For some, seeing Kobe Bufkin’s name mentioned in the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft is going to come as a surprise. Coming into the season much of the attention would go to his teammates, Hunter Dickinson and Jett Howard, and leave the idea of a first-round selection for Bufkin to the 2024 NBA Draft.
As Howard was getting lottery buzz and Dickinson was being a dominant college player, the Kentwood, MI native was putting together an impressive sophomore campaign that showed tremendous strides from his freshman season in Ann Arbor.
The 6-foot-4 guard made drastic improvements in every single box score stat as he saw his minutes per game triple. Bufkin filled up the stat sheet with 14 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.7 blocks per game.
While there are still a few concerns about the shooting, Bufkin got those 14 points a night on a very efficient 48% from the field, 36% from 3 on 3.7 attempts and 85% from the free throw line.
The shooting stroke looks good and the 3-point percentage is good enough, along with the incredible free throw percentage, to give scouts plenty to feel good about in terms of projecting his shot to the next level.
What really makes the still 19-year-old even more intriguing is the impact he makes on the defensive end of the court.
Yes, there will be some versatility limitations due to his height and slight build, less than 200 lbs., but he does an amazing job of sliding his feet with offensive players on the ball while at the same time giving his chest to cut off the drive and knowing the exact time to use accurate and aggressive hands to be disruptive.
According to Cerebro Sports, Bufkin is one of three high major Division I players with 30+ minutes per game, 30+ games played and a usage over 20% to score over 60 in each of their individual metrics. He was just one of 12 players in all of Division I, regardless of level, to have this distinction and was No. 4 on that list in terms of his overall C-RAM score of 9.2. The other high major players on that list are potential lottery pick, Anthony Black of Arkansas, and Devin Carter from Providence.
A couple other names on that list come from the WCC and look to be fellow 2023 draft picks in Maxwell Lewis and Brandin Podziemski.
All in all, this is an impressive list for Bufkin to be on that highlights his all around impact on the court and considering his age, especially for a sophomore, it is easy to see why NBA scouts would be intrigued by his continued growth and development.
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