2024/2025 College Basketball Season - Team Previews: 6 - 10
#6: Baylor Bears
Returning
Langston Love (11.0 ppg - 47% / 48% / 78%)
Jayden Nunn (10.5 ppg - 46% / 44% / 71%)
Josh Ojianwuna (4.9 ppg - 74% / 0% / 63%)
Yanis Ndjonga (Redshirt)
Transfers
Norchad Omier (17.0 ppg @ Miami - 55% / 35% / 75%)
Jeremy Roach (14.0 ppg @ Duke - 47% / 43% / 84%)
Jalen Celestine (8.7 ppg @ Cal - 45% / 44% / 72%)
Davidson Hubbard (14.9 ppg @ Hampden-Sydney - D2)
Recruits
VJ Edgecombe (ESPN #3 / 247Sports #5)
Robert Wright III (ESPN #24 / 247Sports #23)
Jason Asemota (ESPN #51 / 247Sports #72)
Marino Dubravcic
Scott Drew’s Baylor Bears are going to be small, but mighty good at shooting threes. His program, the 5th best three point shooting team in the country last season, returns its two most accurate 3pt shooters - Langston Love (48% from 3 last year) and Jayden Nunn (44% from 3 last year) - and adds senior guard Jeremy Roach from Duke (43% from 3 last year), senior wing Jalen Celestine from Cal (44% from 3 last year), and Norchad Omier, the presumptive starting center (who shot a shameful, no-good 35% from 3 last year). My GOODNESS, that’s a lot of sharpshooters. This team could rival the ‘20-’21 National Championship team, who shot an absurd 41.3% from deep, in proficiency beyond the arc.
Roach, Love, and Nunn will form an awesome veteran backcourt that will give opposing defenses fits trying to follow them around the arc. Love has battled bad injury luck for much of his college career so far, including an ankle injury that forced him to miss much of the second half of last season…but who knows, maybe that’s the beginning of the “Baylor reaches the 24-25 Final Four” video. Drew also landed three Top 75 freshman recruits, including Top 5 VJ Edgecombe, who seems like an absolute ANIMAL. This kid can jump out of the gym, and he wants to dunk everything. His performance playing for Bahamas in olympic qualifying last summer left some jaws hanging on the floor around the CBB community. He averaged 16.5 pts / 5.5 reb / 3.8 ast, shot 57% overall and 38.5% from 3, and was often the best player on the floor in the 4 games he played. He’s going to be one of the fastest, most impactful young players in college hoops next season - which is why he’s already mocked to be drafted 3rd overall in next summer’s NBA Draft. He also seems like a really good kid - he’s already announced that he’s going to sponsor 3 scholarships to attend Gateway Christian Academy, the school he attended before moving to the US, using his NIL money. Hasn’t played a second of college ball and he’s already donating cash…what a benevolent bag-getting guy. His incoming freshmen classmates are likely going to be pretty good, too. Robert Wright is the #1 rated point guard in the class - he’s not the biggest guard at 6’ flat, but he’s a tremendous distributor who has a well-rounded offensive game of his own. He’s the guy who made Cooper Flagg look good at Montverde. Jason Asemota will be the second tallest guy on the team (or tied for it) at 6’7”, and he’s a talented defender / shot blocker who can…you guessed it, step out and shoot from three.
This Bears team should be incredible on offense, but they’re going to be smaller than almost every team they play. They may have guards playing the 4 a lot of the time, which may be great for spacing on offense but not so great for defending bigger forwards. Omier is a fantastic player - he’s incredibly strong and plays much bigger than his size. He’s one of the best returning rebounders in the country, he’s a great 1-on-1 defender, and he’s a dangerous offensive weapon. But when you have a 6’7” player starting at the 5, you’re going to be at a size disadvantage to teams with true, big centers. Josh Ojianwuna is more of a true center at 6’10”, and he’s been pretty effective as a backup. But otherwise, Baylor doesn’t have much proven frontcourt depth. The defense was rough last year, and I’m not sure I see it getting a lot better this year, especially after losing a first round draft pick true center and elite shot blocker in Yves Missi. The Bears are going to be incredibly fun to watch, and I think they’re one of the 10 best teams in the country and a legit Final Four contender, but the margin for error is slim, so despite the unbelievable shooting numbers, I’m going to temper my expectations until I see the defense hold its own.
