NBA Draft Prospects Shine in Stanford-North Carolina Matchup

Conference play continued around the NCAA on Wednesday night with an impressive slate of games across the country.

The Jan. 14 schedule delivered a few intriguing results, as Vanderbilt suffered its first loss of the 2025-26 campaign. Additionally; Mississippi, Kentucky and SMU each won on buzzer-beaters, adding to an eventful evening.

A number of potential NBA Draft picks were also in action, with Duke, Texas Tech, Arkansas, Arizona, Michigan and BYU all picking up wins on Wednesday.

One of the most entertaining games of the night, though, was in the ACC, as Stanford and No. 14 North Carolina dueled in a high-scoring affair that featured impressive performances from a trio of draft prospects.

True freshman guard Ebuka Okorie led the Cardinal to a 95-90 win with 36 points, 9 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and just one turnover while shooting 12-of-20 from the field, 3-of-5 from 3-point range and 9-of-11 from the free throw line.

Hailing from Brewster Academy, the same high school program that produced NBA players Donovan Mitchell, Matas Buzelis and TJ Warren, among others, Okorie was a four-star recruit ranked the No. 100 overall player in the 2025 class by the 247Sports composite rankings.

Okorie has exceeded expectations as a freshman at Stanford, averaging 22.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 44.5% from the field, 32.6% from beyond the arc and 81.5% from the free throw line.

Still shocked at how Stanford’s Ebuka Okorie played this gap. pic.twitter.com/Eqsa6bpeTI
— Mohamed (@mcfNBA) January 15, 2026

The Cardinal standout has been one of the most productive freshmen in the NCAA this season, and could evelate himself into the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft if he continues to perform well. Listed at 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, Okorie's size will likely be a concern for some teams, but the young guard has enough skill to mitigate those worries.

For North Carolina, freshman Caleb Wilson notched 26 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and a block while shooting 11-of-16 from the field and 4-of-7 from the free throw line. Wilson, a likely top-10 pick this summer, has also been one of the more impressive freshman across college basketball this season.

Listed a 6-foot-10 and 215 pounds, the former five-star recruit is averaging 19.9 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 58.2% from the field, 25% from deep and 69.2% from the free throw line.

Henri Veesaar also performed well for the Tar Heels, chipping in 26 points, 6 rebounds, an assist and a block while shooting 9-of-12 from the field, 2-of-2 from 3-point range and 6-of-11 from the free throw line.

After spending the first three years of his college career at Arizona, the 7-foot, 225-pound big man is averaging 17.4 points, 9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 blocks while shooting 65.5% from the field and 53.5% from beyond the arc on 2.5 attempts per game.

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