March Risers & Revelations: My 2025 NBA Draft Takeaways from the Big Dance
Scouting Notes, Stock Shifts, and Standout Performances from the NCAA Tournament
The 2025 NCAA Tournament has delivered its usual dose of chaos and clarity, with a Final Four that’s both surprising and telling. All four No. 1 seeds—Duke, Florida, Houston, and Auburn—have punched their ticket to San Antonio, but the makeup of this year’s field feels a bit different. Duke stands out as the lone team anchored by potential lottery talent, headlined by a trio of freshmen who’ve flashed serious NBA tools.
Outside of that young core, it’s not a stretch to say we might not see another first-rounder emerge from the other three teams—Florida perhaps being the lone exception, with a few fringe first-round candidates on the radar.
What follows isn’t a comprehensive draft board or a deep dive into every name still playing, but rather a collection of players who’ve caught my eye—prospects who’ve helped themselves or simply forced me to take notice with their play over the course of this tournament run.
Duke’s Freshman Trio: Flagg Leads the Charge
One of the biggest questions heading into the NCAA Tournament wasn’t just whether Duke could make a deep run—it was how Cooper Flagg’s ankle would impact those chances. The two storylines were closely tied. Flagg had missed the final two games of the ACC Tournament with a sprained ankle, and while Duke managed to win the conference title without him, their hopes of cutting down the nets in April were always going to hinge on his availability and effectiveness. Once the real pressure kicked in, all eyes were on how he’d respond. Would he be the same athlete? Would the injury linger? Would it alter Duke’s ceiling?