It's just one list...but interesting to see. Selfishly...it would be nice if Yessoufou's agent convinced him to comeback for one more year of NIL money and improving draft stock.

UPDATED MOCK DRAFT:

After talking to nearly a dozen NBA execs, here’s a mock first-round board.

Many NBA execs are torn right now on the No. 1 pick. pic.twitter.com/kGW3fVwhIU

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 5, 2026

Do you think we could afford him? I'm thinking if he stays in college, he will have an opportunity to command a nice sum of money by some of the programs willing to pay top dollar NIL and it not impact the overall team construction. Kentucky could pay him $3 or $4 million and still have plenty left over to form a roster. If we paid him $3 million, he would eat up a considerable portion of our budget, our roster construction would likely have to be very inexpensive players and we might be sitting here March lamenting the same prospects of a .500 season and no tournament.

It's kinda the catch 22 in the new environment. All of us want him back. But can we afford him and/or the impact it would have on the team around him. The saga of NIL, paying players and no uniformity in terms of level playing budgets.

Big12Fan2024 said:

---

Do you think we could afford him? I'm thinking if he stays in college, he will have an opportunity to command a nice sum of money by some of the programs willing to pay top dollar NIL and it not impact the overall team construction. Kentucky could pay him $3 or $4 million and still have plenty left over to form a roster. If we paid him $3 million, he would eat up a considerable portion of our budget, our roster construction would likely have to be very inexpensive players and we might be sitting here March lamenting the same prospects of a .500 season and no tournament.

It's kinda the catch 22 in the new environment. All of us want him back. But can we afford him and/or the impact it would have on the team around him. The saga of NIL, paying players and no uniformity in terms of level playing budgets.

---

Yeah...I have no idea about that. I feel like we can compete a little better with the top dogs in basketball than football for sure… but when the numbers get really big I don't think we can go there.

boognish_bear said:

---

Big12Fan2024 said:

---

Do you think we could afford him? I'm thinking if he stays in college, he will have an opportunity to command a nice sum of money by some of the programs willing to pay top dollar NIL and it not impact the overall team construction. Kentucky could pay him $3 or $4 million and still have plenty left over to form a roster. If we paid him $3 million, he would eat up a considerable portion of our budget, our roster construction would likely have to be very inexpensive players and we might be sitting here March lamenting the same prospects of a .500 season and no tournament.

It's kinda the catch 22 in the new environment. All of us want him back. But can we afford him and/or the impact it would have on the team around him. The saga of NIL, paying players and no uniformity in terms of level playing budgets.

---

Yeah...I have no idea about that. I feel like we can compete a little better with the top dogs in basketball than football for sure… but when the numbers get really big I don't think we can go there.

---

You know I've been wondering when somebody is finally going to challenge the NBA and NCAA restrictions on the draft. If you stay in the draft, you can't go back to school, and if you fall into the 2nd round, you are likely to be a 2-way player, no guaranteed contract and much of your life is in the G league, the basketball equivalent of the witness protection program. Players trending for the lower part of the draft have to make a quick decision to opt out or stay in. It's a throw of the dice and I think, unfair. Yes, they make $600k or better but it's harder to make it from the G league than play an extra year in NCAA. I would be delighted to have either of them back, but have no idea if we can make the numbers to keep them.

One question about the top of the draft. How would you evaluate Peterson at this point. If you had the 2nd pick in the draft do you take him. Tremendous talent, but I'm sensing some issues at Kansas.

My Top 10 2026 Big Board SGs

1. Darryn Peterson - Kansas
2. Brayden Burries - Arizona
3. Cameron Carr - Baylor
4. Bennett Stirtz - Iowa
5. Braylon Mullins - UConn
6. Keaton Wagler - Illinois
7. Juke Harris - Wake Forest
8. Isaiah Evans - Duke
9. Tounde Yessoufou - Baylor
10.…

— Alex Burns (@AlexBurnsHoops) March 5, 2026

Two players in Top 9 and their team is 15-15? Sad.

ImABearToo said:

---

Two players in Top 9 and their team is 15-15? Sad.