#7: Duke Blue Devils
Returning
Tyrese Proctor (10.5 ppg - 42% / 35% / 76%)
Caleb Foster (7.7 ppg - 44% / 41% / 69%)
Transfers
Sion James (14.0 ppg @ Tulane - 51% / 38% / 68%)
Maliq Brown (9.5 ppg @ Syracuse - 70% / 37% / 72%)
Cameron Sheffield (7.6 ppg @ Rice - 43% / 37% / 77%)
Mason Gillis (6.5 ppg @ Purdue - 48% / 47% / 86%)
Recruits
Cooper Flagg (ESPN #1 / 247Sports #1)
Khaman Maluach (ESPN NR / 247Sports #4)
Isaiah Evans (ESPN #15 / 247Sports #13)
Kon Knueppel (ESPN #19 / 247Sports #18)
Pat Ngongba (ESPN #26 / 247Sports #21)
Darren Harris (ESPN #31 / 247Sports #40)
There is a ridiculous amount of talent on the roster - it’s inarguably the team with the most NBA-level talent in all of college basketball this season. The foundation of returning players isn’t as strong as last year, but Scheyer landed some solid role-playing transfers, and he recruited the best incoming freshman player and overall class in the country. And it’s a damn good overall freshman class. There’s a leadership vacuum on the team after last season, so some of the guys on the roster will have to step into leading roles. Cooper Flagg is the most highly-touted freshman recruit since Zion Williamson, and he’s going to be one of the best players in the country. He’s so skilled, so long and athletic, and so physically dominant - he can do absolutely everything you could ask a player to do on a basketball court. it seems safe to say that he’s a generational talent who will have a very successful NBA career. He will be looked to as THE leader of this team. I think Sion James might assume the Jeremy Roach role as the leading veteran guard - I also think he could be one of the more underrated transfer prospects moving up to a contending team. Purdue transfer Mason Gillis will be a solid, experienced addition to the roster that raises the team’s perimeter shooting numbers - his stats are ridiculous. And Maliq Brown from Syracuse is a pretty good forward who will add much-needed experience in the frontcourt - he will be the only big man on the roster who has played a minute of college basketball.
Junior Tyrese Proctor and sophomore Caleb Foster are the lone returning players on the roster. Proctor has been pretty good, but not great in his time at Duke - he has underperformed relative to expectations. Foster is a very talented shooter and had some impressive performances here and there, but he wasn’t a consistent contributor. His season was unfortunately cut short in late February, when he suffered a stress fracture - but he should be 100% now. While Duke is absolutely talented enough to win every game on its schedule this year, they will only reach their ceiling if these two provide leadership and take steps to become all-conference level players. The most talented team doesn’t always win in college basketball - consistent effort, defense, and smart play are necessary to succeed and these guys have to set the tone on emphasizing the importance of those concepts.
Khaman Maluach has a lot of upside, but it will be interesting to see how he translates to the college game immediately. His size / length are great, and he moves well and seems to have some range, but it seems like most of his value will be as a rim-runner. Isaiah Evans is another big, athletic wing who will probably play a lot - if he and Cooper are on the court together, they’re going to give opponents nightmares in transition. Kon Knueppel takes over as the big, skilled, pasty white guy - like a smaller Filipowski playing more on the wing. I’ve heard awesome things about his offensive play in practice so far this season - keep an eye on him as a potential Top 5 scorer for the Blue Devils. Freshman Darren Harris may be a wild card - he’s the lowest rated incoming Freshman recruit, but he may be the best pure shooter of the group, and he seems to be a competitive hustler. Pat Ngongba, another Top 30 freshman at center, can bolster depth around the rim but he’s battling nagging injuries so I don’t know that we’ll see much of him, at least not to start the year.
