NCAA Basketball: Top 25 college frontcourts for 2018-19

6. West Virginia Mountaineers

Frontcourt players: Esa Ahmad, Lamont West, Sagaba Konate, Logan Routt, Wesley Harris, Derek Culver (No. 84 recruit) and JUCO Andrew Gordon

West Virginia loses the team’s starting backcourt of Daxter Miles Jr. and Jevon Carter but returns the core of the vaunted frontcourt for 2018-19. That includes Konate, one of the best big men defenders in all of college basketball. His five-block half against Kansas on primetime television introduced him to a national audience. His improving offensive game, however, makes him much more than one one-way threat.

The other returning double-digit scorer is Ahmad, who missed the first half of the season due to academic issues. He had an up and down rest of the year but is one of the better pure scorers in the Big 12.

West is another forward with high scoring potential, averaging 17.1 ppg per 40 minutes. He can go off for 20+ points on any given night but also has been known to go quiet and produce little. More consistency will provide him more minutes where he can become a focal point of the Mountaineers’ offense.

With the returning frontcourt players all being rising upperclassmen, West Virginia started to look for the big men of the future. Culver is a four-star center with a similar game like Konate, as he’s defensively sound and fits Bob Huggins’ system. And Gorden is one of the top class of 2018 Junior College transfers, having three years left of eligibility. The 6’10 forward is an offensive sparkplug with a more versatile skill set than some of the veterans.

There are frontcourts on this list with higher ceilings than West Virginia. However, few, if any frontcourts are more of a sure bet to produce than this Mountaineers team – which makes them a top-10 group for next season.