Audige ranked 79th best prospect in the 2023 NBA Draft by Sam Vecenie and The Athletic

[mshelton33]

2023 NBA Draft Guide: Tiers, final rankings and Big Board

Sam Vecenie dives deep with more than 130,000 words on this year's class of prospects, led by French phenom Victor Wembanyama.

theathletic.com

Sam Vecenie ranked Chase Audige as the 79th best prospect in the 2023 NBA Draft. There are only 58 picks this season due to tampering violations, so that means Audige has a very low chance of getting his named called, but a very strong chance at getting a Summer League spot and playing to convert that into a G League or two-way contract. It stung to see Audige opt out after such a great season, but good to see that he projects to be in the undrafted mix at the next level.

 

[mshelton33]

2023 NBA Draft Guide: Tiers, final rankings and Big Board

Sam Vecenie dives deep with more than 130,000 words on this year's class of prospects, led by French phenom Victor Wembanyama.

theathletic.com

Sam Vecenie ranked Chase Audige as the 79th best prospect in the 2023 NBA Draft. There are only 58 picks this season due to tampering violations, so that means Audige has a very low chance of getting his named called, but a very strong chance at getting a Summer League spot and playing to convert that into a G League or two-way contract. It stung to see Audige opt out after such a great season, but good to see that he projects to be in the undrafted mix at the next level.

Some Big Ten guys and familiar faces that also made Vecenie's list:

Kobe Bufkin - 11th
Jalen Hood-Schifino - 15th
Kris Murray - 17th
Brice Sensabaugh - 19th
Jaime Jaquez Jr. - 23rd
Jett Howard - 25th
Amari Bailey - 38th
Trayce Jackson-Davis - 39th
Seth Lundy - 47th
Jaylen Clark - 51st
Jalen Pickett - 55th
Caleb McConnell - 75th
Tyger Campbell - 99th

 

[FeralFelidae]

2023 NBA Draft Guide: Tiers, final rankings and Big Board

Sam Vecenie dives deep with more than 130,000 words on this year's class of prospects, led by French phenom Victor Wembanyama.

theathletic.com

Sam Vecenie ranked Chase Audige as the 79th best prospect in the 2023 NBA Draft. There are only 58 picks this season due to tampering violations, so that means Audige has a very low chance of getting his named called, but a very strong chance at getting a Summer League spot and playing to convert that into a G League or two-way contract. It stung to see Audige opt out after such a great season, but good to see that he projects to be in the undrafted mix at the next level.

The G-League doesn't pay much, so it's pretty telling that the NIL package didn't offer enough for Chase to forego a paltry G-League salary and play one more season to improve his draft prospects.

 

[mshelton33]

The G-League doesn't pay much, so it's pretty telling that the NIL package didn't offer enough for Chase to forego a paltry G-League salary and play one more season to improve his draft prospects.

This is opinion, not sourced, but I don't think this reflects poorly on NU's ability to write an NIL check. They got Buie back, Audige had been in college for five years already. At 23, I don't think there's much more he could have done to boost his stock by coming back. The missing piece would be more scoring but with Buie coming back, Langborg coming in, and progression from Barnhizer, I don't think his offensive role would have increased.

 

[mickbula]

The G-League doesn't pay much, so it's pretty telling that the NIL package didn't offer enough for Chase to forego a paltry G-League salary and play one more season to improve

He will play in Europe with shurna

 

[NUera]

The G-League doesn't pay much, so it's pretty telling that the NIL package didn't offer enough for Chase to forego a paltry G-League salary and play one more season to improve his draft prospects.

Is that confirmed? Maybe he just didn't feel like doing two more quarters of schooling? Maybe he's tired of Evanston and wants to live in Europe?

 

[FeralFelidae]

Is that confirmed? Maybe he just didn't feel like doing two more quarters of schooling? Maybe he's tired of Evanston and wants to live in Europe?

Yes, it is confirmed that the NIL package wasn't enough to entice him to stay.

