Michigan guards Kobe Bufkin, Jett Howard earn NBA Combine invites
The NBA has released the official invite list for the 2023 NBA Draft Combine, and two Michigan Wolverines basketball prospects made the cut in guards Kobe Bufkin and Jett Howard. The combine will be held May 15-21 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Ill.
Those with invitations can choose not to participate in the combine, but beginning in 2024 players will reportedly be required to compete.
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Both Bufkin and Howard are widely viewed as potential, perhaps even probable, first-round selections in the draft, which is set for June 22 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Bufkin declared after two seasons at Michigan, including a breakout sophomore campaign in 2022-23. The 6-4, 195-pounder 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.
Bufkin’s “sophomore leap” of averaging 11.4 more points per game in his second season than he did his first marks the biggest increase year over year in the Michigan program over the last 15 seasons.
The Michigan guard has seen his stock rise recently. The Athletic‘s Sam Vecenie pegged him as the 11th-best prospect in his recent big board.
“Not only is he clearly Michigan’s best prospect, but I have a lottery grade on him right now,” the analyst wrote. “There isn’t really anything he does poorly.”
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Howard checked in 27th on Vecenie’s list.
Howard, meanwhile, is Michigan’s fourth one-and-done prospect this century and the third in the last two seasons. The 6-8, 215-pounder 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 U-M player in a single season.
The Michigan guard struggled with shot selection, rebounding and defense but has the physical tools and shooting ability that have impressed scouts.
Michigan has had nine first-round draft picks since 2013, the most among Big Ten teams. Indiana and Michigan State are tied second with five. The Wolverines have had 14 overall selections during that span, including two last year in second-rounders Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate.
There have been 15 drafts in which Michigan has had multiple draftees, and that’s expected to continue this year. The Maize and Blue have had 65 selections throughout history, including 18 lottery picks. Given the stock of both Bufkin and Howard, that number could grow this summer.
