Upside and Motor: 2025 NBA Draft Big Board 4.0, VJ Edgecombe stakes his top-3 claim

It's officially March, which is the best basketball month of the year — bar none.

College basketball is, from an on-court perspective, "worse" than NBA basketball. There are no two ways about it. The product is significantly less elegant. Spacing is cramped, execution is muddled, and the athletes don't leap off the screen in the same way (with a few notable exceptions).

And yet, when the NCAA Tournament rolls around every March, the entire nation is held captive. It's mesmerizing. It's not difficult to find folks on the street who disagree with my above statement — people who will proclaim college hoops as the pinnacle of basketball entertainment, citing buzzwords like "effort" and "grit" and "want-to." That's generally ridiculous, since the NBA has plenty of that and much better players, but it feels a little less ridiculous in March. There's something about putting 68 of the best college teams in a single bracket, single elimination, and letting chaos reign for a few weeks.

For NBA Draft purposes, it's a great opportunity to view many of the top prospects under a new lens on the microscope. Some big names, such as Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, won't get a chance to play deep into March, but many projected first-round picks will be on national TV this month with a chance at glory. We've seen many a prospect improve their stock on the tournament stage. Sometimes we read too much into how a player performs in March, in this small but consequential sample size. But it does matter. Players who elevate their performance under pressure deserve credit for doing so.

There's a lot of fun basketball on the horizon. This is a loaded draft class, ripe with plausible March heroes, many of whom can be found in our newest big board.

2025 NBA Draft Big Board: Cooper Flagg sticks at No. 1, VJ Edgecombe rises, Jeremiah Fears surges

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VJ Edgecombe's ceiling touches the stars

VJ Edgecombe has come on strong the past couple of months. Since the calendar flipped to 2025, the Baylor frosh has shot 39.0 percent on 4.8 attempts per game from 3-point range. Gone are the days of pressing concern over his jump shot. Edgecombe is spacing the floor and slicing defenses right up the gullet with an unmatched first step, becoming one of college basketball's most fearsome scoring guards.

He's not the most advanced self-creator, but Edgecombe is probably the draft's best athlete. He'll be one of the very best athletes in the NBA, actually. He's 6-foot-5 with a negligible wingspan, but Edgecombe's ability to cover ground on defense is undeniable. He's a pest in passing lanes, a legitimate shot-blocking presence on the perimeter, and one heck of an on-ball stopper. Factor in the offensive package — complete with sharp passing chops, a robust finishing package around the rim, and enough pull-up flashes to keep scouts enwrapped — and there's not much standing between Edgecombe and NBA stardom.

He's a nuclear athlete with a high IQ and two-way playmaking instincts. He continues to progress as a shot-maker, with six games of at least three made 3s over the last couple months. The arrow is pointed up. There's a lot to like with Edgecombe's progression.

Jeremiah Fears at No. 4? Really? Yes, really

There has been some movement atop the board, obviously. This is a very talented class, especially in the lottery range. If we want to break it into tiers, I'd classify Cooper Flagg as 1A, Dylan Harper as 2A, and the next five-odd prospects as 2B. There will be folks who look at these rankings and denounce the "Ace Bailey disrespect," but we are splitting hairs between several future stars. This is not an effort to tear down one prospect to elevate another. Bailey is still really, really special.

Jeremiah Fears, however, leaps to No. 4 after a few strong late-season performances for Oklahoma. The Sooners are on the postseason bubble right now, but Fears is doing his best to keep those dreams alive. Still 18, Fears has shouldered the highest usage rate among high-major freshmen. The Sooners live and die by Fears, often to a fault.

It has not been a perfect season for the athletic 6-foot-5 point guard, but Fears is one of those athletes who moves differently than the rest. He blends a devastating first step with impressive body control and tempo. He can mix speeds, deploying stutter steps and hesitation moves to freeze the defender before exploding to the rim. His physicality as a finisher is awfully impressive, especially for such a young and skinny guard. Fears gets to the free throw line a lot, which is a strong indicator for potential star-level creators.

Fears needs to shoot better from 3-point range (27.5 percent for the season) and cut down on turnovers, but he's one of the youngest prospects in the draft and he has all the tools one could hope for in a franchise point guard. Invest in this stock.

Tre Johnson just won't be denied

And I've tried!

Tre Johnson does not necessarily occupy my favorite prospect archetype — a shot-hunting guard who doesn't pressure the rim or create for teammates at a high clip. But the production is impossible to overlook at this point. He's averaging an SEC-leading 20.6 points as a freshman, slashing .448/.403/.876 with a 1.4 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Johnson has been especially hot of late as Texas fights to preserve its NCAA Tournament hopes. He dropped 39 points and seven made 3s on Arkansas a couple weeks ago. Not long before that, he put up 32 points and nine rebounds against Kentucky. Just this week, he scored an efficient 23 in a critical OT win over Mississippi State.

There isn't a more natural scorer in this draft. Ace Bailey has earned his reputation as a sort of magical shot-maker, but Johnson rivals him in both volume and absurdity. He's not as tall as Bailey, but Johnson deploys tight handles and crisp footwork to find his spots and get into a shot whenever he wants. Whether he's lacing a step-back 3, dancing into the mid-range, or flying around screens into a movement jumper, Johnson is a perpetual threat to put ball in bucket.

He's a sturdy defender (1.6 steals) and a better passer than his low assist numbers might indicate. The more Johnson shows a willingness to set the table and elevate teammates, the higher his stock will rise in NBA circles.

JT Toppin deserves more attention in the second round

A major riser this past month, Texas Tech sophomore JT Toppin is worth keeping tabs on. There is understandable skepticism tied to his somewhat atypical profile, but the production is off the charts. Few players are more impactful on a per-minute basis right now. He's still 19 as well, so there's ample room for sustained growth.

Toppin's lack of 3-point shooting has been a tough pill for scouts to swallow since his breakthrough freshman campaign with New Mexico, but Toppin has two made 3s in three of his last four games. He put dropped 30 points and 14 rebounds against Colorado, including six offensive boards.

He won't space the floor much (yet) or do much in the way of passing, but Toppin boasts tremendous interior scoring instincts, a ceaseless motor, and a sturdy defensive presence. He is catching fire at the right time.