 

[SDakaGordie]

Some Big Ten guys and familiar faces that also made Vecenie's list:

Kobe Bufkin - 11th
Jalen Hood-Schifino - 15th
Kris Murray - 17th
Brice Sensabaugh - 19th
Jaime Jaquez Jr. - 23rd
Jett Howard - 25th
Amari Bailey - 38th
Trayce Jackson-Davis - 39th
Seth Lundy - 47th
Jaylen Clark - 51st
Jalen Pickett - 55th
Caleb McConnell - 75th
Tyger Campbell - 99th

Just more evidence of the quality of our coaches and our players buying into their system.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

Just more evidence of the quality of our coaches and our players buying into their system.

How is that list evidence of anything?
Its one guy's opinion and nobody from NU is on the list.

 

[NUCat320]

2023 NBA Draft Guide: Tiers, final rankings and Big Board

Sam Vecenie dives deep with more than 130,000 words on this year's class of prospects, led by French phenom Victor Wembanyama.

theathletic.com

Sam Vecenie ranked Chase Audige as the 79th best prospect in the 2023 NBA Draft. There are only 58 picks this season due to tampering violations, so that means Audige has a very low chance of getting his named called, but a very strong chance at getting a Summer League spot and playing to convert that into a G League or two-way contract. It stung to see Audige opt out after such a great season, but good to see that he projects to be in the undrafted mix at the next level.

After the top ten picks or so, everything is ‘in the eye of the beholder’. It’s nice to see Chase on this dude’s list. It’s great that he’s got a chance for G-League, though I think he’d be better-served going to Europe right away.

Farther away from the NBA, literally, but a better chance to develop within a team concept for a full season or two. Everybody in the G-League wants to be somewhere else, right now.

Wherever Chase is, I’ll be following his performance and cheering for him.

 

[PurpleFaze]

The G-League doesn't pay much, so it's pretty telling that the NIL package didn't offer enough for Chase to forego a paltry G-League salary and play one more season to improve his draft prospects.

Or it could just mean he’s a kid who was ready to be done with school and move on with his life. Another year wasn’t going to make him draftable- so if his dream is to play he might as well start the hard work slog to try and make it reality. Or he can start cashing paychecks in Europe or Japan or wherever he can play.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

Robbie Hummel being rather candid about various players.
First player he discusses is Chase Audige - not anything about his ability, just about his decision to stay in the draft.
Has some critical words for Brice Sensabaugh at about 4:20.
"He is terrible on defense. I can't even say that he tries. He just really doesn't have an awareness of what is going on, but man that pull-up is pure"

 

[PurpleFaze]

How is that list evidence of anything?
It’s one guy's opinion and nobody from NU is on the list.

Think he was trying to say that since nobody from NU was high on the list and we finished 2nd it doesn’t mean you need NBA level talent to have success

 

[PurpleFaze]

View embedded media

Robbie Hummel being rather candid about various players.
First player he discusses is Chase Audige - not anything about his ability, just about his decision to stay in the draft.
Has some critical words for Brice Sensabaugh at about 4:20.
"He is terrible on defense. I can't even say that he tries. He just really doesn't have an awareness of what is going on, but man that pull-up is pure"

Always like Robbie’s frankness and the fact that he doesn’t have an over the top act like vitale.

I would have told chase to stay assuming he could get a decent NIL amount, but I also understand that at some stage for certain folks it’s just time to move forward with life.

 

[FeralFelidae]

Or it could just mean he’s a kid who was ready to be done with school and move on with his life. Another year wasn’t going to make him draftable- so if his dream is to play he might as well start the hard work slog to try and make it reality. Or he can start cashing paychecks in Europe or Japan or wherever he can play.

Or he could start cashing NIL paychecks to play one more year in Evanston. But it seems that NIL paychecks aren't enticing enough.

 

[SDakaGordie]

It seemed obvious to me. Without NBA-type talent, we did very well. That is evidence of quality coaching. Frankly, I’ve been trying to say for years that we were always doing relatively well with less talent. CCC was duly recognized this year after we cracked the tourney nut.

