Eight college star sleepers for the 2023 NBA Draft: Sanogo, Strawther, Bailey

The 2023 NBA Draft will not offer much suspense. Everyone knows that the San Antonio Spurs will select Victor Wembanyama with the first pick. The lottery and middle of the first round will look familiar thanks to the many mock drafts available on the internet, not to mention the list of invitees to the green room on draft night.

From there, things will start to get interesting. Who will be the unheralded second-round picks who exceed expectations, a la Nikola Jokić, Draymond Green and Khris Middleton? Which undrafted prospects will shock the world a la Fred VanVleet, Austin Reaves and Udonis Haslem?

The answers to those questions won’t reveal themselves for a couple of years, but that doesn’t mean we can’t take a sneak peek at the future. So I’ve compiled a list of eight sleepers from the college ranks who I think will exceed their projected draft status. All of these guys are currently projected as second-round picks, at best. Some of them probably won’t get picked. All of them have the ability to turn out to be pleasant surprises for the teams bold enough to overlook their shortcomings and play the long game.

Herewith, my Sleepy Octet:

I saw Bailey play in person early last season in Las Vegas, where the Bruins lost to Illinois and Baylor. I was struck by how uncomfortable Bailey looked shooting the ball, which was a problem considering his position was shooting guard. He had a combined six points on 2-of-10 shooting in the two games. It was early in the season, of course, and I knew he’d get better, but Bailey looked far from the one-and-done player he was projected to be coming out of high school. Over the ensuing weeks he had a couple of 19-point games against Pepperdine and Stanford, but when he went out with a foot injury in late December, it looked like Bailey was headed for a lost season.

As it turned out, the chance to watch from the bench for seven games did Bailey some good, because when he returned in late January, he was a different player. He scored a season-high 24 points in a Feb. 9 win at Oregon State, dropped 26 against Colorado in the Pac-12 tournament and averaged 17.3 points on 45.5 percent 3-point shooting over his last four games. He showed quickness, bounce and increasing confidence in his jump shot. Bailey went from averaging 9.5 points on 36.4 percent 3-point shooting in the 13 games before his injury to 12.5 points on 40.6 percent 3-point shooting in the 17 games afterward. Had Bailey returned to Westwood for his sophomore season, he would have most likely continued that ascent and played himself into the first round of the NBA Draft. Some lucky team is about to get him for a lot less money.

Emoni Bates, 6-9 sophomore forward, Eastern Michigan

Bates’ talent is undeniable. He is tall, agile, quick, explosive and highly skilled. He averaged 19.2 points (on 33.0 percent 3-point shooting), 5.8…