NCAA Basketball: 5 former top-100 recruits set for breakout 2018-19 seasons

By Brian Rauf | Aug 16, 2018

WICHITA, KS - MARCH 17: Jordan Poole #2 and Moritz Wagner #13 of the Michigan Wolverines celebrate Poole's 3-point buzzer beater for a 64-63 win over the Houston Cougars during the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at INTRUST Bank Arena on March 17, 2018 in Wichita, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

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SAN ANTONIO, TX – MARCH 31: Jordan Poole #2 of the Michigan Wolverines reacts as time expires to defeat the Loyola Ramblers during the 2018 NCAA Men’s Final Four Semifinal at the Alamodome on March 31, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas. Michigan defeated Loyola 69-57. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

Not all top-100 NCAA Basketball recruits are ready to excel as freshmen. Here are five in particular that are ready to break out next season.

Top freshmen rarely stick around college basketball for more than a season before heading to the NBA, and while all may have aspirations of being one-and-done prospects, that dream only comes to fruition for an elite few.

In fact, there are only a small number of freshmen who play major roles right away for their new teams. A freshman is more likely to start off as a role player and (hopefully) develop rather than making a significant impact right away.

Virginia‘s Kyle Guy was a perfect example last year. A McDonald’s All-American, Guy came off the bench as a freshman and played less than 19 minutes per game – a role player. Then, as a sophomore in 2017-18, Guy became a starter and the leading scorer on a team that was ranked No. 1 in the country for a good portion of the season.

Villanova‘s Omari Spellman is another example, as he became a lottery pick just one season after redshirting as a freshman.

Now, a number of sophomores like LSU‘s Tremont Waters, Alabama‘s John Petty, and Notre Dame‘s D.J. Harvey (to name a few) are expected to have breakout seasons, but all those players had significant roles last year.

What about players who could seemingly come from nowhere to produce at a high level? Here are five former top-100 recruits who are ready for big seasons after not playing much as freshmen:

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