 

[PurpleFaze]

Or he could start cashing NIL paychecks to play one more year in Evanston. But it seems that NIL paychecks aren't enticing enough.

By many accounts Kofi could have made a million plus to come back to Illinois last year. He knew he wasn’t getting drafted. Wise business decision? Not really. But as I said some kids aren’t into the school aspects as much. I’m guessing the money part of the equation wasn’t as important to Chase.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

It seemed obvious to me. Without NBA-type talent, we did very well. That is evidence of quality coaching. Frankly, I’ve been trying to say for years that we were always doing relatively well with less talent. CCC was duly recognized this year after we cracked the tourney nut.

Well, when you are looking at individuals, their performance is a combination of talent and experience.

Kris Murray is the only guy who received first or second team Big Ten recognition and is also projected as a first round NBA pick. The other 4 projected first round picks from the Big Ten are all freshmen.

The point is that Euro-calibre juniors and seniors are often better at college basketball than freshmen with NBA talent. Boo Buie outplayed all those "future NBA" freshmen last year.

I just don't think the performance gap is that significant when nearly all of the most-talented guys leave before they reach their potential.

 

[SDakaGordie]

Well, when you are looking at individuals, their performance is a combination of talent and experience.

Kris Murray is the only guy who received first or second team Big Ten recognition and is also projected as a first round NBA pick. The other 4 projected first round picks from the Big Ten are all freshmen.

The point is that Euro-calibre juniors and seniors are often better at college basketball than freshmen with NBA talent. Boo Buie outplayed all those "future NBA" freshmen last year.

I just don't think the performance gap is that significant when nearly all of the most-talented guys leave before they reach their potential.

These are fair comments except that not all of these more/most talented guys leave after freshman year and the awards are certainly biased by how the teams performed.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

These are fair comments except that not all of these more/most talented guys leave after freshman year and the awards are certainly biased by how the teams performed.

Here are the 2022 NBA draft selections who played in the Big Ten...

4. Keegan Murray Iowa sophomore
5. Jaden Ivey Purdue sophomore
10. Johnny Davis Wisconsin sophomore
20. Malaki Branham Ohio State freshman
32. Caleb Houstan Michigan freshman
35. Max Christie Michigan State freshman
40. Bryce McGowens Nebraska freshman
41. EJ Liddell Ohio State freshman
43. Moussa Diabate Michigan freshman

There were only 44 college players drafted that season. Nine were from the Big Ten.

Davis, Murray and Ivey all had great sophomore seasons after coming into college relatively unheralded. Ivey was in the 75-100 range coming out of high school. Murray was 200+. Davis was 150+.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

This board sucks

If you have an open mind, its fine.

 

[ballerog711]

Well they are all enrolled to go to school and maybe he was done with that.

He also could have got some advice that going back to NU would lower his value. BIG10 schools figured out he loves to go right with his offense moves and his numbers declined as the season went.

He might not have the supporting cast and he would be taking questions able shots, which would make pro scouts question his basketball IQ

Right now he left as DPOY and he can use that to catch on with a team and be a Bruce Brown type of player Miami had plenty of undrafted players

Not saying it was right/wrong decision, but it was his. Will always wish the best for him.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

Well they are all enrolled to go to school and maybe he was done with that.

He also could have got some advice that going back to NU would lower his value. BIG10 schools figured out he loves to go right with his offense moves and his numbers declined as the season went.

He might not have the supporting cast and he would be taking questions able shots, which would make pro scouts question his basketball IQ

Right now he left as DPOY and he can use that to catch on with a team and be a Bruce Brown type of player Miami had plenty of undrafted players

Not saying it was right/wrong decision, but it was his. Will always wish the best for him.

There were some photos of Chase on stage at one of the concerts for (Arma)Dillo Day on the NU lakefill. I think that was before Memorial Day.. He was apparently rapping with the performer known as RHOME.

