The draft model All-American team is comprised of the highest-rated NCAA players at each position according to my DMX model that are not currently listed on the mock drafts or overall rankings at ESPN or NBADraft.net
GUARDS
Josiah Lake II / PG / Oregon State
HT: 6’2″
xVORP: .298
Josiah Lake was super efficient in a reserve role as a freshman for the Beavs, posting 69% true shooting and a 3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. While those numbers are likely to regress over a larger sample size, Lake has lots of room to improve as a volume scorer (9.6 PTS/40) and 3-point threat (1.8 3PA/40).
Ja’Kobi Gillespie / PG / Maryland
HT: 6’1″
xVORP: .270
After spending two seasons at Belmont, Ja’Kobi Gillespie arrives at Maryland where I expect him to follow a similar trajectory to past Big Ten up-transfers like Jahmir Young or Tyson Walker. In terms of his draft model projection Gillespie could be closer to the great Jalen Pickett, with an impressive .592 2-point percentage at 6’1″, as well as 2.7 steals and .5 blocks per 40 minutes.
FORWARDS
Yaxel Lendeborg / PF / UAB
HT: 6’9″
xVORP: .611
JUCO transfer Yaxel Lendeborg landed at UAB last year and quickly established himself as a top D1 player, earning AAC Defensive Player of the Year and leading the Blazers to the NCAA tournament. While he has the advantage of his stats not being dragged down by prior NCAA seasons, he also compared well to fellow juniors. Per BartTorvik.com, Lendeborg was 29th among qualifying juniors in Box Plus Minus, and seven of those players were drafted in 2024.
Maliq Brown / PF / Duke
HT: 6’8″
xVORP: .582
Obscured by the arrival of a highly celebrated freshman class and the presumptive top overall pick Cooper Flagg, Duke quietly picked up one of the most interesting players in college basketball in Maliq Brown. Following a promising freshman year at Syracuse, Brown had one of the most epic low usage seasons in NCAA history as a sophomore, combining offensive efficiency and defensive playmaking in a way that has not been done since 2008.
Granted all the caveats related to Syracuse and the 2-3 zone, lots of players have played at Syracuse since 2008 and none of them have done it like Maliq Brown. Now a projected starter on a national championship contender, Brown should find himself on the draft radar sooner than later.
CENTER
Owen Freeman / C / Iowa
HT: 6’10″
xVORP: .807
Owen Freeman is the latest in a long line of Big Ten centers to claim this spot, however I think this is more of a Zach Edey “hiding in plain sight” situation than another Hunter Dickinson or Trevion Williams. Freeman is coming off of a stellar freshman year at Iowa where he scored 17.7 points per 40 minutes on 63% true shooting to go along with 1.6 steals and 3 blocks per 40 minutes and more assists than turnovers. Freeman’s projection would almost guarantee that the NBA is in his future barring something catastrophic, so get ahead of it and put him in your rankings now.
Gmanalytics 
Leave a comment