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

8. Devontae Cacok

Starring in UNC Wilmington’s frontcourt for several seasons, Cacok is a 6’7 forward originally from Riverdale, Georgia. He was another significant recruit of Kevin Keatts and played in a major of NCAA Tournaments early in his career with the Seahawks. His upperclassman seasons were far less successful on a team level, but Cacok didn’t let that stop him from standing out as one of the best forwards in mid-major ball.

A bench piece as a freshman, Cacok had significant production starting as a sophomore, including a 24-rebound performance against Drexel. He helped lead the Seahawks to another trip to the Big Dance, with double-doubles both in the title game and in their loss against Virginia. His rebounding acumen was truly impressive, averaging 17.7 points and 13.5 rebounds a game as a junior, with three more 20-rebound performances. He’d later have a 26-rebound performance against a non-D1 opponent during a fantastic senior season.

Cacok was named CAA Defensive Player of the Year as a sophomore, First Team All-CAA as a junior and senior, and led the entire nation with that rebounding average during his junior year. He came pretty close to repeating the feat as a senior. Additionally, Cacok led the nation in field goal percentage as a sophomore and was the CAA’s best at putting the ball in the basket. His career was full of major impacts in the frontcourt, even though the program as a whole really went downhill in his final two seasons.