NCAA Basketball: Most important player on each top-25 team for 2022-23 season

10. Baylor Bears – Jalen Bridges

The Bears have one of the best backcourts in the country for the upcoming season and return starting center Flo Thamba. The only position in question is at power forward after losing Matthew Mayer to the transfer portal. In his place are both Jalen Bridges and Caleb Lohner, who comes from West Virginia and BYU respectively.

The guy who’s most likely to start at the four-spot is Bridges, an athletic two-way forward that averaged 8.4 ppg in 27 mpg with the Mountaineers. He fits the team’s defensive system and has offensive potential but how big of a role he’ll have will depend on the guards. A big year from Bridges will balance out the offense for Baylor.

9. Duke Blue Devils – Jeremy Roach

Duke has another No. 1 recruiting class and a new head coach but the one returning player is Roach, who has had his ups and downs in the past two seasons. He’s been both the starting point guard for the Blue Devils and also coming down off the bench. But Roach played his best in the NCAA Tournament, leading the team to the Final Four after some big clutch performances.

Without Wendell Moore around, Roach is the primary ball-handler and passer. So Duke can’t afford for him to have any inconsistencies, now the leader of the young Duke squad. If Roach looks like he did this past March, the Blue Devils’ odds of making the Final Four will be good.