NCAA Basketball: Top 30 frontcourt players for 2021-22 season
By Ian Mumm
8. Jalen Duren, Memphis Tigers
Even after moving into the 2021 recruiting class, Duren is among the top talents in the nation already before his career starts. Landing with Memphis has given head coach Penny Hardaway the top center in two classes since taking the job. With a similar skillset to former 5-star center James Wiseman, the Tigers have a chance to see where a player of that caliber can take them for a full season.
Duren is physically ready to compete with any big at the college level and is going to be a monster on the glass to contend with. Possessing a rapidly expanding offensive repertoire, the Philadelphia native has a good opportunity to showcase the dynamic play grassroots experts have raved about for years. Coupled with Memphis’ overall talent this season, adding Emoni Bates, Earl Timberlake, and more this offseason, the Tigers have a good shot at a deep title run.
7. Hunter Dickinson, Michigan Wolverines
You couldn’t get very far down the list of best freshman last season without mentioning the Wolverines center Hunter Dickinson. Even among 5-star recruits arriving to campuses nationally, Dickinson wasn’t receiving nearly the same buzz as guys like Cade Cunningham, Jalen Suggs, or Jalen Johnson. However, the player-coach marriage with Juwan Howard he finds himself in couldn’t have been any more beneficial to start his career.
Dickinson was already a physically imposing big in his first season and commanded control of the block well. Gaining reliability enabled easy entry passes to setup scoring opportunities for himself and helped garn a lot of extra offensive viability as the season wore on. In particular, his footwork and quickness proved to create shooting chances off-the-dribble opposing frontcourt players simply couldn’t stop.
Entering his sophomore season, Dickinson’s role will slightly change on the floor. With a lot of youth on the 2021-22 roster, Coach Juwan Howard will still look to lean on his physical center to get the team in a comfortable scoring rhythm. However, elevating the confidence of fellow frontcourt players Moussa Diabate, Terrence Williams Jr., and Will Tschetter to become reliable rotational pieces as well will be just as important to the team’s overall success.