We’re entering the stage of the NCAA Basketball offseason where teams are on foreign tours, getting ready for the upcoming season. You can’t take too much away from the overall results but there can be some hints as to who’ll not only start but also be a potential breakout candidate as well.
For most teams, we know who’ll the respective starters will be. But for other notable NCAA Basketball programs, there are some questions. Looking at some specific position battles that’ll have on the 2023-24 campaign, here’s a top-10 ranking of those to watch.
Honorable Mention: Pittsburgh Panthers
Position battle: PG – Dior Johnson vs Jaland Lowe vs Carlton Carrington
Based on a couple of preseason exhibitions in Spain from the past week, four of the five starters are essentially set. Federiko Federiko and Blake Hinson in the frontcourt, along with incoming transfers, Ishmael Leggett and Zach Austin. The question is who is the point guard, with three freshmen in the mix?
Johnson, a former top-50 prospect who redshirted last season, has the most experience. However, it’s been Carrington that’s reportedly been the most impressive. The four-star combo guard from the DMV area has started in those games and displayed some impressive ball-handling skills. Yet Lowe, a top-60 freshman, is the one true PG of the group.
HM: St. John’s Red Storm
Position battle: SF – RJ Luis vs Nahiem Alleyne vs Glenn Taylor
There are four players on the St. John’s roster that averaged 15+ ppg at their previous spots once the team landed Harvard transfer forward, Chris Ledlum. The one spot that feels up for grabs is on the wing, with several other incoming transfers capable of playing there. Alleyne just won a national title at UConn, while Taylor was a double-digit scorer at Oregon State. Luis may have the most upside after a good freshman campaign at UMass as well.
10. Memphis Tigers
Position battle: SF – Jaykwon Walton vs David Jones (if Deandre Williams is eligible)
It’s been an incredibly busy offseason for Coach Penny Hardaway and the staff, landing a bunch of transfers from the portal. Among those that are very likely to start include Alabama transfer point guard Jahvon Quinerly, Florida State combo guard Caleb Mills, and Jordan Brown, who won Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year at Louisiana Lafayette.
That leaves two positions. And one of them is currently being held up by Deandre Williams, the starting forward that averaged 17.7 ppg and 8.2 rpg last season. He’s currently applying for a waiver for an extra year of eligibility and if he gets it, Williams certainly will be another starter.
If Williams isn’t around, Temple transfer Nick Jourdain could very well be the starter. He was a role player at Temple with a career average of 5.8 ppg and 4.3 rpg but he’s a true four-man on the roster compared to David Jones, a 6’7 transfer wing from St. John’s. He averaged 13.2 ppg and 6.8 rpg last season and can create his own shot but shot just 39% from the field and 29% from three-point range.
Walton is the newest addition to Memphis, after a bunch of twists and turns this offseason. He was the leading scorer at Wichita State, averaging 13.9 ppg. But he’s one of the more efficient perimeter players in all of NCAA Basketball, shooting 54% from the field and 40% from deep. He also was the leading scorer in the Tigers’ recent foreign tour.
Either one can be the 6th Man for Memphis but considering the previous roles they’ve had, it’ll be interesting to see how the overall chemistry works. Still, when you think about where the roster was before, it’s a good problem for the Tigers to have.
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.
8. UCLA Bruins
Position battle: PF – Devin Williams vs Bradon Williams vs Berke Buyuktuncel vs Aday Mara
Of the five starters on the Sweet 16 squad last season, only one is back. That’s Adem Bona, a former five-star prospect that had a solid first year, earning All-Pac 12 Defensive Team honors. He’s definitely going to start but an interesting question is who’ll be next to him in the frontcourt?
Both Jaime Jaquez and Jaylen Clark are gone and all of the forwards on the roster are newcomers. Both Williams, Devin, and Brandon, are top-100 incoming freshmen. Brandon is a 6’7 combo forward that can play some at the three-spot. Devin is a 6’10 true big that plays back-to-the-back but is versatile enough to play both frontcourt positions.
The same can be said of Mara, the 7’3 big man from Spain that’s viewed as one of, if not the top-rated international player joining the NCAA Basketball ranks. He’s a quality defender that’s athletic enough to play at the four-spot. How he and Bona work together offensively is something to watch. Even Buyuktuncel, a 6’7 forward from Turkey, was impressive at the FIBA U19 Tournament.
There are plenty of available minutes all over the roster and UCLA will be one of the biggest mysteries in NCAA Basketball next season. Mara may be the most talented player but is he the best fit? The battle of foreign vs American talent will be something to watch.
