Three Underrated College Guard Prospects for the 2024 NBA Draft
3. Jamal Shead: After one of the most heartbreaking ends to a college career Jamal Shead decided to enter the NBA draft. He was a consensus All American this season and the big twelve player of the year. Shead’s game is more fit for the college game but with his mentality and skills he will be just fine in the NBA. There is absolutely no way that Shead is at not at least an above average role player at the next level. He is an elite defender, great playmaker, and a true floor general. What makes Shead’s floor so high is his defensive impact. He can come into any system and be a great defender and impact the game in a positive way no matter what. What will decide how effective of an NBA player Shead is going to be is his offensive game. The strength of Shead’s offensive game is how well he works in the pick and roll. His elite playmaking really shines through in the pick and roll, he always makes the right decisions, and he is a good scorer in the pick and roll, especially with his floater. The one thing Shead needs to improve is his three-point shooting. He made just 31% of them in his final year of college. A lot of his three-point shots did come at the end of shot clocks or off the dribble. So, he is a better shooter than 31% but he needs to be a better shooter to be an effective point guard in the NBA. Shead does not have all star upside but his floor of being an above average role player is unbelievably valuable. On the NBA.com’s last mock draft Shead was projected to go 38th which is far too low in this weak of a draft class. Shead is a top 20 player in this class.
2. Devin Carter: The reigning Big East Player of the year who has true superstar upside being projected to outside the lottery is crazy. Devin Carter is one of the best two-way prospects in this class. He almost won Big East Defensive Player of the Year while being second in the conference in scoring to Quincy Olivari. Carter’s play style on offense is going to translate extremely well to the NBA. He is one of the best shooters in college basketball while being extremely athletic. Carter shot 38% from three on almost 7 attempts per game. Carter is consistently taking deep threes and some of the most difficult shots you will see in college basketball. Plus, he is crazy athletic and will dunk on anyone if they let him which is such a deadly combo. After Bryce Hopkins went down Carter had to put Providence on his back, and he could do that in the NBA. When you combine his offensive upside with the elite perimeter defense, he already has it is a scary combo that could result in a two-way superstar at the next level. His floor is an elite defender that can make threes which is valuable in today’s day and age. Carter should be a lottery pick and could be the steal of this draft.
1. Stephon Castle: Castle might be the best prospect coming out of college in this class. He is still projected to go fifth overall in the last NBA.com mock draft but that still feels low. Just like the other two prospects highlighted in this article, Castle is a lockdown perimeter defender. While the other two are elite Castle is even a tier above those two. He is easily the best perimeter defender in the class and one of the best guard defensive prospects in a while. Castle uses his athleticism in such a way that he can absolutely shut down any guard. His offensive game is where he needs to improve at the next level. The biggest area he needs to improve on is his shooting ability. Castle is already a great passer, finisher, and is great in the structure of an offense whether it is off ball or on ball. If Castle can be just an average three-point shooter at the next level, he is going to be an absolute problem. Castle is a one and done prospect, so he has more than enough time to work on his three-point shooting. Castle should be the first college player off the board his impact on winning is so much higher than a box score can show and can be the ultimate glue guy if he is not a super star at the next level which is a real possibility.
