NCAA Basketball: Top 25 impact true freshmen entering 2023-24 season

16. Xavier Booker – Michigan State Spartans

One of the highest-ranked commits in the Coach Tom Izzo era, Booker is a five-star big man with an elite offensive game, capable of scoring inside and out. With Joey Hauser gone and Malik Hall currently injured, Booker has the chance to get minutes at the four-spot for Michigan State. However, with so many returning pieces back, including center Mady Sissoko, look for him to be more of a sophomore breakout piece to watch, rather than a freshman that puts up big numbers.

15. Gavin Griffiths – Rutgers Scarlet Knights

While the attention is on who Rutgers might get in the 2024 recruiting class, don’t overlook the top prospect they have for this season. Griffiths is a 6’5 shooting guard, ranked in the top 50 overall. He’s a legit scorer and the hope is that he can replace the double-digit scoring production left by Cam Spencer, who is now at UConn. Offense is a potential concern with this roster but Griffiths has the chance to alleviate that and have a big role in the process.

14. Jackson Shelstad – Oregon Ducks

Although there are two five-star prospects I mentioned before with Oregon, a good case can be made that Shelstad, a four-star and top-40 point guard prospect, is more important. With Will Richardson gone, the Ducks will rely on him to be the starting point guard. He has other veteran guards around him but they’re all off-guards, so look for Shelstad to be arguably the biggest X-factor on the entire roster.