Welcome back to college basketball in 2023-24, where rosters across the sport still feel the immense effects of the COVID-19 pandemic bonus year. That extra season of eligibility — as well as changing priorities for NBA teams — has led to the center position being deeper than I’ve ever seen it since I’ve been covering college hoops.
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Truly, I cannot remember a six-player group at a single position that has achieved as much as those at the top of the center position. One of them won national player of the year last year. One decided to return despite being a likely first-round pick in 2023. Two of them have played critical roles on Final Four teams. Three have been All-Americans, and two others have showcased truly elite defensive talent. Even more than last year, this season has an absolutely loaded class of centers.
And it even extends beyond that top six. I honestly ran out of space for all of the players I wanted to list here because of how many great ones there are nationwide. And nearly all of them have produced at an elite level and have great experience for their coaches to fall back on. Outside of that top six, 13 of the next 21 players are seniors, leaving no room anywhere for freshmen in this top-20 ranking. There are also a significant number of potential breakout candidates among the college big man class in 2024, guys who have every chance to burst onto the scene and become household names.
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I’ve previewed all of that for you below. What you’ll find here are my top-20 ranked big men across college hoops, and then I’ve listed five that I expect to take a leap who just couldn’t quite make the list, plus five freshmen worth knowing heading into the season. College hoops has an embarrassment of frontcourt riches this season.
1. Zach Edey | 7-4 center | senior | Purdue
The list has to start with Edey, no questions asked. He was the obvious pick for national player of the year last season after averaging 22.3 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game. At 7-foot-4, he’s the most dominant force in college basketball, a post weapon who can establish position at any time and can efficiently create looks both on the block and out of ball screens. Purdue was a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament running its entire scheme offensively through the attention he draws on the block, and regardless of the team’s first-round to Fairleigh Dickinson, it was a remarkably successful 29-6 campaign.
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Beyond just the offense, though, I think it’s worth noting the lengths to which Edey has improved on defense. He’s not a pylon back there like the previous year’s national player of the year, Oscar Tshiebwe. His size makes him a real force in drop coverage, and his positioning has improved drastically in terms of understanding how to take up space. Remember, the issue in the NCAA Tournament against FDU wasn’t Edey not being able to move; the Boilermakers held the Knights to under one point per possession. The Knights only shot 43 percent from 2-point range. In total last season, with Edey on the court, Purdue allowed just 99 points per 100 possessions, per Pivot Analysis. The issues came when he left the court, when they gave up over 112 per 100 possessions. When Edey was on the court, opposing teams shot just 49.5 percent at the rim. When he was off the court, teams shot 57.6 percent at the rim and got there drastically more often.
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Edey is in a tier of his own among bigs in college basketball. No player has repeated as consensus national player the year since Ralph Sampson back in 1983. The Canadian supergiant has as good of a shot as I’ve seen in a while to actually pull it off.
2. Kyle Filipowski | 6-11 center | sophomore | Duke
Filipowski could have been a first-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft but decided to return to Duke instead. That decision came, in part, due to Filipowski’s choice to have arthroscopic surgery on his hips to reduce pain that he’d been feeling since high school. He played through soreness throughout the season in 2022-23 and still was among the most impressive freshmen in the country. He averaged 15.1 points and nine rebounds, often carrying the offensive load for Duke through stretches of the season as Dariq Whitehead struggled with injuries and Dereck Lively II and Tyrese Proctor dealt with typical struggles adjusting to college talent.
The skill that has always stood out most to me even going back to Filipowski’s days in New England is his ballhandling. For a near-7-footer, Filipowski’s ability to get low and actually maintain his dribble against pressure is terrific, and it allows him to create from the high post or even on the wing at times. He’s also adept as a scorer on the interior as a post player and has the ability to play a diversified role in ball screens where he can handle the ball and take screens himself, pick-and-pop, pick-and-short-roll, or even just roll all the way to the rim. All of this allows him to be a mismatch nightmare at the collegiate level. If he has any increased level of explosiveness after having that surgery this offseason, he will be in the mix for first-team All-America honors.
