The 2024 Men’s NCAA Tournament gets underway across the country this week. There is a four-game appetizer in Dayton on Tuesday and Wednesday before the main event, complete with madness, begins in earnest on Thursday afternoon. Casual observers and die-hard fans will dive in at the same time, following their brackets and the general excitement in the event.
Still, there is another defined angle for evaluation over the next few weeks, and it comes through the lens of the 2024 NBA Draft. The consensus is that the 2024 class is not terribly inspiring in comparison to previous groups, especially when it comes to college prospects, but some players always leap up the board in March and there are plenty of prospects to monitor. We’re going to let you know which players you need to watch as the Tournament begins, and here, we look at the top prospects in the East Region.
1. Stephon Castle, forward, UConn
2. Donovan Clingan, center, UConn
3. Terrence Shannon Jr., guard, Illinois
4. Alex Karaban, forward, UConn
5. Milan Momcilovic, forward, Iowa State
So… the East Region is the UConn Invitational. That wasn’t intentional in this space, but there isn’t a bevy of other prospects to choose from. Mind you, many projections would have UConn with four of the top five prospects in this region if you include Cam Spencer, but we’ll try to be a little bit judicious. Castle is a highly appealing lottery prospect with ready-made defense and passing to go along with great size on the perimeter. His shooting is a bit of a question, but perhaps he can answer it in the next few weeks. Clingan is another consensus first round pick, and he was one of the highest-rated returning players who could have been in the 2023 draft. The 7’2 center has some durability questions, but Clingan has the chance to put a stamp on a lottery profile with a dominant tournament on the defensive end.
Shannon Jr. is tough to discuss because of an off-court concern. He was charged with rape in December and suspended soon after, though a judge stepped in to reinstate Shannon’s ability to play in January. Since then, he’s been on the court and, by talent, he’s a consensus top-40 player in the class with an All-American profile on the college level this year. The off-court situation, however, is impossible to ignore, and means he cannot be evaluated as just a player. Karaban is a quality role player who can shoot it at 6’8, and Momcilovic is a Draft Twitter favorite. He is a bonkers shot-maker who isn’t afraid in the slightest to put a shot up.
