2024 NBA Draft: Johnny Furphy, Kyshawn George and DaRon Holmes II Among February Stock Risers
As we're now past All-Star weekend and over halfway through the NBA season, we are getting down to the end of the season in college basketball.
Over the last month, we have seen a couple prospect's names skyrocket up draft boards. Johnny Furphy went from being projected to go undrafted to a top-20 pick, Kyshawn George went from being projected to go undrafted to a fringe-first round pick and DaRon Holmes II was a fringe second round pick and now he’s getting legit first round looks.
Here are the breakdowns on each prospect below:
Johnny Furphy | Kansas
Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal-USA TODAY NETWORK
Furphy is a 6-foot-9 freshman wing who has absolutely exploded over the last month. The Australian prospect has seen improvements each month in college basketball. He averaged 5.9 points in November, 4.8 points in December, 12.2 points in January and 12 points in February. As you can see, in the year 2024 he has tripled his production and has been a key piece to the Jayhawks success this season.
Furphy brings a ton of versatility to the table as he’s a length wing that can really shoot it, make above the rim plays in the open floor, a versatile defender and has a great feel for the game. He has a lot of valuable traits you look for in a role player and with him being so young he could offer some sneaky upside which is why he’s becoming so loved by scouts.
Kyshawn George | Miami
© Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
George is a 6-foot-8 guard that wasn’t getting any minutes to start the season and was struggling to make shots at an efficient rate to be a valuable starter and showcasing elite shooting ability as he’s shooting 40.8% from behind the arc with nearly 70% of his shot attempts being 3-pointers. George possesses a ton of shot versatility as he’s a big time threat off the catch, he can make some movement jumpers and has shown the ability to really shoot it off the dribble.
One thing he has only been able to show flashes of is his playmaking ability as he has shown on some plays this year he can make an advanced read off the live dribble. The next step is getting better on the defensive end and playing with a lot more physicality. The freshman out of Miami has been flying up draft boards and will likely continue to do so if he keeps this play up heading into March.
DaRon Holmes II | Dayton
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Holmes is a name most draft fans are already familiar with as he has been on draft radar’s since he was a freshman for Dayton. Now the 6-foot-10 big man is starting to rise on draft boards with how much more productive he has been and showcasing an improved 3-point jumper and passing ability. His first two seasons he only made seven out of 26 3-point attempts.
This season he’s shooting 24-for-65 from behind the arc showcasing the ability to make and take more 3-point jumpers. Holmes now being able to shoot jumpers while being a dominant paint presence has made him so much scarier as an offensive weapon. He has continued to improve as a passer as you can now consider him one of the best passing big men eligible for the 2024 NBA Draft.
Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.