7. Duke Blue Devils
Position battle: 6th-8th Man – Sean Stewart vs TJ Power vs Caleb Foster vs Jared McCain vs Jaden Schutt vs Christian Reeves vs Jaylen Blakes
When it comes to previous NBA Draft decisions, Duke was easily the biggest winner overall. They brought back three former five-star prospects (Kyle Filipowski, Mark Mitchell, and Tyrese Proctor), as well as veteran starting guard, Jeremy Roach. And with senior big man Ryan Young also back, the Blue Devils have both the talent and experience to compete for a national title next season.
With all of the talent returning, it’s notable that the No. 2 overall incoming recruiting class largely stayed intact. Only Mackenzie Mgbako left the team this offseason after the moves but there are still four other five-star prospects joining the team in guards Foster and McCain, as well as forwards, Power and Stewart.
That doesn’t even include the trio of returning rotation players back in Schutt and Reeves, as well as Blakes, who had some nice games for Duke last season. But if everyone is healthy, at least a few of these guys are going to be glued to the bench.
It’s extremely rare to see a five-star prospect be on the bench but just from a numbers standpoint, a couple of people are going to see limited minutes at best. Who, that remains to be seen.
6. Villanova Wildcats
Position battle: PG – Mark Armstrong vs Justin Moore
It was a rough first year for head coach Kyle Neptune, with multiple reasons included. One was not having a healthy Justin Moore for half the year, one of the best guards in all of NCAA Basketball. The other was the lack of good point guard play, as freshman Mark Armstrong and starter Chris Arcidiacono really struggled last season.
But there is a ton of optimism for the Wildcats next season, thanks to the bevy of transfer pickups. With Tyler Burton, TJ Bamba, and Hakim Hart coming in, two of them will definitely start alongside both Moore and Eric Dixon. But it could be all three, depending on who the team wants to have run the offense next season.
In 13 games after coming back from injury, Moore averaged 3.2 apg, including two games with more than four assists. With more talent, can he be a true point guard for Villanova? Or is it Armstrong, who had a good performance with the US U19 Team this offseason. If he has a breakout campaign, that’ll raise the ceiling for the Wildcats next season.
It might also just be easier to have Armstrong come off the bench to make all of the transfers happy. But it’s going to be a tough decision for Coach Neptune to make and with no injury excuses, will have plenty of pressure to get this one right.
5. Kansas Jayhawks
Position battle: SG – Arterio Morris vs Nicolas Timberlake
Three starters are back from the 1-seed Kansas Jayhawks roster. Point guard and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Dajuan Harris Jr. returns, along with starting wing Kevin McCullar Jr. and forward KJ Adams. And the 4th guaranteed starter is Hunter Dickinson, the star transfer center pickup over from Michigan.
That leaves the two-spot up for grabs to replace NBA lottery pick, Gradey Dick. There are two other high-profile transfers in line for that spot. Timberlake is a 6’4 shooting guard from Towson that averaged 17.7 ppg on 42% shooting from three-point range. He’s one of the top pure shooters in NCAA Basketball but the question is will his game translate from the CAA to the Big 12 level.
Morris is a former five-star prospect that comes over from Texas after playing limited minutes. Considering that the Longhorns had great experienced depth last season so it wasn’t his fault and Morris does have great overall potential. The question is will he be a natural fit alongside Harris in the backcourt?
There’s also the shooting question since none of the three returning starters are great in that category. It could be a situation where Timberlake has to start and Morris is the 6th Man, unless one is clearly better than the other.
4. Arizona Wildcats
Position battle: PG – Jaden Bradley vs Kylan Boswell
The roster construction of Arizona is fascinating when it comes to the backcourt. The frontcourt rotation is set, with returning All-Pac 12 center Oumar Ballo joined by San Diego State transfer, Keshad Johnson. Plus, Dylan Anderson and Henri Veesaar is also in the mix.
On the perimeter, there are several different ways the lineups can go. The one near guarantee is that Caleb Love will start at the two-spot. He averaged around 17 ppg at North Carolina and although polarizing, is still a quality shot-creator. Plus, guard Pelle Larsson returns and both he and freshman forward Paulius Murauskas can occupy the wing.