So, just being a student (albeit a high profile one) in his final weeks on campus....

https://dailynorthwestern.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/EDIT_DILLO_SeegerGray-03.jpg

 

[hdhntr1]

This is opinion, not sourced, but I don't think this reflects poorly on NU's ability to write an NIL check. They got Buie back, Audige had been in college for five years already. At 23, I don't think there's much more he could have done to boost his stock by coming back. The missing piece would be more scoring but with Buie coming back, Langborg coming in, and progression from Barnhizer, I don't think his offensive role would have increased.

It was more that he needed to increase his consistency and accuracy. He took a lot of shots but he was very up and down.

 

[Deeringfish]

2023 NBA Draft Guide: Tiers, final rankings and Big Board

Sam Vecenie dives deep with more than 130,000 words on this year's class of prospects, led by French phenom Victor Wembanyama.

theathletic.com

Sam Vecenie ranked Chase Audige as the 79th best prospect in the 2023 NBA Draft. There are only 58 picks this season due to tampering violations, so that means Audige has a very low chance of getting his named called, but a very strong chance at getting a Summer League spot and playing to convert that into a G League or two-way contract. It stung to see Audige opt out after such a great season, but good to see that he projects to be in the undrafted mix at the next level.

Who knows maybe a team want a guy who is B1G defensive player of the year. He would be a nice role player in certain game situations and if he was playing only ten minutes a game he could actually turn up the heat,

 

[IGNORE2]

If you have an open mind, its fine.

Short of countering positions. Lots of deletes though.

 

[SDakaGordie]

Here are the 2022 NBA draft selections who played in the Big Ten...

4. Keegan Murray Iowa sophomore
5. Jaden Ivey Purdue sophomore
10. Johnny Davis Wisconsin sophomore
20. Malaki Branham Ohio State freshman
32. Caleb Houstan Michigan freshman
35. Max Christie Michigan State freshman
40. Bryce McGowens Nebraska freshman
41. EJ Liddell Ohio State freshman
43. Moussa Diabate Michigan freshman

There were only 44 college players drafted that season. Nine were from the Big Ten.

Davis, Murray and Ivey all had great sophomore seasons after coming into college relatively unheralded. Ivey was in the 75-100 range coming out of high school. Murray was 200+. Davis was 150+.

EJ Liddell played three seasons.

This flow of players happens every year, though your list shows there were a lot of good players departing in 2022. This only adds to the fact that we have less talent and may have been relatively more favorably impacted by these departures last season.

 

[TheC]

I am sometimes amazed at how much better guys get once they are in the league. They improve more and faster once they turn pro. Making basketball his full-time job could have this effect for Chase. I think Chase has the tools. He is incredibly athletic. He has the desire and work ethic. He just needs to clean up his offensive game. I think that can be coached and improved with hard work. He won't make the NBA this year, but it wouldn't surprise me if he works his way onto a roster in the next few years.

 

[usopen30]

I am sometimes amazed at how much better guys get once they are in the league. They improve more and faster once they turn pro. Making basketball his full-time job could have this effect for Chase. I think Chase has the tools. He is incredibly athletic. He has the desire and work ethic. He just needs to clean up his offensive game. I think that can be coached and improved with hard work. He won't make the NBA this year, but it wouldn't surprise me if he works his way onto a roster in the next few years.

Max Strus is a good example of that. Un-drafted and starting for a team that played in the NBA championship. Didn't Chase guard him when we played DePaul? He's probably thinking I can be like Max.

 

[Styre]

Max Strus is a good example of that. Un-drafted and starting for a team that played in the NBA championship. Didn't Chase guard him when we played DePaul? He's probably thinking I can be like Max.

Audige was still at William & Mary the last time we played against Max Strus. And Strus was a significantly better offensive player than Audige in college, which is what Audige will need to become if he wants to play in the NBA.

 

[CoralSpringsCat]

Max Strus is a good example of that. Un-drafted and starting for a team that played in the NBA championship. Didn't Chase guard him when we played DePaul? He's probably thinking I can be like Max.

#HeatCulture

 

[AdamOnFirst]

The G-League doesn't pay much, so it's pretty telling that the NIL package didn't offer enough for Chase to forego a paltry G-League salary and play one more season to improve his draft prospects.