3. Ryan Kalkbrenner | 7-1 center | senior | Creighton
Kalkbrenner has been one of the most underrated players in the country for the last two years despite earning first-team All-Big East honors last season. The two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year is as valuable as any player in the country on that end of the court. His pure blocks and rebounding numbers don’t do it justice, as he averages just six rebounds and a bit over two blocks per game. But there is not a more positionally sound drop defender in the country. The 7-foot-1 big man uses his length and mobility to cover up angles and completely shut down the interior.
The Kalkbrenner Effect on Creighton cannot be overstated. Greg McDermott has been a head coach in college basketball since 2002. Prior to Kalkbrenner, he’d never had a top-20 defensive team in the country according to KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency metric. In those preceding 19 years, he’d only had four top-60 finishes, and only one top-40 finish. In Kalkbrenner’s three years in Omaha, Creighton has finished 32nd, 19th, and 14th in adjusted defensive efficiency. They’ve been the best defensive team in the Big East in back-to-back seasons. He’s a truly dominant player on that end of the court.
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Don’t sleep on his offense, either. Kalkbrenner morphed his way into also being the leading scorer for the Bluejays last season, averaging 15.9 points while shooting nearly 70 percent from the field. He takes fewer than 10 shots per game, but I’m not sure any player makes them count better. The next step for him will be confidently firing away from 3. He clearly has enough touch to consistently make those shots. If he adds them to his repertoire while maintaining his skill everywhere else, he has a real chance to be an All-American.
4. Hunter Dickinson | 7-2 center | senior | Kansas
The most prominent transfer in college basketball this past season, Dickinson had been a dominant, well-rounded offensive player for Michigan the past three seasons. A former consensus All-American and a three-time All-Big Ten award winner, Dickinson is 260 pounds of power and skill on the block. The lefty has continued to add to his repertoire over the years, going from more of a pure post presence as a freshman to what is now an inside-out offensive hub Bill Self hasn’t had at Kansas since Perry Ellis’s decade in Lawrence in the mid-2010s (Wait, sources are now telling me Ellis only played four years at Kansas. Apologies for misremembering).
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Self is arguably the best offensive coach in college basketball, and he’ll be able to get quite creative in how he utilizes Dickinson out of dribble handoffs, ball screens, and high-low actions. I also think Dickinson has shown enough improvement on defense over his last year or so in college to where it would be unfair to call him a liability at this point. In Big Ten play last season, Michigan had the second-best defense in the league (according to KenPom), and Dickinson has improved in regard to his use of angles when teams try to space him out. Look for Dickinson to keep bringing his 18 points and nine rebounds per game while leading what is arguably the most talented team in the country.
5. Donovan Clingan | 7-2 center | sophomore | Connecticut
There were few more dominant players in college basketball last season on a per-minute basis than Clingan. One prominent statistical modeler for the NBA Draft told me in April that if Clingan had entered the 2023 draft, he would have rated as the No. 1 college player in his stats-only projection system. He only averaged seven points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, but he did all of that in just 13 minutes playing behind the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player, Adama Sanogo. Similarly to Edey, Clingan is dominant on the block because of his ability to establish position against anyone in the country, but he’s also sharper in ball screens than he gets credit for due to his ability to seal off his man.
The real value, though, comes on defense. Clingan was utterly elite as a drop-coverage big who took up the entire paint with his size and length. When Clingan was on the court, Connecticut’s opponents shot 41 percent when taking shots at the rim, per Pivot Analysis. That’s an almost impossibly low number. Teams only scored 89.9 points per 100 possessions when he was on the court, versus 103.1 when he was off it. This is the difference between him and some of the more prominent names ranked below him. Clingan is an elite defensive big man.
Clingan did drop a few slots here, however, as he is currently in a walking boot after injuring his right foot in practice. He is expected to be ready for the start of the season, but anytime you mention “foot injury” and “7-footer” in the same sentence, there is obviously a degree of hesitation. If he was fully healthy, I think Clingan would have a chance to be in the conversation for best player in college basketball this upcoming season along with Edey. His best has a shot to be better than anyone else’s best due to his two-way acumen.
