College Basketball-
Top Prospects/2024 Draft
- Purdue
- Zach Edey: 7’ 4” Center, massive and best at scoring within the paint, but not fast enough for an NBA starter
- Duke
- Jared McCain: 6’ 3” Guard, very skilled combo guard but lacking athleticism
- Tyrese Proctor: 6’ 5” Guard, very skilled offensive guard with a great passing ability
- Kyle Filipowski: 7’ 0” Center, a great shooter with a skilled offensive passing ability
- UConn
- Stephon Caste: 6’ 6” Guard, a jumbo guard/wing who can navigate through traffic to get anywhere on the court
- Donovan Cligan: 7’ 2” Center, A big center with strong defensive skills and decent mobility and intensity
- USC
- Isaiah Collier: 6’ 5” Guard, very skilled and strategic player with a selfless passing ability
Top teams
- Kansas
- Duke
- Purdue
- Michigan State
- UConn
- Arizona
Espn’s rankings
- Kansas
- Duke
- Purdue
- Michigan State
- UConn
Survey responses
Many fans and followers are excited about this new college basketball season. This season has brought many new players and several different teams. Of these new players, many have the skill to commit to the NBA draft and several to the NBA lottery. Many good teams last year have come back stronger and some have struggled so far this season. Gonzaga was undefeated at their home court landing the number one seed this past basketball season, but as of these first games they are ranked eleventh and don’t have many NBA-ready players. As of the first few games of this season, the number-one-ranked team is Kansas, with Purdue following behind, then Arizona at three, Marquette at four, and UConn at five. All of these teams, as well as many other teams, have many skilled players who will most likely make it to the NBA.
The top teams all have their great set of players. Purdue has the small and fundamentally skilled 6’ 0” Braden Smith, who is unfortunately projected to come short of the NBA. Purdue also has the massive 7’ 4” Zach Edey, with a great scoring ability in the paint but has concerns about his speed for the NBA and especially for a starter. One team that has received NBA-ready talent and has improved because of it is Duke. The 6’ 5” guard Tyrese Proctor from Australia is the most notable player. His offensive ability to both score and pass is unmatched and is looking to be heading to the NBA lottery. One player who is a very skilled combo guard and well-known 6’ 3” Jared McCain. With his skills, he can make it to the NBA but his lack of athleticism lands him at the end of the lottery or the start of the draft. Duke also offers one more first-round pick, Kyle Filipowski. The 7’ 0” Center is a great shooter with a skilled offensive passing ability. UConn, the most recent NCAA championship winner has many good players and some future NBA players. Donovan Clingan the 7’ 2” Center is one of these players. With his big size, strong defense, and decent mobility and intensity he is ready for the NBA. Also, 6’ 6” guard Stephon Caste is a very good jumbo guard/wing who can navigate through traffic to get anywhere on the court. His three-level scoring ability could land him in an NBA starting lineup. USC also has some players to offer to the NBA. With the introduction of Bronny James to USC he has himself a spot in the draft. However, due to a medical emergency at the start of the season, he is recovering during the start of the season. But, the 6’ 4” Guard with his shooting, passing, and defensive skills will land a spot in the draft but not the lottery. USC also offers Isaiah Collier who is the better prospect from there. The 6’ 5” guard has a very skilled, strategic and selfless passing ability with a strong scoring skill. His ball-handling, positional strength and awareness can land him a spot in the higher part of the lottery.
Many people follow different college teams. Many students who are preparing for college like to follow those teams. A survey sent to the teachers and students of SSSAS has found many different teams that people follow. The most commonly followed team of both teachers and students is Duke. Most students say that they have followed Duke for less than 5 years and teachers have been following Duke for more than 10 years. Another commonly followed team is UVA. They are Mostly favored by students, but they and the teacher have followed them for about 5-20. Other teams that people follow include UNC, Georgetown, and Ohio State. Out of the 25 responses, 15 of them said that they like this team because of family going there or having another relationship with them. Half of the teachers who responded to the survey said that they were alumni of the school and continued to follow that team. Two of the responses that followed the team because of family had family working for the team, one as a manager and the other response was family as the head coach. Overall there are very different and diverse responses to this survey.
College basketball has a big fan base and some fans have been following their team for years. Playing basketball in college can bring you one step closer to the NBA or other pro leagues. Overall college basketball is an entertaining sport to watch and I think that if you haven’t, you should watch a few games.
Survey Responses
- Student, Duke, Less than 5
- Student, Duke, 10-20
- Teacher, Duke, more than 20
- Student, Duke, less than 5
- Teacher, Duke, more than 20
- Student, Alabama, 5-10 years
- Student, UNC, less than 5 years
- Student, UNC, 5-10
- Student, Georgetown Hoyas, 10-20 years
- Student, Georgetown, 10-20
- Teacher, UVA, more than 20
- Student, UVA, 5-10
- Student, UVA, 5-10
- Student, UVA, less than 5
- Teacher, UConn, 10-20
- Teacher, Indiana, 10-20
- Student, Ohio State, 10-20
- Student, Ohio state, 5-10
- Teacher, Baylor, 10-20
- Student, Maryland, less than 5
- Student, Wisconsin, 10-20
- Teacher, Davidson, less than 5
- Student, Princeton, 5-10
- Student, Tennesse, 10-20
