NCAA Tournament Prospect Watch: Okafor loses hold on No. 1 spot, Harrell has elite half

The NCAA tournament has felt even more loaded with potential NBA prospects this year than it did in 2014, thanks to one of the most heralded draft classes of all time. Maybe it's the battle to be No. 1 pick, or the constant shuffling of those in the lottery, or the fact that 33 of ESPN's top-40 prospects were all on teams that made the field of 68. Maybe we just love this time of year regardless of prospect quality.

In any case, there were 74 prospects in the tournament ranked in the top 100 by either ESPN, DraftExpress or both, and 26 remain in the Elite Eight. Each day of the tournament, we'll check in and see how said prospects performed, and at the end of each weekend we'll provide a Stock Watch, letting you know who's been trending in what direction.

Pre-Tourney Previews: EAST | WEST | SOUTH | MIDWEST | Kentucky
Day One review: Russell, Towns shine
Day Two review: Okafor holds serve, Kaminsky dominates
Day Three review: Hollis-Jefferson locks up Russell
Day Four review: Rozier and Winslow excel
Week One Trending: 5 stocks going up
Week One Trending: 5 stocks going down
Day Five review: Towns scores 1 point, Dekker breaks out
Day Six review: Harrell, Winslow and Poeltl radiate
Day Seven review: Dekker stars, Towns beasts

Okafor no longer the No. 1 prospect

For the first time all season, Jahlil Okafor is no longer the No. 1 NBA prospect on the big board of ESPN or DraftExpress, the two leading authorities on such matters. That honor now belongs to Kentucky's Karl-Anthony Towns, who has been chasing it for some time and may have made the leap with a terrific Elite Eight performance Saturday.

Okafor has only slipped as far as No. 2, because despite a second consecutive disappointing game, he can still do things like this at 6-foot-11 and 270 pounds:

Okafor wasn't that bad in Duke's victory on Sunday, finishing with nine points, eight rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal. But he's now scored in single digits in back-to-back games after doing so only once all season long (in a 19-minute appearance during a 43-point blowout victory).

His wilting against elite competition is somewhat disconcerting, with Jakob Poeltl of Utah and now Gonzaga's Przemek Karnowski giving him issues. Okafor shot 4-of-10 Sunday, though he did largely help keep Karnowski off the scoreboard and the glass.

The debate between Okafor and Towns is sure to rage on until June 25, and one weekend isn't going to change the mind of some teams. Okafor is an elite offensive talent, especially as far as freshman bigs go, and Towns is a terrific defender who's coming along quickly on offense.

This story isn't done being told, and if you're an NBA fan - particularly a fan of one of the league's cellar-dwellars - you should be hoping for a Kentucky-Duke final on April 6.

Harrell shines early, gets shut down late

That's how Montrezl Harrell opened his Elite Eight showdown with Michigan State, and the first half became more or less a Harrell showcase for any scouts in attendance.

While the Louisville junior is a known commodity who's been slotted in the 15-25 range of the draft for three years, he was still able to wow. He dished four dimes, tying a career high in a single half, and scored 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting. The number of ways in which he helped drive the offense were impressive, and he held Branden Dawson to 1-of-5 shooting in a highly anticipated head-to-head battle.

But Harrell was shut down, largely by Dawson, in the second half and overtime. He shot 0-of-5 from the floor, didn't drop a single dime and saw Dawson rebound some with a 3-of-6 mark. In all, Harrell finished with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting with nine rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block.

All things considered, Harrell probably didn't help or hurt his draft stock much in a single game or in the tournament. He was excellent, and then he was less excellent, but his overall performance was about what everyone's come to expect from him.

Top Performances

• Dawson hadn't done his draft stock many favors in the tournament so far but stepped up in a major way in the second half, answering Harrell's call and proving a terror at the defensive rim. He finished with nine points, 11 rebounds, four blocks and a steal - probably not a good enough performance to work his way into the second round but maybe one good enough to get him a long look in Summer League.

• Justise Winslow's assault on the draft lottery will extend at least one more game. Chief Justise was great again Sunday with a game-high 16 points, five rebounds and an assist, a steal and a block. He shot 4-of-13 overall and 2-of-5 from outside, including the clutch triple above. There may not be another player who has made himself more money over the last two weeks than Winslow, who I believe to be the top wing in the draft. He's averaged 14 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.5 steals in the tournament while playing some of the best defense in the tournament.
  • I feel like I've written the same thing about Tyus Jones after every Duke game. He doesn't jump off the screen, but he had another strong outing with 15 points, three rebounds, six assists and two steals, all without a turnover. He's hyper-efficient, and even if he's a little undersized, he's probably worthy of a late first-round pick.

See you next year ... or on draft night

• That would be Harrell's teammate Terry Rozier showing off the good version of Rozier, who's a terror in passing lanes, plays harder than maybe any other guard in the country and changes speeds to create scoring opportunities with the best of them. The bad version of Rozier was more prevalent Sunday, with the sometimes out-of-control sophomore shooting 6-of-23 with some questionable shot selection, finishing with 13 points, eight rebounds, three assists, four steals and three turnovers. There was a lot of good and some noticeable bad, which is why Rozier is on the first-round bubble instead of firmly in the top 30.
• Domantas Sabonas closed out his tournament the way he spent it: winning hearts. The son of Arvydas scored nine points with four rebounds and a block but continued to flash potential that extends beyond his somewhat humble numbers. He's almost surely solidified his case to be a first-round pick if he opts out of a sophomore season with the Bulldogs.