3 players who raised their NBA Draft stock on Day 1 of March Madness

3 players who raised their NBA Draft stock on Day 1 of March Madness: Brady Manek, North Carolina

ESPN Rank: N/R

The North Carolina Tarheels absolutely stomped the Marquette Golden Eagles, 95-63. With how many great games there were, this one fell off of most people’s radars.

And with Armando Bacot and Caleb Love on the team, most people wouldn’t even notice the rest of North Carolina’s squad. But in the end, it was super-senior Brady Manek who carried the Tarheels to a win.

The 6’9” 23-year-old put up massive numbers and showed off his skills all over the court. He ended the game with 28 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks.

Manek shot 10-of-15 from the field, 5-of-10 from behind the three-point arc, and 3-of-3 from the free-throw line. With the NBA constantly looking for stretch bigs, Manek could seriously improve his draft stock.

The obvious factor working against Manek is his age. Manek will turn 24 years old in September this year and this marks his fifth year in college, as he spent his first four at Oklahoma.

However, as time goes on, more and more upperclassmen are getting serious draft consideration. Look at players like Ochai Agbaji in this year’s class and Payton Pritchard from a couple of years ago.

Big men who can shoot are a premium in the NBA, and if a team wanted to take a chance on Manek, he could help win them games right away with his shooting.

He’s not going to be a first-round pick, and in all likelihood, he probably won’t even go in Round 2. However, once the draft ends, people could be calling his line for a Summer League or two-way contract if he continues to thrive in March Madness.