NCAA March Madness is an exciting time of the year. Many have been busy studying teams this week to fill out their brackets. And once our brackets are put together, we are anxious to watch the teams.
One other thing that will be intriguing is to become familiar with the top players. Most NBA Draft Projections have the top ten players taken being college freshmen- so players we may not have seen. I know I want to get a chance to watch these top prospects. Here is a kind of composite list from several different draft experts:
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| Darryn Peterson in HS vs Dream City |
Top Three Most Likely
Darryn Peterson- Kansas- Fr- 6’5” Guard- 19.6ppg, 39% 3’s, 1.8apg. Shot creator, questions about missed games
AJ Dybantsa- BYU- Fr- 6’9” Forward- 24.9ppg, 34% 3’s, 6.7rpg, 3.8apg Considered by many as having biggest upside
Cameron Boozer- Duke- Fr- 6’9” Forward/Center, 22.7ppg, 41% 3’s, 6.7rpg, 4.1apg Considered best college player, most NBA ready, may have lowest ceiling
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| Ikenna Alozie, Tyran Stokes, Scott Shaver, AJ Dybansta |
The Rest to Watch
Caleb Williams- UNC- Fr- 6’10” 19.8ppg, 9.4rpg. Not playing in tourney.
Kingston Fleming- Houston- Fr 6’3” Point Guard 16.5ppg, 5.4apg
Keaton Wagler- Illinois- Fr 6’6” Guard, 17.9ppg, 4.9rpg, 4.3apg Nobody has risen up the lists faster.
Darius Acuff- Arkansas- Fr 6’2” Guard, 22.2ppg, 6.4apg Some label him the best point guard to play for John Calipari (D. Rose, John Wall). He is considered by some as the most NBA ready point guard.
Mikel Brown- Louisville- Fr 6’4” Guard 18.2ppg, 4.7 apg
Nate Ament- Tennessee- Fr 6’10” Forward 17.4ppg, 6.4rpg
Brayden Burries- Arizona Fr 6’4” Guard 16.0ppg, 5.0rpg
Josh Jefferson- Iowa St Fr 6’8” Forward
Jayden Quaintanu- Kentucky Soph 6’10” 5.0ppg, 5.0apg
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| Cam Boozer in Phoenix for Summer League |
Massey Blog’s NBA Draft Analyst-Scott Shaver
How big time is Massey Basketball Blog- we have our own NBA Draft Analyst!!
GHS grad, Scott Shaver is an assistant coach for the elite high school team, Dream City out of Phoenix. His team plays the circuit vs. most of the elite players.
Scott has seen most of the top NBA draft prospects, and has been able to watch them develop over the last few years.
I asked Scott to share his analysis of the players after watching them in high school and following them this past year.
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| Jayden Quaintanu as Freshman at ASU |
Scott’s Thoughts…
The 2026 NBA draft could be the best since 1984, with Jordan, Olajawon, Barkley, and Stockton. This year’s college freshman class is considered to be the best in college basketball history. The NBA 2026 draft should include at least 12 freshman in the top 14 pics. Our Dream City Christian team played against many of these players, and when we travelled, we often stayed in the same hotels where I met and got to know them and their families. Many of our Dream City players competed with and against these freshman on AAU teams and in tournaments.
Darryn Peterson-6’6”, played at Prolific Prep (NoCal), currently a combo guard at Kansas
We played Prolific Prep twice in 2024-25 and lost both games by two points each. He attacks the basket, is very good using his body, and finishes with either hand. He can post up, get his fade away, and is a 3 level scorer. Darryn is uses isolation and hesitation pull ups to create scoring opportunities. He is an elite athlete who likes to initiate contact and slight push offs on his jumpers. He is an elite shooter from beyond NBA 3 point range. He has a quick release and is very smooth. His coach, Bill Self, said he is the best player he has ever coached. He can get buckets on his own and is a willing defender.
AJ Dybantsa-6’9”, played for Utah Prep, currently at BYU and leads the nation in scoring
We played them 3 times during the 2024-25 season and won all 3. He is a mid-range pull up threat with isolation step back. An elite scorer, he is very good at selling fouls. He attacks the rim, plays off two feet, has long strides and a great spin move. He has all the attributes to be a plus defender. In high school, he already had contracts with Nike and Red Bull. His NIL at BYU was reported to be between $4.5 and $7 million. BYU’s Kevin Young was long time asst. NBA coach and runs a lot of NBA sets for AJ. I witnessed AJ and Darryn go against each other in high school in Atlanta and Kentucky. Darryn Peterson got the best of him in both contests, including scoring 61 points with the winning three pointer. AJ finished with 49.
Cameron Boozer-6’9” but seems taller, played at Columbus HS in Florida and is currently at Duke.
He has an elite basketball IQ and is an automatic double double. He has great foot work, is rebounder and passes well. He is probably the college player of the year. His twin brother, Cayden, also plays for Duke. His father Carlos played in the NBC from 2002-15.
Also a projected lottery pick is Jayden Quaintance, a former Dream City Player. He is listed at 6’10.5” and was the youngest player in the NCAA last year and was ineligible for the draft in 2025. He led the nation with blocked shots at ASU. A knee injury ended his season last year, but he transferred to Kentucky in 2025-26. An elite defender, he is a rim protector and rim runner. He is powerful, strong, and can score in the paint in traffic. He is a projected lottery pick at only 18 years old, with an outstanding long-term upside. He is very athletic and bouncy, just scratching the surface of his potential. Anytime you see him off the court, he has a basketball with him.
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| Ikenna Alozie guarding Mikel Brown |
Milos Uzan-former Dream City player, 6’3” point guard with the University of Houston is one of the best point guards in college basketball. He led Houston to the NCAA Championship last year. He is a solid all-around player averaging 11.5 points per game. He is a great leader and will definitely help an NBA team next year. One of Dream City’s current players, Ikenna Alozie, just signed with the University of Houston. When Houston coaches visit Dream City, they rave about Milos’ leadership and coachability.
Other players we faced are 6’5” Mikel Brown and 6’3” Darius Acuff. Brown who played at DME Academy in FL, is currently at Louisville and is averaging 18 pts a game. We played DME twice, and he scored 52 and 48 against us. Acuff, who played at IMG in FL, averages 22 a game for the University of Arkansas. We played IMG in Puerto Rico. They beat us by 4. They shot 54 free throws. We shot 12. Any other year, Brown or Acuff could be one of the first players taken.
Two other players I am very familiar with are Koa Peat and Brayden Burries from the University of AZ. Peat won four straight state championships with Perry HS in AZ. He was the 2023 USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year. He is the only U.S. player, under 20, to win 4 gold medals in international play. Burries played HS ball in CA. He is 6’4” and is currently the leading scorer at AZ. Both will be high draft picks and will have long pro careers.
If I was GM, I would choose Darryn Peterson #1, AJ Dybantsa #1A, and Cameron Boozer #2. I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the three. I think they will all be great pros.
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