CU Buffs star projected to be a top 5 NBA Draft pick, could go No. 1
Dec 8, 2023, 12:34 PM
One of the most talented players in the history of Colorado Buffaloes Men’s Basketball is on campus right now, and the hype around Cody Williams keeps building.
The freshman forward at CU might be the first one-and-done player of the Tad Boyle era. He came to Boulder as the top hoops recruit in the country, according to some. And may leave campus a year later as at least a top-five pick in the NBA Draft. In The Athletic’s latest big board for the 2024 NBA Draft, Williams was listed as the fifth-best player in this class.
The early big board story does carry a very interesting note from draft analyst Sam Vecenie:
Right now, I wouldn’t take any player in this class in the top four of the 2022 draft or the top five of the 2023 draft, and I still would not classify any with a Tier One or Tier Two grade. Because of that, the order these players will be selected remains extremely up in the air. It’s not an exaggeration to say any player (outside of one) ranked in the top nine of this board could end up going No. 1.
After a slow first game and missing the second with a small injury, Williams has exploded for the Buffs in the past six contests. He’s scored 21 points in each of the last two games and did so all in the second half against Colorado State. Williams is playing third fiddle to upperclassmen KJ Simpson and Tristan da Silva and is using his 6-8 frame to stuff the stat sheet. The forward is adding nearly four rebounds, two assists and a steal a game while connecting on six of his 10 threes thus far.
Cody is the younger brother of Jalen Williams, who was one of the best rookies in the NBA last season, earning All-Rookie team honors from the NBA. The younger Williams was a member of the 2023 Jersey Mike’s Naismith High School Boys All-America Team and a McDonalds All-American who featured for Team USA this summer. As a five-star recruit he led Arizona’s No. 1 ranked team to a 30-1 and a state championship in the state’s open division.
Williams is Colorado’s first five-star recruit since David Harrison and the highest-rated recruit in program history. Chauncey Billups, taken at No. 3 in 1997, is the highest-drafted player in school history. Scott Wedman went six and Cliff Meely was taken seven, both in the 1970s.
Right now Williams is behind USC’s Isaiah Collier, Serbia’s Nikola Topic, Alexandre Sarr from the Perth Wildcats, and France’s Zaccharie Risacher.
The Buffs’ da Silva also landed on the big board toward the end of the first round.
