NCAA Basketball: Ranking of top 25 team frontcourts for 2023-24 season

2. Duke Blue Devils

On paper, Duke usually has an elite frontcourt on paper every year. However, it’s usually unproven, since all the star freshmen quickly go pro. The team did lose Dereck Lively to the NBA as a first-round pick but luckily for them, that was the only frontcourt departure.

The others opted to come back, led by Kyle Filipowski. The 7’0 big man led the team with 15.1 ppg and 9.0 rpg and could’ve gone pro himself but instead is back as a preseason National Player of the Year candidate. Also back is Mark Mitchell, another five-star forward who averaged 9.1 ppg as a starter and could be a breakout candidate as a sophomore.

Duke also adds a pair of five-star forwards from the 2023 class in TJ Power and Sean Stewart. 99% of other teams, would be starting and getting plenty of minutes. That just speaks to the elite depth the ACC has and how they won’t suffer much when they have to go to the bench in games.

Having starting senior center Ryan Young gives them more experience and size to work with as well and he doesn’t even need the ball to have an impact. And don’t forget Christian Reeves, another center Duke can give minutes to if they want to keep Filipowski at the four-spot.