NCAA Basketball: Top 25 impact freshmen classes for 2023-24 season

5. Duke Blue Devils

For about the last decade, the Blue Devils have had either the first or second-ranked recruiting class each year. This class is no different, with the team having four prospects ranked in the top-25 overall. It was five, until five-star forward Mackenzie Mgbako de-committed and eventually went to Indiana.

The four that are around are still high-caliber, split between the frontcourt and backcourt. On the perimeter are Caleb Foster and Jared McCain. Foster is a true ball-handler at 6’5 and has plenty of size, while McCain is a 6’5 pure shooter and plays primarily off-the-ball. Both are likely to come off the bench since both Tyrese Proctor and Jeremy Roach have returned for another year.

TJ Power is a 6’8 power forward and viewed as one of the top shooting frontcourt players in the entire class. And Sean Stewart is a 6’9 big man, weighing 230 pounds. They’re in the same situation since both Mark Mitchell and Kyle Filipowski have also returned for another year. Though Stewart could be an option to play at the five-spot.

From a pure talent perspective, this could be the best incoming recruiting class. Yet on paper, there’s a real chance that none of these four newcomers will start, which drops them down a little in these rankings, compared to other groups of freshmen coming up.