Who I Watched (3/28): Otega Oweh, Chaz Lanier, Koby Brea, Amari Williams, Jahmai Mashack
And why I'm looking at older prospects with a renewed focus...
Here are some draft-related thoughts from Tennessee vs. Kentucky on March 28, 2025.
Before I dive into the tape, you might be wondering — why am I highlighting older prospects as of late?
Amari Williams and Chaz Lanier are 23 years old, like Clifford Omoruyi and Richie Saunders yesterday or Alijah Martin previously. Koby Brea and Jahmai Mashack, like Walter Clayton Jr. and Alex Karaban, are 22. Even Joshua Jefferson, who is 21 until November, is going back to school, so he’ll be an “older” prospect in the 2026 draft. Otega Oweh is also 21.
Broadly, there are two main reasons:
College basketball is undoubtedly getting older across the board die to NIL money and the transfer portal (also the new JUCO eligibility rule).
The second round of the NBA Draft is getting older thanks to NIL money and the transfer portal, as well.
A third and also important reason that doesn’t directly affect the NCAA but impacts the draft is the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement. Teams are still kind of wading into this CBA, but early on, it seems like there’s going to be an emphasis on drafting players who can produce in the short-term and contribute to a team while earning (relatively) little money.
Those tend to be older prospects.
Otega Oweh (Kentucky)
BOX SCORE: 13 PTS (5/12 FG, 0/1 3P, 3/4 FT), 4 REB (1o/3d), 1 AST, 3 TOV, 2 STL, 1 BLK, 4 PF in 35 MINS
NBA SKILL: Defense
SWING SKILL: Scoring juice
PREVIOUSLY: Oklahoma (2022-24)
I value Otega Oweh’s defense and connective playmaking. For now, those two items represent his best path to the NBA. I believe Oweh will be able to defend both guard positions and some wings, as well as make reads off the catch or as a secondary/tertiary ballhandler.
In this game, Oweh was individually solid . He contained ballhandlers, chased shooters off-ball, and was disruptive in flashes. The 6-foot-4 Kentucky junior had a 2.1 BLK% and 3.1 STL% this season.
Oweh can connect events on offense. He plays in transition, shoots and attacks out of spot-ups, and is efficient as a cutter. However, the 21-year-old’s catch-and-shoot volume is very low (20 threes made this season, 17 last season), and I have some questions about how his size and athleticism translates in terms of at-rim finishing.
Basically, I’m not sure how Oweh scores at an NBA level yet. He’s still a junior, so another year in college would be just fine for his stock.
Chaz Lanier (Tennessee)
BOX SCORE: 17 PTS (7/16 FG, 1/6 3P, 2/3 FT), 4 REB (1o/3d), 1 AST, 1 TOV, 1 STL, 0 BLK, 1 PF in 32 MINS
NBA SKILL: Off-ball scoring
SWING SKILL: Connective playmaking
PREVIOUSLY: North Florida (2020-24)
I love Chaz Lanier’s off-ball scoring, and the numbers and tape check out. I think he’ll be a second rounder come the draft.
In this game, we saw Lanier curl into catch-and-shoots around the elbows time and time again. He’s really comfortable off screens, with 186 possessions there this season on high volume (64/173 shots).
Lanier can also spot-up from three, making 40.5 3P% (98/242) of his catch-and-shoots. On top of that, he averages 8.2 threes per game (7.5 last season) and takes 16.2 threes per 100 possessions. That’s awesome.
Then, the Tennessee senior has the frame and size, but I think his finishing at the basket — particularly at the rim — still needs to improve. In general, it’ll be about whether Lanier can also attack off the catch, use his shooting gravity for others, and also add defensive value.
Koby Brea (Kentucky)
BOX SCORE: 5 PTS (1/7 FG, 1/4 3P, 2/2 FT), 2 DREB, 1 AST, 1 TOV, 0 STL, 1 BLK, 1 PF in 32 MINS
NBA SKILL: Shooting
SWING SKILL: Ancillary creation (what can he add if the shot isn’t falling?)