---

Like Rutgers last year

bear2be2 said:

---

boognish_bear said:

---

My Top 10 2026 Big Board SGs

1. Darryn Peterson - Kansas
2. Brayden Burries - Arizona
3. Cameron Carr - Baylor
4. Bennett Stirtz - Iowa
5. Braylon Mullins - UConn
6. Keaton Wagler - Illinois
7. Juke Harris - Wake Forest
8. Isaiah Evans - Duke
9. Tounde Yessoufou - Baylor
10.…

— Alex Burns (@AlexBurnsHoops) March 5, 2026

---

The question here is if the No. 9 shooting guard in this draft would crack the first round. If not, Tounde should definitely come back.

He'd be doing himself a massive disservice by entering the NBA as a second-round pick.

The facts of the matter here are that Yessoufou's ceiling is enormously high, but he has skill and basketball IQ deficiencies currently (both a product of inexperience more than anything else) that would get him eaten alive in the NBA right now.

He needs to learn from the mistakes of guys like Quincy Miller and Kendall Brown. If you're not a first-round pick, the most likely outcome is that you'll never see an NBA contract after your rookie one.

Tounde can be a lottery pick with another year of college. I hope those around him are giving him good advice.

---

Couldn't agree more. And, like you said, there are plenty of cautionary tales out there.

Coming off an Elite Eight season, Quincy Miller had made the announcement to return. Unfortunately, people were chirping in his ear and he changed his mind. He didn't end up getting drafted until well into the 2nd round. I would have loved to see him play another year with Pierre, Heslip, CJ and company.

Agree. Have been thinking the same thing. I bet that is the next area that gets contested.

bear2be2 said:

---

boognish_bear said:

---

My Top 10 2026 Big Board SGs

1. Darryn Peterson - Kansas
2. Brayden Burries - Arizona
3. Cameron Carr - Baylor
4. Bennett Stirtz - Iowa
5. Braylon Mullins - UConn
6. Keaton Wagler - Illinois
7. Juke Harris - Wake Forest
8. Isaiah Evans - Duke
9. Tounde Yessoufou - Baylor
10.…

— Alex Burns (@AlexBurnsHoops) March 5, 2026

---

He needs to learn from the mistakes of guys like Quincy Miller and Kendall Brown. If you're not a first-round pick, the most likely outcome is that you'll never see an NBA contract after your rookie one.

---

And unlike those guys he also has the added benefit of being able to get paid for another year if he does decide to wait.

To me NIL kind of makes this a no-brainer if you are as young as Yessoufou and can still get paid while fine turning your skill set for a bigger NBA pay day.

Agree..the issue is expectation. When players start getting projected as 1 and done (started late for Tounde, last Spring/Summer) it's hard for them to pivot and not go.

The risk/reward would be good for him but I would be pretty surprised. One of Carr or Tounde returning would make a huge difference on outlook of the program.

Quinton said:

---

Agree..the issue is expectation. When players start getting projected as 1 and done (started late for Tounde, last Spring/Summer) it's hard for them to pivot and not go.

The risk/reward would be good for him but I would be pretty surprised. One of Carr or Tounde returning would make a huge difference on outlook of the program.

---

Carr should 100 percent leave. He's almost certainly going to go in the first round and his game is already built for NBA success.

Tounde has remarkable potential, but his game still needs a lot of polish -- polish he would likely get during a second collegiate season.

I agree that he'll probably leave because he's had people telling him how awesome he is and how he'll kill it in the NBA for two years now. But he's got skill deficiencies that will a) likely impact his draft stock when that time actually comes and b) keep him off the floor after he's drafted until they're improved upon.

He'd be much better off spending an offseason and all of next season working on his ball-handling, jump shot and on-ball defense and entering the draft ready to contribute immediately at the NBA level. But these guys almost always get and take bad advice -- to their own detriment. It's sad, too, because one extra year of college could be the difference between nondescript a three-year NBA career and a productive decade-long one.

