NBA Mock Draft: 12 biggest risers and fallers from the NCAA Tournament

Markquis Nowell – Rising

As one of the bigger names to emerge from this year’s NCAA Tournament, Markquis Nowell is a player whose draft stock has risen quite a bit after his performance in the postseason with Kansas State. As a senior guard with the Wildcats, Nowell averaged 18 points and eight rebounds on 36 percent shooting from 3-point range. However, he seemed to crank it to the next level in the Tournament.

In the four games, Nowell averaged 24 points and 13.5 assists on 45 percent shooting from the field and 42 percent shooting from 3-point range. Nowell proved that, if nothing else, he’s an absolute gamer. He may be an undersized guard but I would have to imagine that based on how he looked and dominated at times during the NCAA Tournament, they’ll be some team that gives him a shot at the next level.

He’s unlikely to be a first-round pick at this point in the pre-draft process but I’m sure he’ll be taken in the second round, even if it is just a team that elects to take a flier on him. Nowell has played himself into being a 2023 NBA Draft pick. And perhaps much more.