CU Buffs basketball commit mocked to be No. 1 pick in 2024 NBA Draft

The Colorado Buffaloes not only have their best signee of all time, but they may also may have the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

Gilbert Arizona’s Cody Williams, brother of the Thunder’s Jalen Williams, is a high school senior signed to play at the University of Colorado next fall. The 6-foot-8 class of 2023 small forward is a consensus five-star prospect and now the No. 8 overall basketball prospect in the country, according to 247 Sports.

In the recruiting service’s updated rankings, Williams moved from 21, with them writing:

The ascension of Cody Williams has been both steady and consistent. After seeing more of the 6-foot-8 wing from Arizona this winter, there was no way to deny him a fifth star. He’s moved all the way up to No. 8 overall, and it is quite possible that he could keep rising.

In addition to his ideal size and length for the wing, Williams is proving to be a deft ball handler, clever passer and skilled scorer. He’s improved his first step and overall explosiveness and still appears to be scratching at the surface of his long-term potential.

Williams picked CU over Arizona, USC, LSU, LMU, Santa Clara and others. He is the highest-rated Buffs signee ever, topping fellow five-star prospects David Harrison, who was ranked No. 10 nationally in 2001, and Chauncey Billups, ranked No. 18 nationally in 1996.

Williams’ climb has him now mocked by NBADraft.net to be the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Future USC player Isaiah Collier and French youngster Zaccharie Risacher are expected in the top three with Colorado high school standout Baye Fall also going in the top 10.

Billups, taken at No. 3 in 1997, is the highest drafted player in school history. Scott Wedman went 6 and Cliff Meely was taken 7, both in the 1970s.

Williams joins Colorado center Assane Diop and California forward Courtney Anderson in making up Tad Boyle’s class of 2023. Five of the top 10 recruits in the history of CU Men’s Basketball are expected to be on the roster next season—none of those players will be seniors.

Currently the Buffs are 11-6 this season with conference play just getting started at the beginning of the month. CU is No. 60 in NET, which is the NCAA’s primary tool for judging who makes the dance.

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