The reason why Duke is this low in my rankings is purely a function of me wanting them to prove they’re Top 5 good - aside from Flagg, who’s the most sure thing on the roster, several things will need to go right for them to be elite. Tyrese Proctor needs to take a step forward and finally live up to the hype. Sion James and/or Caleb Foster need to be productive in the backcourt, too. Jon Scheyer needs to draw up some actual plays for Cooper Flagg instead of running the “everyone stand still” offense like he did for Filipowski for much of last season. How good is Khaman Maluach and the rest of the frontcourt, really? And are the other freshmen (Evans, Harris, etc.) ready to compete at a level that propels them into the Top 5? Duke may put a lot of these concerns and questions to rest in very little time at the beginning of the season, but I’d like to see everything come together before I assume they’re a top tier contender.
#8: Iowa State Cyclones
Returning
Keshon Gilbert (13.7 ppg - 44% / 35% / 73%)
Tamin Lipsey (12.4 ppg - 43% / 39% / 71%)
Curtis Jones (11.0 ppg - 39% / 35% / 81%)
Milan Momcilovic (10.9 ppg - 42% / 36% / 81%)
Demarion Watson (1.9 ppg - 69% / 100% / 57%)
Kayden Fish (1.5 ppg - 40% / 0% / 100%)
J.T. Rock (Redshirt)
Transfers
Nate Heise (13.5 ppg @ Northern Iowa - 46% / 36% / 73%)
Dishon Jackson (11.4 ppg @ Charlotte - 54% / 13% / 72%)
Joshua Jefferson (10.2 ppg @ Saint Mary’s - 47% / 27% / 73%)
Brandton Chatfield (9.4 ppg @ Seattle - 60% / 27% / 68%)
Recruits
Nojus Indrusaitis (ESPN #70 / 247Sports #95)
Dwayne Pierce
The Iowa State Cyclones are going to be a Top 10 team yet again this season, and it seems like that’s where they’re likely to remain as long as TJ Otzelberger is the coach in Ames, IA. Otzelberger has quickly ascended to the top of the college basketball coaching ranks, developing a reputation for consistently coaching up elite defenses, and he returns the Top 4 scorers from last season’s team, including one of the best backcourts in the Big 12.
Junior point guard Tamin Lipsey made the All Big 12 First Team last season, and it’s very possible he makes it again this year (he’s already on the preseason First Team). Lipsey was one of the best all-around point guards in the game last year - he was 2nd on the team in scoring, he’s a masterful distributor (Top 100 assist rate), he was one of the best defensive guards in the country (6th overall in steal rate), and he really stepped up his shooting and overall offensive game last season. He also shot 39% from 3 on >100 attempts, which was a HUGE improvement over his freshman season. Keshon Gilbert - the Cyclones’ top scorer and All Big 12 Second Team member - was a revelation for Iowa State after transferring from UNLV. He was one of the most underrated, impactful transfers of last season and was a perfect fit for Otz’s system. He was almost as proficient a facilitator and defender as Lipsey, and similarly effective as a scorer. While he wasn’t a highly efficient shooter, he was among the best guards in the country at getting to the free throw line - he loves to drive into the lane and draw contact on his shots. Curtis Jones is similarly defensive-minded as Lipsey and Gilbert, but he also made the most 3s on the team last year, at a 35% clip…not bad. I bring these numbers from last season up because in every case, these guards showed significant improvement from the prior year. What that tells me, is that Otz is really good at picking out players that fit his style, whether recruits (Lipsey) or transfers (Gilbert + Jones), and helping them develop to improve and win a lot of basketball games. Milan Momcilovic, an All Big 12 Freshman Team selection, is also running it back with the Cyclones. He proved to be a very dangerous shooter for his size, and I think he’s a potential breakout candidate for this season too - I expect him to be even better offensively this year. He also gives Otz some lineup flexibility, because he can play the 3 or 4. Nate Heise, transfer shooting guard from Northern Iowa, will provide additional backcourt depth and perimeter shooting.
