A Scout’s Take: Prospect Holiday Thanks and Wish List
In the holiday spirit, Jam gives a Thanks and Wish List for six of the top projected prospects in the 2026 NBA Draft.
The holiday season is a time for celebration, thanks, resolutions, and wish lists to manifest for the new year. With that spirit in mind, I want to give thanks to the outstanding play and evolving game of a class that’s been an absolute blast to scout thus far while continuing to project forward. Here is my Prospect Holiday Thanks and Wish List featuring Cameron Boozer, Mikel Brown Jr., Nate Ament, Yaxel Lendeborg, Darius Acuff Jr., and Bennett Stirtz.
Cameron Boozer | Big | Freshman | Duke
Thankful For: Machine-like Production
There is no wondering about talent versus production with Cameron Boozer. He’s an elite talent in the class with matching machine-like production. In what’s been a historic type of season, Boozer owns the second-best Box Plus/Minus (BPM) at 20.6 while averaging 23.3 PPG (1st in NCAA), 10.2 RPG, 3.7 APG, and 2.5 stocks (1.6 SPG and 0.9 BPG) on 56.3/34.8/78.9 shooting splits.
Don’t be bored by or overanalyze his dominant leveraging of size, strength, footwork, shotmaking, and feel. Cameron Boozer is someone who can average 20 points and 10 rebounds as an NBA franchise piece for well over a decade.
Wish: More Superstar Shotmaking Versatility and Self-Creation Flashes
I’m not in the camp that believes Boozer is all power, solely takes advantage of being more physical than his opponents, and will struggle to be a top two NBA scoring option for a championship-caliber team.
I get it, though. It’s not going to look as polished or easy as Darryn Peterson's or A.J. Dybantsa’s, but his scoring profile and projection are more skill-based; he has more upside than he’s given credit for having. Showcasing more of his shotmaking versatility and superstar self-creation flashes that have been sprinkled in throughout the season and on the grassroots level can help decision-makers clearly visualize his scoring potential.
Mikel Brown Jr. | Guard | Freshman | Louisville
Thankful For: Athleticism Boost and Functionalization
Mikel Brown Jr.’s growth spurt and adaptation to it have been remarkable. Alongside his advanced skillset, it’s what fuels his case as a Top 5 player and the first point guard off the board. He grew from a 5’9” high school freshman to a 6’5” collegiate freshman for about an eight-inch growth spurt across the last four years.
With an evolving body, there has been a legit boost as an explosive vertical athlete. It really became evident during his outstanding FIBA U19 World Cup run, and it has quickly carried over to the college level. Brown Jr. is attacking the rim with bad intentions, hammering slams in the half-court with both hands, and won’t hesitate to put you on a poster. All of the physical tools are there: NBA positional size, explosive vertical pop, quickness, speed, and burst.
Wish: Three-Point Shooting Uptick
Outside of wishing a speedy return and no long-term effects from a back injury that caused him to miss a big matchup against Tennessee, a three-point shooting percentage uptick tops the list. His current 26.8% clip on 7.1 3PA per game isn’t indicative of the type of shooter and shotmaker that he truly is and projects to be.
Brown Jr.‘s mechanics, touch, confidence, and shooting priors are all positive indicators of him being an impactful three-point shooter. His situation reminds me a lot of Tyrese Maxey, who shot 29.% from deep on 3.6 3PA at Kentucky, but had numerous positive shooting indicators as well. Clearly, in the NBA, Maxey’s career 38.2% mark (6.0 3PA) is having no trouble threatening defenses.
Nate Ament | Big Wing | Freshman | Tennessee
Thankful For: Tangible Strength Gains
Gaining adequate NBA strength is typically something I’m not worried about for prospects. The combination of an NBA Strength and Conditioning program with the inevitable “grown man strength” usually gets the job done. That was my hope and projection for the long and slender Ament, but thankfully, we don’t have to project as much as anticipated.
Ament has gained noticeable significant size, mature muscle, and definition to his frame. His broad shoulders are really starting to fill out. With those gains and room for much more, there should be fewer questions about his frame holding up on the NBA level. It will be more about him functionalizing and adapting to it like Mikel Brown Jr. has done with his growth spurt.