6. Armando Bacot | 6-10 center | senior | North Carolina
I’ve probably always been a touch lower on Bacot’s overall value than consensus while also appreciating the immense work ethic he brings on the glass every single night. The 6-foot-10 big man just battles his way toward establishing position every time down the court. It’s not always pretty, but it gets the job done. Because of that work rate, Bacot has become more effective as a legitimate offensive option in the post. He’s been quite good in that respect over the last two years, and actually finished in the top-25 nationally in points per game out of post-ups, per Synergy, last season. He was sixth among high-major players in points per game on the block, too. Then on top of it, he averaged over four offensive rebounds per game and nearly four points per game on put-backs, too. That was fourth nationally. He’s a kind of a throwback in an era of modernized big men filtering through the college game, and there is a lot to respect about that.
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So why does he fall below these other guys? I think he’s a step below them defensively. He’s not all that explosive or all that long by high-major center standards, and teams generally don’t have a ton of issue finishing over him. He also doesn’t take up quite as much space in drop situations in ball screens, but similarly to those above him can’t really play as a switch defender (even though Hubert Davis tried to utilize him as such early in the year last season). In that vein, he’s just a touch harder to build around. Still, his impact across the board is strong enough that he’s worthy of a ranking like this. He’ll be the centerpiece for the Tar Heels in his last season in Chapel Hill.
7. Oumar Ballo | 7-0 center | senior | Arizona
One of two bigs for the Wildcats to make first team All-Pac-12 last season, Ballo will have the interior all to himself this season under head coach Tommy Lloyd, whose scheme heavily involves bigs running the floor hard, screening and sealing opponents into post-ups and crashing the glass. Ballo followed Lloyd from Gonzaga to Arizona when the head coach got the job a couple of seasons ago, and his long-held upside blossomed with the development and playing time given to him. Last season, despite sharing touches with Azuolas Tubelis on the interior, Ballo still averaged 14.2 points and 8.6 rebounds while shooting 63 percent from the field. This season, with Arizona likely to play a bit more of a four-around-one structure as opposed to a dual-post look, Ballo should have even more space on the interior within their ball-screen continuity to carve out his man and create easy baskets.
Even with the talent around him, Ballo is the guy I trust most to lead the team in scoring and be the most consistently great player on the team. He’ll be a double-double machine, and I think he would be my preseason pick to win Pac-12 Player of the Year this season. He has a shot to average something like 19 points and 11 rebounds on 65 percent shooting from the field this year, which put him firmly in All-America discussions.
8. Oso Ighodaro | 6-10 big | senior | Marquette
It’s pretty hard for me not to be enthusiastic about Ighodaro, who is probably my favorite player returning to college hoops this season. What he brings to the court exceeds his stats, which look a bit pedestrian at 11.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. Why? First and foremost, if he’s not the best passing big in the country, he’s certainly among the handful who can claim the title. Marquette runs a significant amount of its offense through Ighodaro at the high post, asking him to make decisions out of dribble-handoffs and short-rolls in partnership with Tyler Kolek. He’s a tremendous screener, and the level to which that quick-trigger decision-making and rapid ball movement adds to the offense is significant. Then on top of it, he’s one of the most efficient finishers at the rim in the country. He made 66 percent of his attempts last season. Basically, Ighodaro doesn’t make bad decisions, and he’s extremely damaging when involved in the offense.
I also think Ighodaro generally does a solid job holding up on defense by being in the right place at the right time, and using his length to contest on the interior when necessary. He also can move his feet in space and play in a few different ball-screen coverages. The big leap for — if one comes this season — will be as a rebounder, as that’s the one place that Marquette generally could get hit a season ago. That’s the reason he doesn’t break into that top group, more than any other. But give me everything else that he brings to the table as an offensive initiator, a sharp defender, and a great finisher. You can win games in a big way with Ighodaro as your center.
9. Johni Broome | 6-10 center | senior | Auburn
A second-team All-SEC player, Broome improved throughout the season after a bit of a slow start following a transfer from Morehead State. But in his final 16 games, Broome was one of the best bigs in the SEC, averaging 16.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks while shooting nearly 56 percent from 3. Then he followed it up with a killer offseason, turning in great performances at both the G League Elite Camp and the NBA Draft Combine before deciding to return to school. Broome is a sharp rim protector and a more mobile defender than he gets credit for, allowing Bruce Pearl to play a variety of coverages. I’m betting Broome ends up in that 16 points and 10 rebounds range while also anchoring what has a chance to be a top-10 defense in the country. And with Aden Holloway entering the fold, Broome might even find some easier shots running in ball screens with the dynamic lead.