The bad news for Iowa State is that they lose most of their frontcourt from last year’s team: Tre King, Robert Jones, and Hason Ward. Those guys were all great - they finished well around the rim, rebounded really well, forced steals, and Jones & Ward blocked tons of shots…they’re tough guys to replace. The good news is that TJ reloaded that part of the roster in the portal, and as mentioned above, he’s had a pretty good success rate with identifying underutilized talent that fits his system. I think he did a really good job, and I doubt Iowa State skips a beat this season. Dishon Jackson is HUGE - 6’11”, 260 lbs - and he has all the skills that the ‘Clones will be missing in Robert Jones. Josh Jefferson is a perfect fit for this team - he played in a similar system at SMC, he’s an elite rebounder on the defensive end, he led their team in steal rate, and he can score from different parts of the floor. Otz should just build a transfer pipeline from Saint Mary’s. Brandton Chatfield from Seattle will be a very high-floor backup for Jackson - he served that role at Seattle, and he was very impressive in doing so. He’s incredible on the offensive glass, blocks shots at a similar rate, and shot nearly 65% from 2pt range last season.
This should be one of the more highly anticipated seasons in Iowa State basketball history. They outperformed expectations last season, they have far fewer question marks this year, there is a lot of returning talent in the backcourt, and they filled every gap with exceptional talent in the transfer portal. The defense should be Top 5 in the country, if not #1 again next year. I do have two somewhat significant concerns for this team that could hold them back from a Final Four appearance, though. #1 is related to the offense - the Cyclones finished just outside the Top 50 in offensive efficiency. They play a pretty slow tempo, and I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: when you play slow tempo, you MUST shoot efficiently. They shot the 3 pretty well (~36% as a team), but were outside the Top 300 teams in 3pt attempts per field goals attempted. Conversely, they were fine but not great at shooting inside the arc (51%, 140th in the country). I think they settled for some questionable shots at times. Concern #2 is that they don’t have dynamic NBA-level talent. Their guards are great college basketball guards, but they’re not big, nor are they super athletic. They don’t really have the NBA-style wings that can elevate teams in high-leverage situations. Obviously every team wants those kinds of guys if they can get them, but I think they’re a necessary edge in close games, especially toward the end of the season. Momcilovic *may* be able to develop into that kind of player, but it remains to be seen how much better he’ll be this year. I think Iowa State is a legitimate threat to win the Big 12, but I’m less convinced that they’re a legitimate threat to make the Final Four…as of now. We saw what happened when they faced a high-octane offense (Illinois) - until they improve offensively, they’re going to be vulnerable to more well-rounded teams with great offenses.
#9: North Carolina Tar Heels
Returning
RJ Davis (21.2 ppg - 43% / 40% / 87%)
Elliot Cadeau (7.3 ppg - 42% / 19% / 65%)
Seth Trimble (5.2 ppg - 47% / 42% / 67%)
Jae’Lyn Withers (4.2 ppg - 54% / 20% / 78%)
Jalen Washington (3.9 ppg - 70% / 53% / 64%)
Zayden High (0.8 ppg - 32% / 0% / 67%)
Transfers
Cade Tyson (16.2 ppg @ Belmont - 49% / 47% / 86%)
Ven-Allen Lubin (12.3 ppg @ Vanderbilt - 50% / 33% / 73%)
Recruits
Ian Jackson (ESPN #7 / 247Sports #8)
Drake Powell (ESPN #14 / 247Sports #11)
James Brown (ESPN #69 / 247Sports #120)
Let’s just get this out of the way from the top: RJ Davis is going to be the favorite (or at worst, 2nd place) for Naismith Player of the Year going into the 2024-2025 season. In his first year as the sole leader of the Carolina backcourt (sans Caleb Love), he was absolutely spectacular. A lot of oxygen was freshly available in the lineup, and he flourished as a result. Starting point guard Elliot Cadeau and highly valuable sixth man Seth Trimble return as well, providing UNC with some very reassuring roster continuity and great guard talent. The Tar Heel faithful are rightfully ecstatic that most of their backcourt decided to return to Chapel Hill, and RJ will likely produce another ridiculous showing this season, but when you zoom out to look at last year’s team vs. this year’s…they’re losing 3 critically important players, 2 of whom will be very difficult to replace. Cormac Ryan was a vital addition to last year’s team, and although he was inconsistent at times, he definitely won Carolina some games (e.g., his 