With the NBA draft lottery on May 16, talk around the NBA draft will start to heat up in the coming weeks. After a stellar freshman season, Ohio State forward, Brice Sensabaugh, is a name that is expected to be announced in the first round on draft night.
Sensabaugh arrived on campus as the No. 6 ranked player and 18th ranked small forward in the 2022 class. He was expected to make an impact as a freshman, but not quite the splash he ended up making.
He started the season coming off the bench, but it was apparent from the beginning of the season that Sensabaugh was a very good shot-creator and a scorer.
For the best local Columbus news, sports, entertainment and cultural coverage, subscribe to The Columbus Dispatch.
Sensabaugh was relied upon heavily by the Buckeyes in a disappointing season last year. While finishing at 16-19 overall, Sensabaugh was a consistent bright spot for the Buckeyes. He went for double digits in 29 of his 33 games and finished the season as the team’s leading scorer with 16.3 points per game.
Ohio State’s Brice Sensabaugh goes up for a dunk in college basketball action. Credit: USA TODAY
Someone with Sensabaugh’s difficult shot-making and scoring ability is going to be coveted in the NBA. Now we look through four mock drafts and see where the projections have him coming off the board on draft night.
NBA Draft Room
Pick Projection
No. 27 overall to the Charlotte Hornets
Analysis
This mock draft from the NBA Draft Room was published about a week ago and projects Sensabaugh to be a late first-round pick calling him “A burly and powerful combo forward with an advanced offensive game.”
The Ringer
Pick Projection
No. 27 overall to the Utah Jazz
Analysis
This mock draft was made by Kevin O’Connor, an excellent NBA analyst for the Ringer, over a month ago. O’Connor cites Sensabaugh’s ballhandling, pull-up game, and catch-and-shoot ability as his biggest strengths.
Yardbarker
Pick Projection
No. 21 Overall to the Brooklyn Nets
Analysis
The Yardbarker’s Pat Heery has this to say about Sensabaugh’s game: “The 6-foot-6, 235-pound freshman is an absolute bucket-getter and excellent shooter (40.5 percent from three), but will need to expand on the rest of his game.”
For The Win USA Today
Pick Projection
14th Overall to the New Orleans Pelicans
Analysis
Brian Kalbrosky of USA Today’s “For The Win,” has the highest projection for Sensabaugh, coming off the board in the lottery in this mock draft. Kalbrosky calls Sensabaugh, “a genuinely efficient third-level scorer who was one of the most prolific shot creators on 2-pointers in all of college basketball.”
Ultimately, based on these four mock drafts it looks like Sensabaugh’s current range is a ceiling of the late lottery and a floor of the late first round.
[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1363]
Contact/Follow us @BuckeyeWire and @evanrbach on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion.
Story originally appeared on Buckeye Wire