Rutgers' Ace Bailey is the NBA Draft's version of Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders

It's safe to say that Ace Bailey won't be chosen with the 144th pick in the NBA Draft.

But where exactly will the Rutgers star end up? It's as much of a confusing narrative as it became in the NFL Draft when that's exactly the slot that Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders slid down to before the Cleveland Browns mercifully ended his nightmare draft weekend.

Bailey refused to workout for the 76ers, who seemed to be a favorite to take him at No. 3 overall. And throughout the draft process, he has reportedly confused teams with his choices.

But there's also no questioning Bailey's talent. He's 6-foot-10 with the ability to fill it up from all over the floor.

Sanders was a consensus first-rounder who had a tough pre-draft process and somehow wound up going in the fifth round instead.

TNT's Adam Lefkoe finds these situations similar, and he shared that with Bomani Jones on Wednesday.

"Shedeur was listed as a top-two pick," Lefkoe said. "Ace Bailey was listed as a top-three pick, before their seasons began. I feel like they had it in their heads the entire season, like, 'I'm that guy.'

"So I'm gonna go through the draft process as the guy from a year ago. And people are like, 'Why would you think this?' And it's like, 'Because the entire offseason you called me a top-three pick.' These bulls— mock drafts that we know are nonsense is impacting the youth."

MORE: Duke legend Cooper Flagg has an incredible GPA

In a way, it's sad.

It doesn't excuse any questionable behavior by Sanders or Bailey in the draft process, but it can also be hard to be a young man with so much hype.

The good news for Sanders, that is now true for Bailey as well, is that the ball is in their court as far as where they go next. They can be successful at the professional level based on their own decisions from here on out.

MORE: How Derik Queen and Angel Reese relate