NCAA Basketball: 10 biggest position battles to watch for 2023-24 season

9. TCU Horned Frogs

Position battle: C – Xavier Cork vs Essam Mostafa vs Ernest Udeh Jr.

Both of last season’s key centers are gone for TCU, as both Eddie Lampkin Jr. and Souleymane Doumbia transferred out. A lot of players are gone overall on the roster but the one exception is Emanuel Miller, the starting power forward. He’s set to play 30 mpg again, so all of the available minutes are at the five-spot.

Both Xavier Cork and JaKobe Coles are back in the frontcourt and have been role players in the past. Cork got the start at center when Lampkin left the team late last season. The competition is great though, thanks to two transfer pickups. One is Udeh, a former five-star prospect that transferred from Kansas. He played in limited minutes but could be a breakout guy at a new spot.

Mostafa has been one of the top rebounders in NCAA Basketball for the past three years, coming off averaging 12.4 ppg and 10.0 rpg at Coastal Carolina. He’s a bit undersized at 6’9 but the hope is that he’s another Sun Belt frontcourt star that succeeds moving up, like Norchad Omier did at Miami last season.

Although Mostafa has the higher floor given his proven production, Udeh has the higher ceiling that could determine the potential for the Frogs next season. If Udeh isn’t the starter, that would be considered a disappointing transfer pickup.