Five Fabulous Freshmen Forwards
A look at the 2025 freshmen forward class.
I am going to be breaking down five of the freshmen forwards that are closely compared to each other. Non Cooper Flagg edition these are the best of that crop in my opinion. We will start with them in the order I currently have them in before the deep dive. Then at the end, we can figure out where I would have them after going in for more detail.
Ace Bailey
18-year-old 6’10 200 lbs. mid-range master from Rutgers. Per 40 averages 21.3 points, 6 rebounds, .7 assists, 1.7 steals, 1 block, 1.7 turnovers, 45.8% FG%, 42.9% 3%, 77.8 FT%.
I’ve covered Ace already a bit this year so for him I won’t go as deep, long story short Ace is an amazing three-level scorer. The shots are all difficult but they seem to almost always go in. He’s also the best rim protector of this group and has shown a lot of promise on the defensive end. A lot of people are divided on Ace. I personally am more on the believer's end than the hater's end. I also hold the minority view that his passing is better than the raw totals, especially the assist-to-turn-over ratio, indicate, especially because he’s sharing the court with a ball-dominant guard in Dylan Harper.
Ace reminds me of a young Reshard Lewis with his size, shooting ability, and defensive versatility. I still think he is a valuable target for a top pick even after this deep dive. Maybe the lower end of the top 5.
Liam McNeeley
19-year-old 6’7 210 lbs all-around scorer from UCONN. Per 40 averages 16.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.0 steals, .2 blocks, 1.5 turnovers, 42.9 FG%, 40.6 3%, 73.9FT%.
Liam is one of the more disappointing guys for me this year. I still like him and there is nothing dramatically wrong but someone who in theory fit so well with the roster he was entering gave me maybe too high of hopes. Liam has hit what are reasonable expectations, he’s going to most likely be a lottery pick but UCONN’s struggles and his inability to seize control of the team have been slightly disappointing for me. Liam is still an excellent off-ball scorer who moves the ball well, his defense is nothing to write home about but I don’t think he’s going to be relentlessly attacked there in the NBA.
Liam is an interesting guy to try to mark as a player he’s a capable guy as an off-ball scorer like a shorter Lauri Markkanen or later career Klay Thompson. I still think he is a lottery pick in this draft despite him not taking over like I thought he had the chance to do.
Kasparas Jakucionis
18-year-old 6’6 205 lbs. Lithuanian ball-handling wing from Illinois. Per 40 averages 18.1 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 2.1 steals, 0 blocks, 4.8 turnovers, 50 FG%, 36 3%, 87.2 FT%.
Kasparas is someone I debated if he (and later Egor) belonged in this group because he is playing point for his team. I do think it’s fair to look at them for the simple fact that teams looking at forwards probably will try to decide if they want the set-up abilities or the play-finishing. Kasparas has had kinda high turnovers and is just an average three-shooter right now but everything else has been fun.
Jakuionis does not lack confidence, he reminds me a bit of Mario Hezonja in a good way. He can handle the ball and wants to be put into big situations. While I think you want to have a primary ball handler with him he’s still going to be a great secondary creator like a Bogdon Bogdonavic who can score with the best of them and still set up teammates. A lottery pick should be coming in his future if he can keep up this production.
Kon Knueppel
19-year-old 6’7 217 lbs. scoring wing from Duke. Per 40 averages 17.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.5 turnovers, 39.2 FG% 32.5 3%, 92.3 FT%.
Kon has been good this year, especially in his passing. While the three-shot isn’t quite there the free throw numbers indicate he’s probably better off in that area than it seems. However, I think many people jumped the gun on him. He isn’t someone who screams star upside to me. I think his defense is not going to be good enough to be a high-end starter and his shooting while passable I don’t see as elite. Kon screams bench forward to me which is fine but the idea that he could challenge for a top 10 spot in the draft is not something that I see from the tape. He is capable of effecting games with his scoring and surprising athleticism but I don’t see him as a massive building block for the future of a team.
Kon has good role-player potential and if he can start really hitting shots then he could make a jump up my board. He reminds me of Gradey Dick but with less audacity to try things. I think of him as more of a late second-round pick.
Egor Demin
18-year-old Russian 6’9 190 lbs. tall guard playing for BYU. Per 40 averages 20.1 points, 5 rebounds, 8.7 assists, 2.8 steals, 1.1 blocks, 3.5 turnovers, 58.6 FG%, 46.9 3%, 52.9 FT%.
Egor is interesting, he can flat-out make it plays. Other than his current struggles from the free throw line it’s hard to pick a weakness out of his game. Egor throws some absolutely eye-popping passes and makes some huge shots. He doesn’t just dominate possession to get these shots off he conducts the team even when he doesn’t have the ball. He uses his size well on defense and is an excellent passer. I really think Egor is going to be fun in the NBA even if he’s not a primary point guard there.
His NBA position will be, to quote Rick Carlisle about Luka Doncic, “On the floor” Egor’s ability to run an offense off the ball will be fun. He reminds me a bit of Deni Avidja but also the good parts of Josh Giddey with less of the bad parts. Egor has the ability to be a top 5 pick this year if he wants it.
In conclusion, these guys are all excellent prospects and there are some great first-round level freshmen forwards in this class. I would have Egor and Ace in the top five with Kasparas and Liam in the top ten, and while I like Kon I think he’s clearly not on the level of the others and I think he’s more likely at the end of the first round than a lottery pick for me.