NCAA Basketball: Top 25 team frontcourts heading into 2021-22 season
There are some who would say that big men have become obsolete in today’s overall game of basketball, particularly at the NBA level. But at least in NCAA Basketball, having quality production on both ends from the frontcourt plays a huge role in winning games at the highest of levels.
Even the teams that made this past Final Four could credit elite bigs in playing a big role. Drew Timme of Gonzaga was an All-American, while Hunter Dickinson was a star freshman at Michigan, leading them to an Elite 8. And the best player overall last season was Luka Garza of Iowa, who was second in the nation with 24.1 ppg and 8.7 rpg en route to winning Big Ten and National Player of the Year.
There are some great individual big men set to come back this season, bolstered by a quality recruiting class of impact freshmen frontcourt players. Which of those teams have the most depth and overall talent? Here’s a look at the top-25, along with some honorable mentions.
*It’s important to note that this piece will feature centers and traditional forwards. So “true guards” that play small-ball positions based on potential lineups will not be included.
Honorable Mentions
Baylor Bears
The guards were the stars (including Mark Vital) for the title-winning Bears but they had some real support from the frontcourt as well, including high-energy forward Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua and 6’10 starting center Flo Thamba. With stretch forward Matthew Mayer set to return and have a breakout performance, look for the frontcourt of Baylor to balance things out a little more this season.
St. Bonaventure Bonnies
The Bonnies have a lot of quality guards but their most important player may be center Osun Osunniyi who nearly averaged a double-double this past season and was the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year. He’s a physically dominant big and will be backed up by former Pittsburgh starter Abdoul Karim Coulibaly and Junior College transfer Oluwasegun Durosinm.
Mississippi State Bulldogs
The SEC program went from having next to no frontcourt last season to a soild group, thanks to UNC transfer Garrison Brooks and former Memphis forward DJ Jeffries. If junior Derek Fountain has a breakout season and backup Tolu Smith and Javian Davis provides good production off the bench, Mississippi State will have a balanced and effective lineup.
West Virginia Mountaineers
The loss of star forward Derek Culver will hurt but this core of Mountaineer frontcourt players may fit Coach Bob Huggins’ system the best. Transfers Dimon Carrigan and Pauly Paulicap are defense-first bigs that can rebound, along with 5th year senior Gabriel Osabuohien. If Isaiah Cottrell can come back healthy and provide some offensive production at the stretch forward position, West Virginia won’t be held back by a potential lack of offense from inside.