10. DaRon Holmes II | 6-10 big | junior | Dayton
Holmes was ridiculously productive last season, upping his numbers across the board to 18.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists. It was a surprise he decided to return to Dayton, though, as his NBA stock seemed to plateau in part because of how the Flyers use him. Holmes plays largely as a post big in an era where teams don’t love the idea of projecting an undersized center being able to create shots on the block. And honestly, I thought his game seemed to stagnate a bit even with the statistical improvement. He didn’t move quite as fluidly as he did the year before, and his overall efficiency dropped as the Flyers went to utilizing him almost exclusively as a post player after spreading his role usage out far more as a freshman. I’d love to see Dayton get back to using him more in ball screens, where he has real versatility in how he can attack in short rolls and rim runs, as well as some occasional pick-and-pops. He’s also extremely valuable still in the dunker spot. Even though I know Dayton fans got frustrated with an offense that played at a snail’s pace and seemingly didn’t take full advantage of its immense talent, all of this is probably nitpicking a bit. Holmes is a monster athlete who should enter the season as the clear favorite to win Atlantic-10 Player of the Year.
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11. Cliff Omoruyi | 6-11 center | senior | Rutgers
Omoruyi has been one of the best true bigs in the country over the last two years, consistently dominating the glass and the interior on defense. An All-Defense selection in the Big Ten last year, Omoruyi was the centerpiece of the No. 6 unit in the country on that end of the floor. Undeniably, he was the biggest reason why. They had the No. 1 defense in the Big Ten, while holding teams in conference play to just a 46.9 percent mark from 2-point range. He blocked a ton of shots, but more than that, his presence as the last line of defense on the back line allowed the guards to get highly aggressive on the perimeter and force turnovers. After flirting with the NBA Draft process, Omoruyi decided to return for what will likely end up as a final go-around at Rutgers, where it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him average 16 points and 10 rebounds and continue to play that elite-level interior defense that has allowed Rutgers to turn the program around under Steve Pikiell since 2020.
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12. Branden Carlson | 7-0 center | senior | Utah
A truly underrated big man in college hoops, Carlson’s inside-out game tore apart Arizona last year to the tune of 22 points in an upset win. But really, it was the way Carlson closed the season that should have Utes fans excited that he’s primed to be a contender for Pac-12 Player of the Year. Over his last 16 games, Carlson averaged 17.3 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. And those numbers came after Carlson’s shooting fell off of a bit of a cliff, as he made just 29.6 percent of his five 3-point attempts per game in that time. Carlson’s versatility as a scorer who can create his own shots on the block, get offensive rebounds on tip-outs, and shoot from distance on both spot-ups and pick-and-pops is truly a huge difference-maker. And on top of that, Craig Smith’s defense calls for a significant interior presence who can affect shots, and Carlson was quite valuable on that end, too. When Carlson was on the court, Utah gave up just 96.8 points per 100 possessions. When he was off the court, that number skied to 109.3 points per 100, per Pivot Analysis. Opponents shot just 46.3 percent from the rim when he was on the court, versus 51.3 when he was on the court.
13. P.J. Hall | 6-10 forward | senior | Clemson
One of the more unheralded great college hoops players, Hall is one of the best inside-out threats in the country. A third-team All-ACC pick a season ago (a selection that I thought undervalued his play), Hall averaged 15 points and six rebounds while scoring regularly on the block and from distance. Hall’s 4.8 points per game on post-ups was top-50 in the country, then he also shot 39.8 percent from 3 on nearly three attempts per game. In general, the name of the game with Hall is offensive versatility. On the block, he can get to hook shots, then also face up with impressive footwork and turnaround jumpers. He’s really sharp in dribble handoffs and ball screens, and he also has impressive body control and touch as a finisher. With Hunter Tyson departed, look for Hall to be the clear centerpiece for the Tigers, and he has every opportunity to be a first-team All-ACC player.
