ACC Basketball: Ranking of 25 best players from last decade (2013-23)

2. Jahlil Okafor

There’s no surprise when elite talent ends up at Duke and that was certainly the case for Okafor. A 6’11 center from center, he was the top-ranked prospect in the class of 2014. He would be another one-and-done, but what he did during that lone collegiate season was certainly more impressive than your average college athlete.

Okafor was Duke’s leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 17.3 points and 8.5 rebounds on the season. The leader of a talented backcourt, he had a number of strong performances, like a 25-point, 20-rebound effort against Elon as the Blue Devils began the season 14-0. Most notably, Okafor was a major factor as Duke advanced all the way to the fifth national championship in program history, with Okafor scoring 18 points in the Final Four win over Michigan State and playing well against Wisconsin.

Okafor was the ACC’s most efficient shooter, lead the conference in points, and was both ACC Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year. It’s already extremely impressive to see him win that national title with the Blue Devils, but he was also named a First Team All-American, really emerging as one of the nation’s top players. Okafor went off to the NBA having accomplished quite a lot in his one season in college; few can boast this level of accomplishments.