NCAA Basketball: Ranking of top 100 returning players for 2023-24 season
60. Tyrese Hunter – Texas Longhorns
2022-23 season stats: 10.3 ppg and 2.5 apg
Compared to the preseason hype after transferring over from Iowa State, Hunter’s numbers may not look overly impressive. He did shoot 34% from deep and 80% from the free throw line, improvements from his freshman campaign. He also had a 29-point effort against Kansas State, including 5/9 from deep. With both Marcus Carr and Sir’Jabari Rice out of the picture, look for Hunter to take a leading role in the backcourt as the veteran playmaker.
59. Jeremy Roach – Duke Blue Devils
2022-23 season stats: 13.6 ppg and 3.1 apg
These days, Roach is the extremely rare former five-star prospect at Duke who’s around for his senior year. And he’s turned into an All-ACC talent, coming off a career-high scoring year that included six games of at least 20 points. Two of them were 23-point efforts in the final few games of the year. Although everyone is back, look for the grizzled veteran to still have a large role on the Blue Devils.
58. Lamont Butler – San Diego State Aztecs
2022-23 season stats: 8.8 ppg and 3.2 apg
Butler has had the reputation of being an elite defender (two-time All-MTN West defender) and a solid scorer overall but he made national headlines with his game-winning shot to beat FAU in the Final Four. The 6’2 guard also had 18 points to beat Creighton in the Elite 8. Without Matt Bradley around, this is Butler’s chance to have a breakout on the offensive side of the ball this season.
57. Graham Ike – Gonzaga Bulldogs
2022-23 season stats: N/A
The former Preseason Mountain West Player of the Year missed all of last season at Wyoming before transferring to Gonzaga. Ike averaged 19.5 ppg and 9.6 rpg in 2021-22, including a 35-point and 14-rebound effort against Denver. With All-American center Drew Timme gone, look for Ike to take over as the focal point of the frontcourt if healthy.
56. N’Faly Dante – Oregon Ducks
2022-23 season stats: 13.4 ppg and 8.4 rpg
The former five-star prospect had a breakthrough campaign in his 4th year, leading the Ducks in both scoring and rebounding. The 6’11 center had 22 points and 10 rebounds against Arizona, along with 16 points and 18 rebounds versus Oregon State. Without Kel’el Ware around, there’s no competition for minutes inside. And Oregon will need a lot from Dante to get back into the NCAA tournament picture.
55. Reece Beekman – Virginia Cavaliers
2022-23 season stats: 9.5 ppg and 5.3 apg
Beekman is one of the best defenders in all of NCAA Basketball, coming off winning ACC DPOY honors. He also posted career-high offensive numbers in his junior season, shooting 35% from deep. The 6’5 guard will be the clear lead guard now that Kihei Clark has finally moved on, let’s see if the long-anticipated offensive bump happens for Beekman.
54. Erik Reynolds – St. Joe’s Hawks
2022-23 season stats: 19.6 ppg and 2.5 apg
The 6’2 guard had a sophomore breakout campaign for the Hawks, leading them in scoring while shooting 38% from deep on eight attempts a game. Reynolds went for 30+ points on five different occasions, including three on the final five games of the season. St. Joe’s has a ton of hype in the A-10 entering this season and Reynolds is the big reason for it.
53. DJ Burns – NC State Wolfpack
2022-23 season stats: 12.5 ppg and 4.8 rpg
Burns was a former Big South Player of the Year at Winthrop and proved to be highly effective in his first year at NC State last season. The 6’9 big man had some big games in the second half of the year, including a 31-point outing against Wake Forest. There are a lot of new faces for the Wolfpack in the backcourt but Burns remains the constant inside and should be a focal point on offense.
52. AJ Hoggard – Michigan State Spartans
2022-23 season stats: 12.9 ppg and 5.9 apg
In what’s been a loaded backcourt for the Spartans, Hoggard has quietly been a passing machine, ranking 3rd in the Big Ten in assists last season. He had 10 points and 14 assists against Nebraska, while also having six 20+ point outings as a scorer, including a season-high 25 points and six assists in the overtime loss to Kansas State.
51. Johni Broome – Auburn Tigers
2022-23 season stats: 14.2 ppg and 8.4 rpg
Broome was a two-time DPOY winner at Morehead State and was a successful transfer at Auburn, leading the team in both scoring and rebounding last season. The 6’11 center had 27 points and 11 rebounds against South Carolina, as well as an 8-block performance versus Auburn. He’s back as one of the top SEC big men this season and could have more of an offensive impact.