Even though the front office already used their 2026 NBA Draft pick on Derik Queen, the New Orleans Pelicans will be scouring NCAA March Madness for some late second-round pick intel, especially during Sweet Sixteen action. Undervalued prospects litter the rosters of the squads keeping national title hopes alive as Arkansas, UConn, Illinois, and Houston are full of former McDonald's All-Americans thriving in supporting cast roles. St. John's is the obvious sleeper, but they also have a great legacy connection that deserves attention.
Fortunately, the current roster construction makes the NBA Draft scouting priorities clear. Dejounte Murray is the present at point guard, while Jeremiah Fears represents the future. Trey Murphy III has one wing spot secured, and Zion Williamson anchors the frontcourt when healthy. That leaves two glaring needs for the Pelicans: another wing/off-ball guard to act as Herb Jones insurance and a reliable big to push Yves Missi and Derik Queen for minutes.
The Sweet Sixteen offers a timely scouting window for five under-the-radar names who fit those archetypes.
Pelicans seek shooters
Andrej Stojakovic (SG/SF, Illinois) is averaging 13.5 points and 4.5 rebounds, but the production fluctuates wildly. One 30-point game is sandwiched between a week of single-digit duds. He completely disappeared against Michigan (0 points, 1 rebound, 2 fouls, 1 turnover) only to drop 21 points and 12 rebounds on Oregon in the next game. Finding a way to stoke that fire for an 82-game season is perhaps the most challenging step of developing a player.
Shooting (24.1%3PA) is also an issue. He has made only three three-pointers since Valentine's Day; however, a 62% mark from inside the arc and his rim-attacking mentality give him a realistic NBA offensive floor. Stojakovic's size at the shooting guard/small forward position, combined with his bloodlines and versatility, should draw real front-office attention when Illinois takes on Houston.
There is never a dull moment with Emanuel Sharp (SG, Houston), a senior sharpshooter who has spent four years quietly becoming one of the best two-way guards in college basketball. The 6-foot-3 combo guard is averaging 15.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game this season while shooting 40.7% from the field and a career-high 37.5% from three-point range. He was named to the All-Big 12 team, the Big 12 All-Defensive team, and earned Big 12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors after putting up 20.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, and three 3-pointers per game across three tournament games.
Houston's run to a sixth consecutive Sweet Sixteen has been built, in part, on Sharp's reliability. He scored 18 points in the second-round win over Texas A&M and has averaged 17.0 points through two tournament games. He has now become Houston's career 3-point field goal leader with 277 made triples. For the Pelicans, Sharp represents the off-ball shooting guard and glue-guy archetype they have often lacked. Think a high-upside Jose Alvardao replacement. Sharp is a player capable of defending multiple positions, spacing the floor, and competing in high-leverage possessions with or without the ball.
If the Pelicans prioritize toughness and defensive tenacity, Sharp is a logical target. A key cog in Kelvin Sampson’s stifling system, the scrappy fighter brings an edge that translates to winning basketball.
Sweet Sixteen's slugfest
With apologies to Coach Cal, Trevon Brazile (PF/C, Arkansas) is perhaps the most under-the-microscope individual in the Sweet Sixteen. Public draft boards have him going anywhere from the late-20s to never hearing his name called, even though the 6-foot-10, 230-pound Arkansas forward is averaging 13.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists while shooting 53% from the field. He has posted multiple double-doubles during SEC play, including a career-high 28-point outburst against Texas.
What makes Brazile particularly attractive for a Pelicans team in roster flux is his combination of length and touch. He carries a 7-foot-3.75-inch wingspan and a 41-inch max vertical, giving him the physical profile of a legitimate NBA rim protector and rebounder. He also flashed range this season, shooting 36% from beyond the arc, a skill that would pair nicely alongside Williamson in a modern frontcourt alignment.
If there was any doubt Tarris Reed Jr. (PF/C, UConn) belonged in the NBA conversation, his first-round performance against Furman erased it. The 6-foot-11, 265-pound center scored 31 points and grabbed 27 rebounds in the Huskies' 82-71 opening-round win, a stat line not posted in an NCAA Tournament game since Bill Walton in 1972. Reed shot 12-of-15 from the field in that performance and became the first player in 54 years to post 30 points, 20 rebounds, and shoot 80% in a tournament game.
Reed's regular-season numbers are equally impressive. He's averaging 14.5 points and 8.5 rebounds with a 62.5% field goal percentage, earning first-team All-Big East honors after being named the conference's Sixth Man of the Year the previous season. He transferred to UConn after two seasons at Michigan, and the fit with Dan Hurley's program has been seamless. The knock on Reed remains his free-throw shooting (54.6%), a flaw that could limit his NBA ceiling but shouldn't disqualify him from a late second-round flier.
Lastly, looking at the biggest underdog, Dillon Mitchell (PF, St. John's) is perhaps the most intriguing name on this list precisely because he doesn't show up in box scores the way a traditional prospect does. The 6-foot-8, 205-pound forward from Tampa is averaging 8.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, and a remarkable 3.1 assists per game this season while shooting 55.2%. Those assist numbers from a power forward are essentially unheard of, and they reflect a skill set that translates cleanly to the modern NBA.
A long, switchable, pass-first frontcourt piece who can make offense happen at multiple levels, Mitchell might be the best low-risk, high-reward prospect to put next to Derik Queen. Maybe not for the long term, but it would make for some fun NBA Summer League hoops this summer. St. John's has gone 19-1 over one stretch this season since Mitchell was re-inserted into the starting lineup, and that's not a coincidence.
Mitchell is a McDonald's All-American who has played at three programs (Texas, Cincinnati) after becoming one of the most-traveled portal prospects in recent memory, and his basketball IQ has only sharpened under Rick Pitino.
As the Sweet Sixteen unfolds, the spotlight will naturally fall on the star players and Cinderella stories. For the Pelicans’ scouting department, however, the real work lies in evaluating how these five potential second-round targets handle the pressure of high-stakes tournament basketball. In the margins of the NBA draft, intel is currency, and New Orleans would be wise to gather as much as possible on this quintet of underdogs.