14. Norchad Omier | 6-7 big | senior | Miami (Fla.)
A critical cog in Miami’s run toward the Final Four, Omier was the central force of the Hurricanes’ defense. Omier isn’t very big for essentially a center, but he plays with all sorts of toughness and aggressiveness. It’s hard to overemphasize how essential he was to Miami’s overall success. When he was on the court, Miami beat opponents by over 17 points per 100 possessions. When he was off the court, Miami actually was outscored by its opponents by nearly six points per 100, per Pivot Analysis. No other player had as big of an impact on Miami’s success, and ACC Player of the Year Isaiah Wong was really the only guy who was close. Why is he so impactful? He just does everything. He makes the little plays and gives the extra efforts to get loose balls on both ends. He’s exceptionally positionally sound on defense, and uses his strength to hold position against bigger opponents. Around the rim, he has great touch on offense as a below-the-rim finisher. He reads the ball off of the rim extremely well and reacts to get into position faster than everyone else on the court. The Hurricanes have every chance to get back to the top of the ACC this season, and Omier’s steadying presence will be a huge reason why.
15. Graham Ike | 6-9 center | junior | Gonzaga
Ike was set for an enormous season with Wyoming last year before hurting his right leg in the preseason and missing the entire season. He was named preseason Mountain West Player of the Year and looked set to continue his dominant 20-point, 10-rebound form into another season. It wasn’t meant to be. In the end, Ike transferred to Gonzaga, and he couldn’t have found a more perfect fit schematically for his post-heavy skill set. In 2021-22, Ike led the country while averaging 12.9 points per game out of post-ups, per Synergy. With how Gonzaga uses ball screens to roll its bigs into post-ups, Ike should be right at home in Spokane using his lefty hook shot over his right shoulder to score. He’s a touch more limited than some of the other guys above him, but Ike uses that 7-foot-5 wingspan to shoot over the top of bigs and score effectively. He’ll put up big numbers this season. Having said that, it’s worth noting that Ike did miss Gonzaga’s Kraziness in the Kennel event to kick off its season with that right leg injury, although the Zags expect him to be ready for the start of the season.
16. Coleman Hawkins | 6-10 big | senior | Illinois
Hawkins is one of the more versatile big men that you’ll find across college basketball in large part due to his athleticism and playmaking ability. Hawkins is an explosive, fluid athlete who can fly around the court in transition or in the halfcourt. Defensively, you can play him in a variety of different coverages with his speed and footwork. He can hedge screens, switch them, play at the level and recover. But then he can also be a weakside rim protector. And on offense, Hawkins will initiate sets regularly and make high-level reads as a passer and playmaker out of short-rolls and dribble handoffs. But whereas someone like Ighodaro is moving the ball quickly and always making the right decision, Hawkins can get over-aggressive and force the issue too often. That’s why he turns the ball over 2.5 times per game. Then on top of it, he shot just 28 percent from 3 last season on about four attempts per game. Hawkins has all of the talent in the world to be able to far exceed this ranking and be a top-10 big in the country. In theory, he has the talent to hurt opposing teams across every aspect of the game. He just needs to turn some of that theory into more consistent production.
17. Drew Pember | 6-11 forward | senior | UNC Asheville
Another elite inside-out threat in college hoops, Pember started his career at Tennessee before transferring down to Asheville and blossoming after his body finally caught up to his talents. Pember is a skinny 6-foot-11, but he’s one of the most skilled players in the country with his ability to dribble, pass and shoot at his size. He’ll just as easily spot up beyond the 3-point line as he will drive to the rim and draw contact, something he did better than anyone else in the country last season on his way to nine free-throw attempts per game. Don’t sleep on his defense, either, as the two-time Big South Defensive Player of the Year can contest at the rim and block shots. Arkansas and UCLA moved him around a bit easily last year, which is why he doesn’t rank a bit higher here. But Pember also dropped 40 on UCF in Asheville’s opener, so he’s not just a mid-major killer, either.
