NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Ranking the last 10 No. 1 overall prospects
By Joey Loose
2. Jahlil Okafor – 2014
When Mike Krzyzewski landed Okafor at Duke, he not only secured the nation’s top prospect of 2014, but he grabbed a very talented center who would do wonders for the Blue Devils. This Duke squad marched all the way to the national title in 2015, taking out Wisconsin in the title game. Okafor left the Blue Devils after just one season as a champion; the freshman center was the leading scorer for that title team.
Okafor put up impressive numbers, averaging 17.3 ppg and 8.5 rpg on a talented Duke team. He was undoubtedly the most talented prospect from 2014. A few top prospects didn’t pan out, including Cliff Alexander (who struggled at Kansas) and Emmanuel Mudiay (who went overseas). Karl-Anthony Towns, Tyus Jones, and Justin Jackson were among other talented prospects, but none of them really had the same level of play that Okafor put up in his lone season.
He was a 1st team All-American and the ACC Player of the Year. The center had the best field goal percentage in the conference while also leading the ACC in offensive boards. It’s hard to leave behind a legacy when spending just one year playing college ball, but there’s no better mark than leading Duke to the program’s fifth title. He hasn’t developed into an NBA star quite yet, but his impressive season did lead to a lottery selection. Okafor showed that he was an extremely talented big man, likely the best in the entire nation at the time.