31 point performance in the regular season finale vs. Duke). That said, he’s replaceable, and wouldn’t you know it, Hubert Davis found some potentially fitting replacements. I would say Cade Tyson is an upgrade over Ryan, but we’ll see how he acclimates to his new team and high major basketball. He shot 46.5% from three, and is a 44.6% career 3 pt shooter through his first 2 college seasons (are you kidding me?!). He is a pure, knockdown sniper who will immediately make this team better. The two 5 star freshmen - Ian Jackson and/or Drake Powell - will have to step up and perform for Carolina to reach its ceiling. Jackson is a wildly athletic wing with lots of bounce, great body control, and the ability to create with the ball in his hands. He’s best when going to the rack, and he loves to play high tempo ball. He’s the likely candidate to start at the 3, and I think Heels fans are going to have a lot of fun watching him play. Drake Powell is a high-motor, POWERFUL wing who plays bigger than he looks on both sides of the ball. Watch his tape, and half his highlights are either thunderous dunks or fierce blocks. It’s hard to tell how freshmen will translate, especially on a specific team, but Powell might end up being better than Jackson, and one of the better freshmen in the country.
I hate to focus on the past, but last season’s Heels roster left some huge shoes to fill. Harrison Ingram was a revelation for UNC last season. Sure, we knew he would be good, but he was about 110% as good as anyone could have expected after being stuck on some less-than-great Stanford teams for most of his college career. He was 3rd on the team in 3 pointers, and shot 38.5% beyond the arc! This will also be UNC’s first year without Armando Bacot since before the pandemic - and he will go down as one of the best big men in the history of North Carolina basketball. Vanderbilt big man transfer Ven-Allen Lubin is a solid player and a good portal addition, but he’s no Armando Bacot. That leaves Jalen Washington - who’s been a solid depth / rotation guy, but may not be ready to be an impactful full-service starting center - and freshman center, James Brown…who is a 4-star freshman (he, too, is not Armando Bacot). North Carolina has a ton of talent and athleticism on the team, both young and experienced, but they may only have 2 reliable 3 pt shooters on the starting lineup, and they may have a substantial drop-off at the 5 position. Like I said earlier, the two Top 20 freshmen will need to be consistent contributors for this team to reach its apex. I think this team may have better depth and more NBA-bound talent than last year’s, but I’m interested to see how the pieces fit together before I express much confidence in them as a top-level contender.
#10: Auburn Tigers
Returning
Johni Broome (16.5 ppg - 55% / 35% / 62%)
Chad Baker-Mazara (10.0 ppg - 45% / 42% / 88%)
Denver Jones (9.1 ppg - 44% / 42% / 86%)
Dylan Cardwell (5.3 ppg - 71% / 40% / 59%)
Chaney Johnson (4.7 ppg - 50% / 27% / 74%)
Chris Moore (2.5 ppg - 48% / 26% / 77%)
Addarin Scott (0.4 ppg - 67% / 0% / 100%)
Transfers
JP Pegues (18.4 ppg @ Furman - 42% / 36% / 88%)
Miles Kelly (13.9 ppg @ Georgia Tech - 37% / 32% / 73%)
Ja’Heim Hudson (5.4 ppg @ SMU - 43% / 32% / 80%)
Recruits
Tahaad Pettiford (ESPN #35 / 247Sports #29)
Jahki Howard (ESPN #63 / 247Sports #61)
The Auburn Tigers finished the 2022-2023 regular season as one of the hottest teams in all of college basketball, winning the SEC Tournament with an emphatic blowout win over Florida. Bruce Pearl’s squad boasted one of the best defenses in the country and a Top 10 offense - a combo that often translates to success in March. But the Tigers fell to 13-seeded Yale in one of the biggest upsets of the tournament - they turned the ball over a lot, and they gave up 9 threes on 9/20 shooting, including 6/9 from deep by junior wing John Poulakidas. While that loss probably stings in the minds of Auburn fans as a wasted opportunity, the 2023-2024 roster should give the fans reason for hope and excitement. Bruce Pearl has kept a substantial portion of the roster intact, including All-American center and cornerstone of the Auburn defense, Johni Broome. The team will certainly miss the likes of forward Jaylin Williams (Top 30 most efficient offensive player last year) and veteran guards KD Johnson and Tre Donaldson, but I think Bruce Pearl brought in enough talent that this Auburn team could be just as good as last year’s. Pearl has had an impressive hit-rate on inbound transfers the last few years (I believe the entire starting 5 this year will have started college elsewhere), so I expect the new additions will integrate into the rotation smoothly.
