NCAA basketball has continued to move further and further away from high-usage bigs, but don’t make the mistake of thinking they’re completely gone. Last season proved there was plenty of fan-fair around frontcourt stars and even social media hysteria surrounding their appearances or performances. Iowa’s Luka Garza has been must-see television the last two seasons, due to his ability to light up the scoreboard.
In fact, nearly ¼ of the 30-point games produced last season (92/388) were attributed by frontcourt players. Forwards and centers have continued to transform themselves expanding their repertoires to meet the newer trends of the game, but also to remain vital and prominent pieces of the game plan at both ends of the court. Many players successfully developing themselves in this manner have become valuable assets to NBA teams at the next level.
The frontcourts in NCAA Basketball are going to get even more attention this upcoming season, thanks to a number of All-American caliber big men electing to return for another year instead of choosing to go the pro route. There’s a chance that the preseason All-American lists coming out soon will feature up to four or even all five big men.
With plenty of big names coming up through the ranks and many more returning to anchor college basketball’s stardom, I ranked the top-30 frontcourt players heading into this year.