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18. N’Faly Dante | 7-0 center | senior | Oregon
Dante won first-team All-Pac-12 honors last year, his first with a truly clean bill of health in Oregon after committing to the Ducks as a five-star big man from prep powerhouse Sunrise Christian Academy. He tore his ACL during his sophomore season in 2020-21, then took time rehabbing it in the offseason before playing most of Oregon’s games as a junior. As a fourth-year senior, Dante finally broke out, averaging 13.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.1 steals while flying around the court athletically and trying to dunk everything in sight. He seems to finally have regained that vertical pop that made him such an interesting prospect when he was younger, and now at 23, he has developed the feel for the game to become useful across the court. Dante, Jermaine Couisnard and Nate Bittle will be the leaders for an Oregon team that adds a ton of talent in five-star prospects Jackson Shelstad, K.J. Evans and Mookie Cook. As long as the kids are all right, the Ducks should fly again.
19. Joel Soriano | 6-11 forward | senior | St. John’s
One of the most improved players in college basketball last season, Soriano took a leap from solid starter to all-conference big man. Under Mike Anderson’s St. John’s, Soriano averaged 15.2 points and 11.9 rebounds, but more than that he also really worked to diversify his game. He can knock down midrange jumpers and actually take defenders off the bounce with his driving game. He crushes the offensive glass with his length and averaged an absurd 4.4 offensive rebounds per game while also controlling the defensive glass as well as anyone in the country. And now, he gets to be the centerpiece for a season of Rick Pitino’s rebuild for the Red Storm. I’d imagine Pitino will utilize him somewhat similarly to how he used Gorgui Dieng during Louisville’s title season back in 2013, given Soriano’s skill set. As long as he can handle the interior defensively, the Red Storm have a good shot to make it back to the tournament.
20. Adem Bona | 6-9 big | sophomore | UCLA
Bona was one of the best defensive bigs in the country last year, point blank. His motor runs exceptionally hot, and he’s remarkably versatile in how Mick Cronin can utilize him. The team loved to use him in hard-hedge situations, where he can really force ballhandlers out of their comfort zone with his quickness and footwork, then can get back with his recovery speed. Cronin can use him in switches out in ball screens, or can use him on the backside to roam around and scramble to help his teammates. He is a genuine defensive playmaker who also shuts down opponents on a possession-by-possession basis. Bona’s defensive capabilities are real and rival anybody else’s in the country. He just needs the offense to come along with it. He shot 67 percent from the field last year on a diet of mostly dunks and layups, but Bona only generates about five shots per game because of his limitations with his hands and ballhandling. If he can average 10 points or so, it’ll be a huge boon to a UCLA team looking to replace numerous weapons on that end of the court.
NR. Tolu Smith | 6-11 big | senior | Mississippi State
Smith would have ranked around No. 10 had he not been ruled out indefinitely with a foot injury. He’s seemingly going to miss significant time, but the timeline is unclear enough on his prognosis that I wanted to note his presence at the end. Smith was outstanding for the Bulldogs last season, a first-team All-SEC pick who averaged 15.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per game while also anchoring a top-10 defense nationally. If Smith can get back by January or so, he could help lead a tough Bulldogs team under Chris Jans back to the Big Dance again.
Five Breakout Bigs Who Will Take A Leap
Trevon Brazile | 6-10 forward | junior | Arkansas
Brazile was slated to be a breakout guy last year but tore his ACL nine games into the season and didn’t get a chance to showcase everything he was capable of. In the limited time he played, Brazile’s inside-out pick-and-roll game was huge for an Arkansas team that lacked perimeter shooting with Anthony Black and Ricky Council IV as its primary playmakers. I chose to slot him here for two reasons. First, while I love his upside on offense, I didn’t love his defensive play last season. I thought he often got a bit lost in no-man’s land in ball screens and struggled with his positioning and angles. Second, Brazile relies a lot on his athleticism. Can he retain that bounce that made him special in his games immediately coming off of surgery? We’ll find out. I get the impression I’m a little lower on the Razorbacks this year than many, but if Brazile is what he has potential to be from day one as an explosive, 16-point, nine-rebound, two-block per game player, they’re going to be terrific.