Johni Broome returning is a massive win - he was one of the best centers in the country last season, and he might be #1 at the position this season. He will be a preseason All-American pick - for good reason - and he immediately solidifies Auburn’s defense as a Top 10 force, once again. Broome has always been an elite rebounder and shot-blocker, but his offensive game took a big step last season. He’s scoring as efficiently as he ever has, he developed a reliable 3pt shot (35% from 3), and he’s drawing more fouls and getting to the line more frequently. Chad Baker-Mazara and Denver Jones, both Top 4 scorers on last year’s team, should set a high floor for the offense, as well. They were the two best perimeter shooters on last year’s roster, both hitting just under 42% of their shots from deep. Solidifying the frontcourt are experienced rotation guys, senior forward Chaney Johnson and 5th year center Dylan Cardwell. Chaney Johnson may likely take over the starting 4 spot - he’s no Jaylin Williams, but he may be better than Williams was defensively. He shot 50% from the field (though only 27% from 3), but look to see how he performs early on - Pearl has lineup flexibility, so he could rotate Johnson in/out pretty easily. Incoming transfer forward Ja’Heim Hudson from SMU could be a better option at the 4, as a more effective scorer and similarly capable defender. And Cardwell is a rock-solid, experienced backup center who can give Broome some breaks.
Pearl’s premier transfer addition is his new starting point guard, JP Pegues, the former leading scorer of the Furman Paladins. I think this is an A+ pickup for Bruce - he needed a reliable, scoring point guard and he got one of the best available players of that kind in the portal. Pegues is a great shooter and efficient scorer (48% 2FG / 36% 3FG / 87% FT) - he likes to get into the lane and draw contact, but he takes most of his shots further from the basket…oh, and he hit ~80 threes last season. He’s also one of the best passers in the country among returning players. Senior guard / wing Miles Kelly is also joining the team from Georgia Tech, where he was the leading scorer last season. Kelly isn’t a super efficient player on paper, but he’s definitely a talented scorer with great size and ability to get to the rim. He was a better shooter when he wasn’t “the guy” at GT and didn’t have to take so many often-forced shots. I’m really interested to see if he’s a better fit in Auburn’s offense as one option of many, rather than the primary scorer.
Freshman point guard and Top 50 recruit Tahaad Pettiford will serve as a backup for Pegues. This kid is going to be awesome - he’s confident, he looks like he’s a step ahead of everyone else on the floor, and he’s smooth as hell. I’m excited to see him play. And Jahki Howard will provide depth at the wing, behind Jones and Baker-Mazara. I honestly can’t tell you much about his game from his highlight videos, except that he can dunk the living daylights out of the ball. Sorry, that’s all I got for ya - he’s a dunker.
Overall, I think Auburn will hover between the back half of the Top 10 and the high teens for most of the season. The Tigers are likely to be elite on the defensive end again, and the offense could be about as good as it was last year, depending on how the backcourt performs. One thing to note, Auburn may have been “analytics darlings” last season - a team who grades well on paper but doesn’t back it up to the same level. They finished 4th in KenPom ratings, but were 5-6 vs. Top 40 teams and 1-3 vs. the Top 20. They had a ton of momentum after winning their conference tournament (note: the toughest team they played was Florida), then fell flat on their face against a 13 seed…a skeptical college hoops fan might say they still haven’t beaten the “fraud” allegations. I personally think they have some burden of proof before I consider them a Final Four / National Championship contender, especially because it’s not 100% clear that they’re better than last season.