johnny Davis, a sophomore who did not have the NBA Draft buzz as a freshman, but he built it as a sophomore when his role changed at Wisconsin. Routinely, sophomores make drastic moves throughout their second collegiate season.

Even with it being so early in the season, here are some sophomores who are already drumming up some buzz.

SF Emoni Bates (Eastern Michigan)

Height/Weight: 6-9/190
2021 On3 Consensus: No. 5

American loves a good comeback story, and Emoni Bates is as good a comeback story as any. The 6-foot-9 wing enrolled at Memphis a year early and was the youngest player in D-I basketball last season. The results did not go as planned, so Bates transferred back home to Eastern Michigan for a fresh start.

So far, Bates is averaging 19.5 points and shooting 42.9 percent from three. This includes a season-opening 30 ball he put up in the near upset of top-25-ranked Michigan. He will need to continue answering questions if his skill set can translate with his average length and athleticism. At 6-foot-9, Bates is the archetype of the play-making wing that is central in today’s NBA.

SG Jordan Hawkins (UConn)

Height/Weight: 6-5/195
2021 On3 Consensus: No. 52

Against Oregon, in the opening round of the Phil Knight Invitational, Jordan Hawkins exploded for five threes. The 6-foot-5 wing was already being talked about as a breakout candidate coming into the season, but this performance heated everything up.

Hawkins is a smooth shooting wing that has explosion in the open floor and positional size. He also has shown some comfort on the ball. Even with the small sample size, Hawkins fits the archetype of the NBA off-guard. He is averaging 11.2 points and shooting 36.4 percent on 7.3 attempts per game and will need to continue finding consistency.

SG Terquavion Smith (NC State)

Height/Weight: 6-4/165
2021 On3 Consensus: No. 91

Many of the people who do mock drafts had Terquavion Smith going in the back end of the first round in the 2022 NBA Draft. Smith opted to come back to NC State and bet on himself to improve his draft stock for the 2023 draft.

Smith started the season off strong with a 26-point outburst going 4-of-7 from three with five assists. The Wolfpack sophomore will need to find consistency; he averaged 13.3 points with 14 assists to 13 turnovers and shot 31.0 percent from the field and 30.4 percent from three during the Battle 4 Atlantis. He left a good taste in NBA scout’s mouths after a strong NBA Draft Combine performance.

SF Maxwell Lewis (Pepperdine)

Height/Weight: 6-7/195
2021 On3 Consensus: No. 135

In the forever search for the next 3-and-D connective piece, players like Maxwell Lewis will get long looks from the NBA. In 19.1 minutes as a freshman, Lewis knocked down 1.6 threes per game. He was talked about as a possible second-rounder last year.

Lewis came back and, while it is only a six-game sample size, cleaned some things up. He plays with a good pace, and he is taking better, more efficient shots. Lewis is shooting 52.4 percent from three with a 98.2 defensive rating.

C Trevon Brazile (Arkansas)

Height/Weight: 6-10/215
2021 On3 Consensus: NR

It was Arkansas‘ third game of the year, but Trevon Brazile had the dunk of the year against South Dakota State. That type of explosion is what has NBA scouts doing deep dives on the 6-foot-10 Missouri native.

Brazile is a mobile big man that shoots up NBA Draft boards as seasons go along. He has a reported 7-foot-2 wing span, and in 21.5 minutes per game as a freshman, he averaged 1.9 blocks per game (that’s 3.6 blocks per 40). Brazile is also shooting 38.5 percent from three this season on 3.7 attempts. With rim protection, mobility, and shooting touch, the intrigue is real.