This college basketball season has been defined by its stellar freshmen class. However, as we’ve narrowed the field down to just eight teams, for the most part, it’s been the veterans who stood out in the Sweet 16. Well, the veterans and Cameron Boozer.Â
He’s not the only potential top-10 pick in this summer’s NBA Draft left dancing, but he’s the most consequential, and after a shaky start to his first and only NCAA Tournament, he was massive for Jon Scheyer’s Blue Devils in Washington, D.C. on Friday night.Â
So, that brings us to the Busting Brackets 2026 All-Sweet 16 team with the wily veterans and a five-star freshman who plays like one.Â
Trey Kaufmann-Renn, Purdue
Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer, and Trey Kaufman-Renn have played as much basketball together as any trio in the country. Now, all three have made an appearance in the round-by-round All-Tournament team. It wasn’t just a game-winning putback in the final second that did it for TKR either. He was brilliant the entire way.Â
Since Zach Edey’s historic career came to an end, TKR has been one half of the most efficient pick-and-roll tandem in the country with Smith, the NCAA’s all-time assist leader. His mid-range push shot is lethal with his soft touch, and in the post, he’s impossible to keep getting to his left shoulder for a right-handed baby hook.Â
In what’s been a shaky tournament for Smith as a shooter, Loyer and Kaufman-Renn have picked up the slack, and now on Saturday, all three will need to be playing at their highest level to knock off Arizona in the West Regional Final.Â
Bennett Stirtz, Iowa
Bennett Stirtz didn’t shoot it well in Iowa’s first two wins of the tournament, but he finally found his rhythm back in the Big Ten against Nebraska on Thursday night. He went 7-15 from the field, though just 3-9 from the floor, but it’s not what he’s done as a scorer that’s been most impressive.Â
Stirtz has carried a 27.1 percent usage rate (per CBBanalytics.com) through the NCAA Tournament and played all 120 minutes for the Hawkeyes, yet he has just one turnover, committed against Clemson in the first round, and has committed no fouls. His decision-making has been pristine, and while he’s gotten the help he desperately needed from Iowa’s role players and one of the best young coaches in the country putting them in positions to succeed, Stirtz is the engine of the Hawkeyes, and he’s running clean.Â
Cameron Boozer, Duke
At the 13:02 mark of the second half, Caleb Foster scored a seven-foot jumper to cut St. John’s lead to six points at 57-51. Then, over the next 11 minutes, with the game and the season in the balance, Cameron Boozer was involved in the primary offensive action, either as the screener or ball-handler, on 14 or Duke’s next 15 possessions. Over that stretch, Duke outscored St. John’s 24-12 and averaged 1.71 points per possession against one of the best half-court defenses in the country.Â
Boozer isn’t the athlete that Cooper Flagg or Zion Williamson were for the Blue Devils, but he doesn’t need to be to have the same impact. Boozer is an elite processor and, whether coming off the short-roll, operating as the pick-and-roll ball-handler, or simply in isolation, Jon Scheyer put the ball in Boozer’s hands and trusted him to make decisions. For maybe the toughest and most important 11 minutes of the season, he didn’t make a wrong one the entire way.Â
Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan
If it weren’t for Cameron Boozer, Yaxel Lendeborg might be the national player of the year, and the 6-foot-9 senior didn’t even average 15 points. That tells you the impact Lendeborg can make on a game when he’s not putting the ball in the basket. When he is, Michigan is almost impossible to beat.Â
In the first half, the Wolverines played Alabama’s game, sprinting with the Tide to a 49-47 halftime deficit. Then, Lendeborg and the Wolverines put the clamps on. Michigan slowed the pace to avoid giving up cheap baskets in transition, stopped helping so drastically off three-point shooters, and suffocated an Alabama team that needed Labaron Philon Jr. to do it all.Â
Even with the adjustment to a bigger lineup with Aden Holloway off the team, Alabama was helpless to deal with Michigan’s massive front court, and that dominant style is enabled by Lendeborg. Because, at 6-foot-9, he can operate as a point forward and knock down 4-5 threes as he did on Friday night in Chicago, Michigan can keep Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara on the floor to outrebound Alabama 46-32.Â
It’s hard to compete with Danny Wolf and Vlad Goldin from last year’s team as front-court passers, but against the Tide, in Michigan’s third-straight 90+ point performance, Lendeborg, MJJ, and Mara combined for 14 assists.Â
Labaron Philon Jr., Alabama
Underratedly, Labaron Philon Jr. had been having a ridiculous NCAA Tournament run. It’s underrated because he shot it terribly against Texas Tech, scoring nine points on 2-12 shooting in the blowout win, but he did have 12 assists. Despite that performance, he finished the big dance averaging 24.3 points, 7.7 assists, and seven rebounds. That’s not just the elite scoring that Philon is known for; that’s comprehensive dominance from the point guard position.Â
His step-back three is NBA-ready, and his ability to finish around the rim against a supersized front court with a combination of strength and guile will make him a lot of money in this summer’s draft. Without Aden Holloway, Philon had to take on even more of the offensive load for Nate Oats, while Alabama’s roster was too flawed to trade punches with Michigan the entire way, Philon was up to the challenge.
Busting Brackets March Madness All-Tournament Team
- Round of 64
- Round of 32
- Sweet 16
- Elite Eight
- Final Four