I don’t think that’s correct. Unless he’s totally delusional, his NIL offer was almost certainly more than his 95th percentile professional earnings this year. More likely had to do with some desire to damn the torpedoes and chase the dream, tiredness of being in college… and maybe some shot-selection style delusion.

 

[NU Houston]

I am sometimes amazed at how much better guys get once they are in the league. They improve more and faster once they turn pro. Making basketball his full-time job could have this effect for Chase. I think Chase has the tools. He is incredibly athletic. He has the desire and work ethic. He just needs to clean up his offensive game. I think that can be coached and improved with hard work. He won't make the NBA this year, but it wouldn't surprise me if he works his way onto a roster in the next few years.

Chase isn't "incredibly athletic" by NBA standards. He was a good athlete at the college level. He's limited in his ability to drive to the basket, and he's not a great 3-point shooter. He is a solid defender. I do hope he finds a spot on a NBA roster, but the odds aren't in his favor.

 

[hoosboot]

Audige was still at William & Mary the last time we played against Max Strus. And Strus was a significantly better offensive player than Audige in college, which is what Audige will need to become if he wants to play in the NBA.

Three and D. Audige has to become a much more consistent three-point threat to play much in the NBA. He's a good enough athlete and has the defensive mentality to do it, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him get there after a couple of years of developing that shot elsewhere.

 

[ballerog711]

Sun's just traded for Beal yesterday and are into the luxury tax already with only 5 players on the team.

This is a scenario where a guy like Chase can make a team. Low money, not needed to score, but need a guy who can finish at the rim and play defense. Chase aso has a great attitude and character. He would accept this role.. Highly unlikely to show up on the police blotter

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Short of countering positions. Lots of deletes though.

Between all of the deletes, splitting posts, and moving posts between the pay board and free board, this place is becoming a safe place.

 

[GatoLouco]

Always like Robbie’s frankness and the fact that he doesn’t have an over the top act like vitale.

I would have told chase to stay assuming he could get a decent NIL amount, but I also understand that at some stage for certain folks it’s just time to move forward with life.

One of the few guys on TV who is not, to some extent, a Tom Wambsgans. And I think the more established he becomes the more he'll be able to be frank. I like him, even if he can't say Northwestern.

Unless the NIL money was far from what was rumored, Audige's decision is not pragmatic. Despite the casual way some posters refer to Europe money, Audige is not a guy who is going to command anything even remotely close to the 300K NIL money rumored here.

An example, John Shurna makes $400K. An established, seasoned pro, in the 6th best team in the best league in the world outside the NBA.

I think he was just not enticed by the idea of having to show up for class every day. At some point, you just want to move on to an adult life outside a campus bubble.

Had to get a Succession reference in, just had to.

 

[TheC]

One of the few guys on TV who is not, to some extent, a Tom Wambsgans. And I think the more established he becomes the more he'll be able to be frank. I like him, even if he can't say Northwestern.

Unless the NIL money was far from what was rumored, Audige's decision is not pragmatic. Despite the casual way some posters refer to Europe money, Audige is not a guy who is going to command anything even remotely close to the 300K NIL money rumored here.

An example, John Shurna makes $400K. An established, seasoned pro, in the 6th best team in the best league in the world outside the NBA.

I think he was just not enticed by the idea of having to show up for class every day. At some point, you just want to move on to an adult life outside a campus bubble.

Had to get a Succession reference in, just had to.

I know professional sports money is through-the-roof outrageous, but in the real world, $400K is not a bad life.

 

[GatoLouco]

I know professional sports money is through-the-roof outrageous, but in the real world, $400K is not a bad life.

I 100% agree. My point was that Audige's worth overseas is miles away from Shurna's. Probably $100K

 

[usopen30]

I know professional sports money is through-the-roof outrageous, but in the real world, $400K is not a bad life.

European deals can also include a nice apartment or casa, plus wheels. Think Chase moving on is the right choice for him, and CC reloaded pretty well.