As of now, nothing’s set in stone.
Following a stellar first year at Ohio State in which Brice Sensabaugh emerged as one of the best freshmen in the country, the third-team All-Big Ten selection entered his name in the 2023 NBA draft. However, Sensabaugh opted to maintain his college eligibility through the draft process.
— Brice Sensabaugh (@bricepsensa) March 25, 2023
That move is nothing new at Ohio State, and it’s worked out both ways for the program in the past. Players like Kaleb Wesson and E.J. Liddell both tested the NBA waters before ultimately returning to Ohio State for another season, while Duane Washington and Malaki Branham eventually opted to remain in the draft and end their college careers.
Just last year, Branham declared for the draft at the beginning of April but didn’t even wait for the start of the NBA Draft Combine to announce that he wouldn’t return to Ohio State. If Sensabaugh ends up operating on a similar timeline, perhaps his own decision could come sooner than later with the combine set to start in less than two weeks in Chicago.
If not, Sensabaugh still has until May 31 to withdraw his name from NBA draft consideration ahead of the June 22 event at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn. Given that Ohio State has already added two transfer portal additions to its roster – Minnesota transfer Jamison Battle and Baylor transfer Dale Bonner – and still appears open to adding another, it seems likely that Sensabaugh will ultimately end up in the NBA. But again, nothing is official.
Of course, Sensabugh’s decision will be heavily informed by the draft grades and projections he receives from NBA scouts and personnel ahead of time. And while the general public may not be privy to those, Sensabaugh has been widely evaluated as a potential first-round selection on mock drafts across the internet.
We’ve rounded up prognostications from 10 mock drafts to see where Sensabaugh is expected to land should he remain in the draft by the end of May. You can check out each full mock draft used in our roundup below.
- ESPN, Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo
- CBS Sports, Kyle Boone
- CBS Sports, Gary Parrish
- CBS Sports, Adam Finkelstein
- NBADraft.net
- Yardbarker
- Tankathon
- NBA Draft Room
- NBC Sports, Tyler Byrum and Chase Hughes
- The Ringer, Kevin O’Connor
Using input from each of those 10 mock drafts, here’s a rundown of where some of the foremost NBA draft experts and analysts think Sensbaugh could wind up on draft night, with a disclaimer that the final draft order is not yet set as the NBA Draft Lottery won’t take place until May 16.
F Brice Sensabaugh
CBS Sports (Parrish): Round 1, No. 11 overall, Orlando Magic
Tankathon: Round 1, No. 11 overall, Orlando Magic
ESPN (Givony, Woo): Round 1, No. 19 overall, Houston Rockets
Yardbarker: Round 1, No. 21 overall, Brooklyn Nets
CBS Sports (Boone): Round No. 1, No. 21 overall, Brooklyn Nets
NBC Sports (Byrum, Hughes): Round 1, No. 24 overall, Sacramento Kings
CBS Sports (Finkelstein): Round 1, No. 25 overall, Memphis Grizzlies
The Ringer (O’Connor): Round 1, No. 27 overall, Utah Jazz
NBA Draft Room: Round 1, No. 28 overall, Utah Jazz
NBADraft.net: Round 1, No. 32 overall, San Antonio Spurs
Sensabaugh’s landing spot ranged from No. 11 overall to No. 32 overall with only one mock draft (NBADraft.net) placing him outside of the first round. But only Parrish and Tankathon predicted that Sensabaugh will be a lottery pick, as the eight other mock drafts put him at No. 19 or lower.
Most of the draft projections used in our roundup envision Sensabaugh going somewhere in the late-first round, with two mocks predicting the Nets could scoop him up at No. 21 and two others liking the Utah Jazz as a potential destination with either the No. 27 or No. 28 overall pick.
The chief concern for Sensabaugh’s draft stock is his defensive ability, which was questioned throughout his freshman season and occasionally caused Chris Holtmann to put him on the bench in crucial situations. Perhaps improving on that end of the floor in pursuit of becoming a surefire lottery pick in 2024 would be a reason to return to school.
Offensively, though, Sensabaugh’s shot-making prowess, three-level scoring ability and athleticism have long made him an intriguing NBA prospect. Sensabaugh finished the 2022-23 season as the Buckeyes' leading scorer with an average of 16.3 points per game on 48% shooting and knocked down 40.5% of his 3-point attempts. At 6-foot-6, 235 pounds, draft evaluators view Sensabaugh as a combo forward at the next level.
In all likelihood, Sensabaugh will wind up remaining in the draft so long as he continues to receive first-round projections through the combine process. But we’ll continue to keep tabs on where he’s slated to land at the next level either way.