Dylan Disu | 6-9 forward | senior | Texas
I don’t even know what “breaking out” means in reference to Disu. Is he a post-breakout breakout candidate? Disu’s original run of great play occurred back in 2021 when he averaged 15 points and nine rebounds in 17 games for Vanderbilt. But then he decided to transfer back home to Texas, and after an injury to start his career there, only finally got back on track late last season. Over the 62 games he’s played at Texas, Disu has averaged just 6.7 points and four rebounds. But over his final 12 games with the Longhorns last year, he emerged arguably into their most important player. He averaged 13.1 points and 6.3 rebounds while shooting nearly 64 percent from the field and playing a critical role in the team’s Elite Eight run with his weird floater game as an athlete. Pairing with Max Abmas and Tyrese Hunter this year, Disu should have the great point-guard play he needs to thrive. I wouldn’t be stunned if he ends up as the team’s best player even with Abmas entering the fold from his high-scoring days at Oral Roberts. Replicating those numbers he posted at Vandy doesn’t seem impossible, but he’ll need to get healthy first after a foot injury also has held him out of action recently.
Alabama’s Grant Nelson looking like a lottery pick
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— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) October 11, 2023
Grant Nelson | 6-10 forward | senior | Alabama
Nelson had a case to be ranked in the top-20 bigs, but I’m placing him here because he’s going to go from small-school novelty to household name this season. Nelson averaged 18 points and nine rebounds last season and did so while posting some of the most fun highlights in college basketball at North Dakota State. He’s an incredible athlete who can throw down on anyone and should thrive in Nate Oats’ well-spaced offense. So why didn’t I place him in those top-20 bigs? I have some questions defensively. Nelson blocked 1.7 shots per game last season, but those largely came because he was the most athletic player in an uptempo, all-offense league last season. His positioning needs a lot of work, as does his play in ball-screen coverages. He also won’t have the size advantage in the SEC that he did in the Summit. Nelson is an undeniably skilled player who should produce numbers. But the Crimson Tide’s defense under Oats has been an “every other year” type of deal. In Years 2 and 4 of the Oats era, Alabama posted a top-three defense nationally. In Years 1 and 3, the team had a defense outside of the top-90 nationally, per KenPom. Nelson will be the critical cog toward changing that trend this season. He needs to bring it.
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Ugonna Onyenso | 7-foot center | sophomore | Kentucky
I might have ranked Onyenso in my top-20 bigs if he’d stayed healthy this offseason, as I’m a big believer in his athletic profile and instincts on the defensive end. There are few more natural shot-blockers in the country than the 7-foot Nigerian who averaged one block in just under seven minutes per game last season. A former five-star recruit largely due to that athleticism and enormous 7-foot-5 wingspan, Onyenso chose to reclassify and attend Kentucky a season early in order to develop his body and game. Everything looked to be paying off perfectly until an unfortunate foot injury resulted in surgery this offseason. As always, 7-footers and foot injuries tend not to mix, so the Onyenso breakout may be in a holding pattern for the first portion of the season. But if he gets healthy and into a rhythm by January, few players have a chance to be as impactful on the defensive end of the court.
Nae’Qwan Tomlin | 6-10 forward | senior | Kansas State
Undeniably one of the coolest stories in college basketball, Tomlin didn’t play high school basketball growing up in New York. But he was such an incredible athlete at his size that he went to play at the juco level, and thrived almost from day one, averaging double-figures. He then transferred to Chipola College and earned honorable mention All-NJCAA honors before committing to Kansas State under new coach Jerome Tang. Tomlin averaged double-figures while flying around athletically and making things happen on defense. Now, with Keyontae Johnson, Markquis Nowell, and Desi Sills all gone, Tomlin will be the key returning starter for the Wildcats as they look to implement Tylor Perry and Arthur Kaluma into the lineup. With another year of comfort and experience, Tomlin should take yet another massive leap forward, and could be seen as a genuine NBA prospect by the end of the season if his shooting comes around and he continues to improve his defensive positioning and anticipation. A 15-point, eight-rebound per game season isn’t out of the question for him, and that would likely earn him All-Big-12 status, which would make him one of the great development stories of the last decade in college hoops.
