8 players in the Sweet 16 who could be NBA diamonds in the rough

March Madness presents a perfect opportunity for fans of NBA teams with lottery dreams to closely watch the likes of Jahlil Okafor, Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell. This is the time of year for those fans to have their love for a specific player transform into an infatuation. But what about players who aren’t considered locks for the top 10?

After all, the 2015 NBA Draft projects as a deep one, with plenty of talent falling to the back end of the first round. There are plenty of prospects who aren’t golden lottery prizes but are still playing in the tournament and are worthy of our attention.

Here is one NBA prospect from every Sweet 16 game to keep an eye on this week:

All eyes will be on Notre Dame’s starting backcourt of Jerian Grant and Demetrius Jackson, but Wichita State combo guard Ron Baker could make the most significant impact. Baker and his hard-nosed style of play tends to intensify the larger the stage, which makes the Sweet 16 a perfect opportunity for him to increase his draft stock.

Baker’s greatest draft potential is in his shooting. The 21-year-old junior is draining 38.4 percent of his three-pointers on the season, and is equally as deadly off the catch and the dribble. At 6’3, Baker will likely need to play some point guard to successfully carve out a reserve role in the NBA and he certainly has the tools to do so. When Baker isn’t hitting shots, he’s efficient at making “the simple play” out of pick-and-roll situations and in transition.

Nigel Hayes is an underrated do-it-all forward for the Badgers that brings a number of appealing tools to the table. Hayes might be only 6’7, but his 7’2 wingspan should allow him to play both forward positions in the pros. Hayes presents intriguing potential at the next level because of his ability to effectively spread the floor. The sophomore forward extended his range this season and is now hitting three-pointers at a clip of 39.3 percent,

Hayes also possesses a swift first step, which he uses to drive closeouts and attack the rim relentlessly. Hayes seems like the perfect draft pick at the back of the first round for a playoff team, since he’d be afforded the time to develop into an auxiliary talent off the bench. And as a bonus, he uses words like cattywampus and onomatopoeia during his press conferences. How can you not love that?

With one of the smoothest three-point strokes in the country, Devin Booker is a borderline lottery pick, but he often gets forgotten since so much top-end talent on Kentucky outperforms him. It doesn’t help that he’s in the middle a horrific shooting slump, hitting just 15 of his last 56 attempts from downtown. This comes after hitting over 50 percent of his threes before February.

Booker could be better served staying an extra year at Kentucky. The 6’6 guard doesn’t turn 19 until October and still needs to improve his shot off screens and off the dribble. But if he’s able to get back on track in the Sweet 16, then he might want to declare, because any team could use a potential sharpshooter like Booker.

Potential top-five pick D’Angelo Russell struggled against Arizona, in large part due to T.J. McConnell’s efforts on the defensive end. McConnell is only 6’1 with limited athleticism, but he played stout defense by racing through screens and staying in front of the speedy Russell.

McConnell hits threes at an efficient rate and has a fantastic 3.2 assist-to-turnover ratio, which ranks fifth in the nation. The 22-year-old could go undrafted, but he would likely make a team very satisfied as a deep bench reserve that can be used in a pinch to reliably run the point.

Domantas is the son of former NBA big man and Lithuanian legend, Arvydas Sabonis, and has adopted two of his father’s best attributes: footwork and court awareness. Sabonis doesn’t have the same size or upside as his father, but he is already one of the best rebounders in the country as a freshman. The 6’10 big man consistently establishes good positioning, boxes out and flat-out has a nose for the ball.

Sabonis hasn’t developed a jump shot, but he’s already a savvy low-post scorer and finisher around the rim, largely due to his pristine footwork and body control. Unfortunately for teams in the back of the first-round and early second-round, it’s unlikely that Sabonis declares in 2015, but plans could always change if he leads Gonzaga to victory over Kevon Looney and UCLA.

Few players at the college level possess a first step as speedy as Terry Rozier. The 21-year-old sophomore plays with a high motor and fills up the stats sheet on a nightly basis. When he’s in the zone offensively, Rozier is a capable of hitting spot up jumpers, and he attacks the rim ruthlessly to score or dish out assists. Even though he’s just 6’2, he better projects as a combo guard, which is fine, since that’s the standard in the modern NBA.

Regardless of his size, Rozier’s calling card is his defense, due to his hustling, long wingspan and excellent lateral quickness. Rozier plays with strong fundamentals, which shows in his ability to help and recover, since it’s not often that he’ll get caught in a bind by leaving his feet or committing mindless fouls. Another big performance or two for Rozier could seat him firmly in the late first-round conversation.

You might have a hard time saying his name, but it won’t be long before you notice him on the court against Duke. The 7’0 native of Austria might be this year’s prize in the mid-first for those teams that have no chance of drafting Jahlil Okafor or the Kentucky bigs. Poeltl has a long wingspan and is extremely mobile, which allows him to cover a lot of ground on the defensive end. It is not unreasonable for him to potentially be an elite defender once he adds strength and rounds off the edges of his game.

Poeltl is still developing on the offensive end, but he is extremely smooth and has a soft touch. The spacing of the NBA will certainly help him in the pick-and-roll, as he has already shown a knack for moving well without the ball and quickly finishing his chances around the rim. A strong performance against Duke could do wonders for his draft stock.

The 22-year-old senior is one of the most physical forwards in the country, as he showed with a dominant 15-point, nine-rebound and four-block game against Virginia. Dawson plays with reckless abandon and could make it in the NBA as an energy player off the bench.

The problem is that Dawson lacks a position at the next level. He has not developed offensively for the Spartans as well as pro teams would like, since he’s a below-average ball handler and a poor shooter. Dawson could potentially be a liability on the offensive end of the floor, though he could stick if his defense translates as well as it could.