That leaves Boswell, a former top-30 prospect that has been viewed as a consensus breakout candidate for next season, vs a former five-star recruit in Bradley. He started at Alabama as a freshman, averaging 6.4 ppg and 3.1 apg. What Bradley lacked in scoring he made up for in quality defense. Boswell produced just 4.6 ppg in limited minutes after reclassifying and dealing with injuries but did look good in extended minutes.
Both are sophomores looking for minutes but as soon as Love joined the fold, one of them was likely to see their impact be affected. It could ultimately come down to whether or not Arizona needs offense or defense more in the lineup.
3. Purdue Boilermakers
Position battle: PF – Mason Gillis vs Brian Waddell vs Caleb Furst vs Trey Kaufmann-Renn
Purdue returns almost all of its production from last season’s No. 1 ranked team. The backcourt duo of Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith are back, along with reigning National Player of the Year big man, Zach Edey at center. Starting wing Ethan Morton is back as well, with Southern Illinois transfer Lance Jones also set to get minutes there.
Technically, the Boilermakers also bring back its starting power forward duo, Caleb Furst and Mason Gillis. They had 21 and 15 starts respectively, with neither averaging more than 7.0 ppg. In fairness, Edey’s 22.3 ppg production takes center stage so there’s only so much they can do. Still, after the disastrous first-round loss to Fairleigh Dickinson in the NCAA Tournament, it would make sense for the team to make some kind of changes to break through in 2024.
While both forwards will still be in the rotation, the other forwards on the roster have been quite impressive in Purdue’s preseason foreign tour with Edey not playing. Kaufmann-Renn, a former top-60 prospect, has arguably been the best frontcourt player, while Waddell has also had its moments.
A case can be made that the future for the Boilermakers will come down to Edey and the guard duo but if another player can emerge from the four-spot, that could put them over the top in a way that prevents any kind of upset. It looks to be wide open this time around, with a number of capable options available.
2. Illinois Fighting Illini
Position battle: PG – Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn vs Ty Rodgers vs Terrence Shannon Jr.
Last season, the point guard experiment didn’t work as well as Illinois wanted. Freshmen Skyy Clark and Jayden Epps ultimately transferred out, while leading scorer Shannon was the defacto lead guard that ran the offense. He’s back, along with forward Coleman Hawkins, who led the team in passing for most of the year.
At this point in the offseason, the Illini may be running back the same playbook. After missing out on some transfer targets, they could be going with another freshman to run the offense in Gibbs-Lawhorn. He’s a former Purdue commit and top-40 prospect and is a good scorer overall. Rodgers is a returning guard that’s incredibly versatile at 6’8 and can play and guard four positions.
There’s also the chance that Shannon simply takes over once again. There’s depth on the wings to make this happen, thanks to incoming transfers, Justin Harmon and Marcus Domask, along with returning sharpshooting guard, Luke Goode. There’s more shooting around Shannon and with a year of experience playing on-ball, could be an effective lead guard and playmaker for himself and others.
How Illinois handles the PG position is one of the biggest questions in all of NCAA Basketball next season. Because they have some high-level talent everywhere else on the roster. But missing out on a true ball-handler could prove to be their downfall if those on the current roster aren’t able to succeed at a high level.
1. Kentucky Wildcats
Position battle: C – Aaron Bradshaw vs Ugonna Onyenso vs Zvonimir Ivisic vs Tre Mitchell
For those that haven’t been following closely, the roster construction for Kentucky has been one of the top storylines in all of NCAA Basketball. It was mainly with the frontcourt, having to replace former National Player of the Year, Oscar Tshiebwe. Thanks to the incoming No. 1 overall recruiting class, the backcourt and wing positions are set.
And in the frontcourt, West Virginia transfer Tre Mitchell is going to be the projected starting power forward, giving them both needed experience and the ability to stretch the floor. That makes things interesting regarding Bradshaw, a five-star and top-5 overall prospect that reportedly wants to play at the four-spot. However, if the 7’0 skilled big man wants to start, it would have to be at the five-spot.
It’s wide open overall, thanks to some injuries. Both Bradshaw and sophomore center Onyenso are dealing with foot issues, though both should be fine on opening day. And Kentucky made a big late splash, landing Ivisic. He’s a 7’2 center from Croatia that can block shots and spread the floor from three-point range. How long it takes him to adjust to NCAA Basketball will determine his path to a rotation spot.
And there’s also a chance that Mitchell himself slides to the five for some small-ball lineups, while Justin Edwards and Antonio Reeves play the traditional forward positions. There are many different scenarios that can occur but like with Duke, there’s a lot of mouths to feed, and someone or two is going to be disappointed.