10 under-the-radar NBA draft prospects that every team should target
By Rowan Kent
Under-the-Radar Prospect #5: DaRon Holmes II, Dayton
Despite the notable chatter about how the NBA is making the modern center go the way of the dinosaur, there is still a place for more traditional big men in the league. Although few are star starters, teams still need tall players who can engulf drives and swallow up rebounds on both ends.
Enter Holmes II. As a sophomore at Dayton, Holmes II stepped up his game in virtually every single category, while also becoming the unquestioned alpha for the Flyers. He doesn’t have a polished bag or perimeter game, outside of a lucky heave in the A-10 tournament, but he does enough well as a classical center to warrant a first-round look.
Holmes II hustles hard on defense, blocks shots, and runs the floor with abandon. He’s athletic, hungry for rebounds, and an underrated passer and reader of the floor. Even though post-play has gone out of style, there is still a time and a place for a polished move like this when NBA teams are playing their benches:
As Dayton's season went on, Anthony Grant just pivoted towards a five-out offense designed at getting DaRon Holmes touches and position on the block. Did it out of empty side PNRs but also some base Triangle offense stuff for low-block position pic.twitter.com/xknGqc6kaZ
— Joe (@JoeHulbertNBA) March 14, 2023
Holmes II isn’t on any sort of star trajectory, but he could be the first big off of the bench for a number of teams. Oklahoma City, Miami, and Sacramento, to name a few, would all love a better backup center who can play his role perfectly. If he slips to the second round, Holmes II might be the latest in a string of second-round steals who outplay their draft positioning.