Wish: Return to Shooting Form and Defensive Playmaking
A major aspect of Ament’s appeal is his shooting and defensive playmaking at 6‘10”, providing him with a high 3-and-D floor if the superstar ceiling isn’t quite there. Unfortunately, the shooting and defensive playmaking numbers haven’t been ideal so far (30.6% 3P on 4.5 3PA, 1.6 stocks).
It’s certainly possible that the added strength is affecting his shooting, and he’s experiencing an adjustment period. Long-term, I’m trusting his shooting priors, touch, and mechanics.
Regarding the defensive playmaking, it’s the 1.5 steals per game that’s carrying the stock numbers. Ament has done some good things on the ball with active hands and in the passing lanes with his length and anticipation. Some of the capable weakside shot-blocking and on-ball blocks that we saw on the grassroots level, thanks to his length and movement skills at his size, haven’t translated yet. Ament only swatting one shot through 11 games has been shocking.
Yaxel Lendeborg | Big | Graduate Student | Michigan
Thankful For: Undeniably Modern Skillset
In his first season at Michigan, Yaxel Lendeborg is putting up 16.7 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 3.7 APG, and 3.0 stocks (1.6 SPG and 1.4 BPG) on 59.6/40.8/86.4 shooting splits through ten games. Lendeborg’s versatile, modern skill set is translating up quite nicely as he’s leading arguably the best team in the country right now. How about that NCAA leading 21.9 BPM?!?
At 6’9 and 240 pounds, there isn’t much, if anything, that Lenderborg can’t do on the court. He can operate as a hub from multiple spots, run dribble hand-offs, grab-and-go, operate pick-and-rolls as both the handler and screener, excel in the short roll, and space the floor. The shooting numbers probably will come down a bit, but Lendeborg is establishing himself as a reliable shooting threat who can’t be left open to round out his skill set.
Wish: Evaluators to Ignore Age
In this case, age ain’t nothing but a number. Although Lendeborg will be 24 years old early into his rookie season, that shouldn’t deter evaluators from selecting him high. His intersection of size, strength, and skill immediately plugs into any NBA lineup. Older prospects often get tagged with low upside, but Lendeborg might not fit with that billing. He’ll only have one season with the level of resources that a high-major program like Michigan provides, so there is reason to believe another leap can be made with NBA resources. Don’t be surprised if Lendeborg returns Top 10 value in the class.
Darius Acuff Jr. | Guard | Freshman | Arkansas
Thankful For: Scoring-Playmaking Balance
One of the most difficult aspects for talented young scorers is to find that balance between scoring and playmaking. Through expected growing pains, Acuff Jr. is finding success navigating that balance for an Arkansas squad that heavily relies upon his ability to create offense for himself and others. Acuff leads the Razorbacks in scoring and assists at 18.2 PPG and 6.1 APG.
Wish: Continued Playmaking and Floor Game Growth
Scoring was never going to be a real issue. There aren’t too many more dynamic scorers than Acuff. His stock was and is driven by his continued growth as a playmaker and floor general.
In addition to his awesome feel for lob passes, Acuff has been solid when making sound reads in pick-and-rolls and leveraging his scoring gravity to find teammates. I want to see him continue to make advanced reads of the defense’s backline and control the game with his facilitation.
Honestly, I didn’t expect him to be this productive as a playmaker so early. I thought this would likely come closer to the mid-point of conference play. It’s a very encouraging sign of his potential to be a full-time point guard and, at worst, be able to thrive oscillating on and off the ball.
Bennett Stirtz | Guard | Senior | Iowa
Thankful For: Translatable Day One Skillset
I find it difficult to believe that Stirtz won’t be an impactful NBA player. At 6’4”, he’s arguably a Tier One shooter in the class (career 40.9% from three on 4.9 3PA), accompanied by a shoot-pass-dribble profile that teams can trust to comfortably operate pick-and-rolls and attack the second side of the defense. There are defensive concerns, of course, but he brings value as a defensive playmaker (1.6 SPG). Overall, Stirtz is a plug-and-play guard with the skillset to outplay his late first projection.
Wish: Big Games in the Big Ten and Beyond
Maybe outside of athleticism, the biggest holdup for evaluators on Stirtz is needing to see him consistently produce against high-level competition after transferring from Drake to Iowa. Big games throughout conference play and beyond should ease some concerns. We’ll have a larger sample size at season’s end to truly evaluate.