Tounde is basically an undersized power forward trying to learn how to play at guard. Huge skill and developmental gaps. He has gotten by on his athleticism which is merely average at the nba level. He should heavily consider returning for a big NIL payday and work on his game. If he leaves now, I'm pretty certain he will wash out of the league within 2 or 3 years.

Big12Fan2024 said:

---

Do you think we could afford him? I'm thinking if he stays in college, he will have an opportunity to command a nice sum of money by some of the programs willing to pay top dollar NIL and it not impact the overall team construction. Kentucky could pay him $3 or $4 million and still have plenty left over to form a roster. If we paid him $3 million, he would eat up a considerable portion of our budget, our roster construction would likely have to be very inexpensive players and we might be sitting here March lamenting the same prospects of a .500 season and no tournament.

It's kinda the catch 22 in the new environment. All of us want him back. But can we afford him and/or the impact it would have on the team around him. The saga of NIL, paying players and no uniformity in terms of level playing budgets.

---

Whoa.......the whole messaging around little Dougie taking the AD role was sums of cash would be coming into the Sports division of Baylor University...$3M should be no issue...

Does anyone know what the draft class looks like next year? We know this one could be the strongest in years. This year's low pick could be next year's high pick if the class is weaker.

EvilTroyAndAbed said:

---

Does anyone know what the draft class looks like next year? We know this one could be the strongest in years. This year's low pick could be next year's high pick if the class is weaker.

---

2027 is considered to be one of the weaker classes in recent memory. Then again, I feel like I hear that every few years and guys always pop late and it turns into a decent class. But yeah, this is a good point. Next year's class is considered a massive step down from this one, which has been called "generational."

bear2be2 said:

---

boognish_bear said:

---

My Top 10 2026 Big Board SGs

1. Darryn Peterson - Kansas
2. Brayden Burries - Arizona
3. Cameron Carr - Baylor
4. Bennett Stirtz - Iowa
5. Braylon Mullins - UConn
6. Keaton Wagler - Illinois
7. Juke Harris - Wake Forest
8. Isaiah Evans - Duke
9. Tounde Yessoufou - Baylor
10.…

— Alex Burns (@AlexBurnsHoops) March 5, 2026

---

The question here is if the No. 9 shooting guard in this draft would crack the first round. If not, Tounde should definitely come back.

He'd be doing himself a massive disservice by entering the NBA as a second-round pick.

The facts of the matter here are that Yessoufou's ceiling is enormously high, but he has skill and basketball IQ deficiencies currently (both a product of inexperience more than anything else) that would get him eaten alive in the NBA right now.

He needs to learn from the mistakes of guys like Quincy Miller and Kendall Brown. If you're not a first-round pick, the most likely outcome is that you'll never see an NBA contract after your rookie one.

Tounde can be a lottery pick with another year of college. I hope those around him are giving him good advice.

---

Kendall Brown, in particular, is a cautionary tale. Hope these younger guys are paying attention.

bear2be2 said:

---

Mitch Henessey said:

---

EvilTroyAndAbed said:

---

Does anyone know what the draft class looks like next year? We know this one could be the strongest in years. This year's low pick could be next year's high pick if the class is weaker.

---

2027 is considered to be one of the weaker classes in recent memory. Then again, I feel like I hear that every few years and guys always pop late and it turns into a decent class. But yeah, this is a good point. Next year's class is considered a massive step down from this one, which has been called "generational."

---

Another reason why Yessoufou would be wise to play one more year of college ball.

In addition to improving as a player and shoring up his weaknesses, he'll have less competition in the lottery/first round in next year's draft.

Unless he just really wants to stay, Carr should go to the NBA. His game is already NBA-ready and his stock is likely has high as it's going to get. But Tounde could raise his stock significantly by delaying his entry into the draft by one year. He could be a legit lottery pick next year if he stayed IMO.

---

Don't completely agree that Carr is NBA ready - evidenced by his late first round rating. He needs to get stronger - and learn how to drive to his left. One more year and he's likely a top 10 pick.
But, he will probably leave. And, if the payday is good enough, it's hard to blame him.