Five Freshman to Watch
Aday Mara | 7-3 center | UCLA
For my money, Mara is the best big-man recruit in the 2023 class, a Spanish supergiant with unbelievable offensive feel for the game. He’s an incredible finisher around the rim due to his size and tremendous touch, but the most impressive skill that I love watching from Mara is his passing. His vision is elite, and at 7-3 he can see over the top of defenses to find open angles that others can’t. He has every chance to be a first-round pick this upcoming season. So why doesn’t he feature in the top 20? Because I have some real questions about his defense, both schematically at UCLA and in terms of his talent. In Spain, Mara didn’t always deal extremely well with physicality. The good news is that he’ll have Bona flying around covering up everything. However, Bona also struggles to shoot and is a true center at the college level on offense, and I’m curious to see how Cronin makes the duo work. Having talented guys like Mara and Bona is a good thing; it’s just going to take some time to figure out how to best utilize their talents together.
Aday Mara (🇪🇸) is the top international freshman in college basketball. At 7’3, Mara is a great play finisher at the rim, has fantastic passing vision, and uses his size & 7’7 wingspan to deter shots at the rim. Mara will make a large immediate impact with top-10 draft potential. pic.twitter.com/ZL1NNxbUMX
— Clay Atkinson (@ClayAtki) October 13, 2023
Yves Missi | 7-0 center | Baylor
Anyone you talk to around Baylor will note how Missi has been a real standout so far. If I had to pick a surprise one-and-done big man this year that prognosticators don’t have on the radar at the moment, I think he’d be my pick. A 7-footer who moves extremely well and has a prototypical frame, Missi should give the Bears the kind of defensive presence that they lacked at times last season with his interior shot-blocking as well as his athleticism covering out on the perimeter. He’s extremely mobile, but also has some pop as a rim-runner. Playing with RayJ Dennis, Ja’Kobe Walter and a very well-spaced court, Missi should get numerous opportunities to get easy buckets both in transition and in halfcourt settings from ball-screens and in the dunker spot.
Aaron Bradshaw | 7-1 center | Kentucky
Bradshaw is your typical five-star Kentucky big man who comes with an immense amount of talent. But much like Onyenso above him, there are questions on his injury status heading into the season and it’s unclear if he’ll be ready from the jump. He did not participate at Kentucky’s Pro Day, and John Calipari said in an interview that he expects Bradshaw and Onyenso to miss another five or six weeks. For his part when he’s on the floor, Bradshaw has an interesting perimeter skill set that looks tailor-made for the next level due to his length, his ability to protect the rim, and his potential as a shooter. Having said that, he wasn’t always quite as productive in high school as his physical gifts would indicate, so there could be a bit of a learning curve. But in terms of pure talent? Bradshaw measures to just about anyone in the country.
Xavier Booker | 6-11 forward | Michigan State
Another big man with a perimeter game. Booker will bring something a bit different to the table than current Michigan State bigs Mady Sissoko, Carson Cooper and Jaxon Kohler. Booker can step away and knock down shots from distance with a pretty left-handed stroke, then can also dive to the rim and finish above it athletically with his 7-foot-4 wingspan. The idea here is a shot-blocking, 3-point shooting frontcourt player who can help you lock down the paint and space the floor for your guards on offense. But Booker is quite skinny, and Tom Izzo is known to really value rebounding and strength on the interior. What Booker’s role early in the season will look like remains an open question given all of the returning talent. But in terms of tools? Yeah, he has everything he needs to be awesome for the Spartans at some point.
Amani Hansberry | 6-8 forward | Illinois
I could have picked a number of different bigs here, from Brandon Garrison at Oklahoma State to the underrated Milan Momcilovic at Iowa State, but I went with Hansberry because I love his game. He’s a tough bruiser who can score on the interior and also control the glass. Beyond that, he can also really pass and make plays from the high post. He was terrific on the team’s trip to Spain, averaging 16 points and 10 rebounds in the last two games, showcasing a real motor and drive for the ball on the offensive glass. Hansberry will have to beat out a variety of players from Dain Dainja, Quincy Guerrier and Hawkins. But I think he can do that and earn himself real minutes this year. He’s a bit different than them due to his mix of passing and motor, and he’ll be worth playing.
(Illustration: Samuel Richardson / The Athletic; Photos of Zach Edey, Ryan Kalkbrenner and Kyle Filipowski: Tim Nwachukwu, Grant Halverson and Michael Reaves / Getty Images)