PREVIOUSLY: Dayton (2020-24)
Shooting is what brings Koby Brea to the table, even though the Kentucky prospect didn’t have a good game in this department against Tennessee. He shot 43.5 3P% (93/214) on 11.7 threes per 100. Further breaking down the numbers, Brea made 44 3P% (44/100) of his catch-and-shoots, 42.7 3P% (47/110) of his off-dribble threes, and then 91.4% (32/35) of his free throws.
His Synergy profile looks great as a shooter…
But what else can Brea do besides score (while keeping in mind that this scoring likely comes off-ball in the NBA)? He:
Does not get to the line (35 FTA in 36 games this season, 16 in 33 last season, 7 in 28 the one before)
Does not produce on defense (0.9 STL%, 1.3 BLK% … 29 stocks in 36 games, 28 in 33 last season, 16 in 28 the one before)
Does not add value as a playmaker (6.2 TOV%, 8.2 AST% … 1.1 OREB%)
Does not get featured very much, while being a fifth-year player (14.9 USG% this season … 16.6 USG% average … career-high is 8.7 FGA per game, this season)
Amari Williams (Kentucky)
BOX SCORE: 14 PTS (6/9 FG, 0/0 3P, 2/4 FT), 4 REB (1o/3d), 3 AST, 2 TOV, 2 STL, 0 BLK, 4 PF in 26 MINS
NBA SKILL: Positional playmaking (can act as a frontcourt hub on offense)
SWING SKILL: Downscaling while raising efficiency
PREVIOUS TEAM: Drexel (2020-24)
Amari Williams is a back-to-the-basket hub who demands a high volume of touches and will likely need to downscale for NBA success. The England-born big likes to get the ball above the break or on the blocks to scan the floor, find cutters (usually over the top), or get into the paint via post-ups.
Kentucky plays through Williams a lot (26.9 USG% this season), and he’s a genuine playmaker for his position (24.7 AST%, 3.2 AST, 1.4 A/TO). The Wildcats prospect plays out of HOs and DHOs, but he can also keep and drive out of 2-3 dribbles. Williams reminds me a bit of a bigger Trendon Watford with how he even brings the ball up at times.
I think Williams’ role will need to completely change at the NBA level. I recently wrote about Drew Timme and how he had to completely go from post-ups to more off-ball scoring. Cliff Omoruyi also did this transferring from Rutgers to Alabama. That’s the gist of what should happen.
The first thing to address is that Williams’ usage will definitely go down. So will his post-ups, even at the G League level (which is a very likely start). Then, he’ll need to adjust to scoring out of rolls instead of post-ups, and make quicker decisions in general.
I think there’s upside, though, and I’d be curious to tap into Williams as a short roller. His efficiency as a play finisher will need to improve, however.
Jahmai Mashack (Tennessee)
BOX SCORE: 4 PTS (1/3 FG, 0/0 RP, 2/3 FT), 3 REB (1o/2d), 3 AST, 0 TOV, 5 STL, 0 BLK, 0 PF in 28 MINS
NBA SKILL: Defense
SWING SKILL: Offense
“Defense” vs. “Offense” might sound like a simplistic evaluation, but that’s honestly what it comes down to for Tennessee senior Jahmai Mashack for me.
The 22-year-old is an annoying defender who I’d hate to come up against in workouts (shoutout to who mentions this idea often); however, he’s also really a non-factor offensively for NBA standards, and sometimes even for college.
It’s not just that Mashack doesn’t score (4.2 career average), it’s that he doesn’t even try to score (3.3 FGA career average). I don’t think Mashack is an NBA prospect, but I do think the idea of an all-defense, no-offense player is an intriguing developmental (and selective) opportunity.
If I was a decision maker looking at acquiring a swingman-sized prospect fitting that bill this year — and I’m not against this — my first priority would be Isaac Nogués, though.
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I don’t think any of these players will get drafted. There are to many other NBA ready players out there