The Hardwood Blues 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 2023 or 2024 mock drafts at ESPN or NBADraft.net
GUARDS
Mark Sears / PG / Alabama
HT: 6’1″
xWINS: 1.4
Mark Sears began his career at Ohio University where he posted impressive per-minute statistics while backing up star point guard and NBA draft pick Jason Preston. Now at Alabama, Sears will share point guard duties with veteran Jahvon Quinerly and get a chance to prove himself against top power five competition. Sears boasts per 40 minute averages of 20.5 PTS, 6.4 REB, 5.1 AST, and 1.9 STL while shooting 38% from three and nearly 88% at the foul line. His lack of size and athleticism, as shown by his 0.1 blocks per 40 minutes, is presumably keeping him off the NBA draft radar for now, however the emergence of Jalen Brunson gives some hope to small guards with minuscule block rates.
Nijel Pack / PG / Miami
HT: 6’0″
xWINS: 1.3
The former Kansas State Wildcat signed a landmark NIL deal with The U where he and Isaiah Wong will form one of the nation’s top backcourts. Like Sears, Pack is undersized and under-athletic, but is perhaps the best shooter in college hoops, connecting on over 42% of his threes on a high volume of attempts to go along with an 83% free throw percentage. Similar undersized NCAA sharpshooters like Seth Curry and Bryn Forbes have gone overlooked in the draft before carving out solid NBA careers as high-volume three point specialists.
FORWARDS
Norchad Omier / PF / Miami
HT: 6’7″
xWINS: 1.4
Perhaps a less-heralded Miami transfer, Narchad Omier was a statistical monster in his first two seasons at Arkansas State, posting 22.2 PTS, 17.4 (!) REB, 2 STL, and 2.4 BLK per 40 minutes. Omier’s lack of outside shooting at 6’7″ is a concern, but it is possible that he could carve out a Jarred Vanderbilt or Javonte Green type role at the next level as a defender/rebounder/junkyard dog power forward.
R.J Melendez / SF/PF / Illinois
HT: 6’7″
xWINS: 1.2
Andersson Garcia / SF / Texas A&M
HT: 6’7″
xWINS: 1.1
I grouped Melendez and Garcia together because both are low minutes guys who grade out as potential draft picks in a small sample size. As a freshman at Illinois, Melendez shot the lights out (9-15 3pt, 17/20 FT) as a lightly used reserve, while putting up strong all-around box score stats. Garcia looks like a non-shooter, but has posted gaudy rebound and steal rates in addition to nearly 4 assists per 40 minutes in his first two college seasons.
CENTER
Hunter Dickinson / C / Michigan
HT: 7’1″
xWINS: 2.0
Hunter Dickinson joins Nick Ward, Ethan Happ, and Trevion Williams as Big Ten bruisers to claim the center spot on the Hardwood Blues All-Americans. The recent Big Ten great that Dickinson most closely resembles is Luka Garza.
I would expect Dickinson to roughly follow the Garza career arc from best player in NCAA, to late second-round draft pick, to fringe NBA player.
Hardwood Blues 