Sam's Top 100: 80-71

Photo by UNLV Athletics

By Sam Federman

80. Villanova Wildcats (Big East)

I’ve asked a lot of people this summer who they think Villanova’s best player will be, and I get a different answer every time. Nobody is ever sure of themselves, and I’m not certain that Kevin Willard is either.

Willard got this job fairly late in the cycle and was in the midst of a pretty poor media firestorm at the time due to his departure from Maryland. The roster that he put together is reflective of that. It’s full of uncertainty, but there are tangs of potential that have me interested.

The young duo of freshman point guard Acaden Lewis and redshirt freshman forward Matthew Hodge are the highest upside players on the team. Hodge has a year of college practices under his belt, and was buzzing a lot at this time last year, but didn’t see the floor. If he’s as good as advertised, he’ll be one of the best newcomers in the Big East, and Lewis can be too.

Bryce Lindsay is a sharpshooter from James Madison who had a terrific year as a redshirt freshman last year, and has the ability to be a high-level Big East player long-term, but Jon Rothstein suggested that Devin Askew may start over him. Askew has never been a valuable piece of winning in college, and I’m not even sure why he’s rostered by Villanova.

The lone returning producer from last year is Tyler Perkins, while Zion Stanford comes in from Temple to form a solid but unspectacular duo on the wing. Duke Brennan should be a fine Big East center, but far from the top tier, and Braden Pierce will back him up.

79. High Point Panthers (Big South)

Alan Huss is gone, but the High Point machine will keep on rolling. The money is still flowing into the program, and Flynn Clayman is an extremely qualified replacement. A plethora of double-digit scorers from mid-major programs supplant the talented class of players that left. Rob Martin was a stud at SEMO, Scotty Washington thrived for an up-tempo CSUN team, and Vincent Brady was a key piece of a bad Missouri State group.

Those three, along with Arizona transfer Conrad Martinez and returning sniper Chase Johnston, will form a deep backcourt with options and versatility. There is plenty of ball handling and shooting from that group. Kansas City transfer Babacar Diallo should contribute on both ends as well.

While HPU couldn’t replace Juslin Bodo Bodo, plucking Owen Aquino from Liberty is a massive heist. He was one of the better two-way forwards in mid-major basketball, showing the ability to attack from multiple spots, make plays, and rebound at a high-level. He pairs with Cam’Ron Fletcher, who has made stops at three different high-major programs with varying levels of success. Fletcher should be another physical force in the Big South. UConn transfer Youssouf Singare brings more prototypical size at the five as well.

78. Grand Canyon Antelopes (Mountain West)

GCU is very lucky that the Mountain West accepted it a year early. There is far too much invested in this program and this team for there to be no avenue to make the NCAA Tournament as an independent.

All-MEAC First Teamer Brian Moore Jr. will immediately be one of the top players in the MWC with his proven scoring pedigree and presence both on and off the ball. He should also help open up the game for Makiah Williams, who struggled in his first season with GCU after transferring from UT Arlington.

Former Gonzaga sharpshooter Dusty Stromer will get a chance for higher usage, and Caleb Shaw will provide depth on the wing. Jaden Henley is on stop four in four years, but is a proven contributor in the Mountain West, having averaged 12.5 points for UNLV last season.

Nana Owusu-Anane has the athleticism to translate his game from the Ivy League to the Mountain West, even after missing last season with an injury. Additionally, Kaleb Smith and Wilhelm Breidenbach give the frontcourt a little bit of depth.

77. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (ACC)

There really isn’t as much hype around Georgia Tech as I think many hoped there would be entering year three for Damon Stoudamire, but there certainly is some out there.

It starts with Baye Ndongo, who returns for year three as the anchor of the Yellow Jackets on both sides of the floor. He’s a potential post-hype breakout, as his numbers didn’t improve drastically last year, but has the talent to be one of the top players in the ACC. This season, he’s not the only high-upside piece in the front court, as Mouhamed Sylla is one of the top big man recruits in the country.

Sylla should allow Ndongo to slide over to the four at times, and provide a two-headed monster of rim protection. Peyton Marshall brings depth.

Jaeden Mustaf looks to take a year-two leap alongside transfers Lamar Washington, Kam Craft, and Chas Kelley in the backcourt. Kowacie Reeves got his waiver, and freshmen Brandon Stores Jr. and Akai Fleming will factor in the backcourt as well.

I could definitely see there being some secret upside hidden in this roster, but there’s a reason it’s secret for now.

76. Pitt Panthers (ACC)

No offense to any of the high-major teams that are in this section of the rankings, but none of them are exciting to write about. Pitt might be the least exciting of the group. Oregon State transfer Polo Minor should be a solid ACC point guard, with a good all-around skillset, but he doesn’t have the same level of juice as Jaland Lowe or Carlton Carrington.

He’s joined in the backcourt by Brandin Cummings, who might be the highest-upside breakout pick on the roster. He shot 38% from three as a freshman last year, and will be called upon for more of the scoring load as a sophomore. South Alabama transfer Barry Dunning Jr. had averaged 15 points and 7 rebounds last season, using his strength on both ends around the rim. He shot 66% at the rim for the Jaguars, including 27 dunks.

The frontcourt has size with Cameron Corhen’s return and Iowa State transfer Dishon Jackson coming in as well. If Pitt can get anything out of Papa Kante, that would be another boost.

75. UNLV Runnin’ Rebels (Mountain West)

I was very surprised when Josh Pastner’s name floated as a name for the UNLV opening, but I’m fairly optimistic looking at this roster. High Point transfer Kimani Hamilton was one of the top players in the Big South over the last two seasons. He was just too skilled with his strength for that level, but he should have the skillset to transfer over and continue pouring in buckets in the Mountain West.

Myles Che is another high-end scorer coming in from a winning program at UC Irvine. He has a serious flare for the big moment, and should be a really good complement to Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn’s more power-based guard play. DGL is one of the top rim finishing guards in the sport, at 78% at the rim last year for Illinois.

Louisiana Tech transfer Al Green will combine with Che to form a sharpshooting duo. He shot 42% on 4.4 threes per game last season in Conference USA. For a more physical approach on the wing, Howie Fleming Jr. comes in from UTRGV, where he had to play the four.

Arizona transfer Emmanuel Stephen and Iowa transfer Ladji Dembele gives Pastner two bigs with high-major pedigree, and two different looks at the five. The biggest swing piece is Naas Cunningham, who was ranked extremely high as an underclassman in high school, but slipped down the rankings a little bit by the time he made it to Alabama last year, where he redshirted.

74. Butler Bulldogs (Big East)

Butler finished 38th in offense and 169th in defense last season, good for a 15-20 record and 75th in KenPom. This year’s team figures to have better defensive bones, but still slants towards offense.

Fort Wayne transfer Jalen Jackson will take on a significant ball-handling and scoring load. He’s a rim-pressuring guard who struggled from beyond the arc last year, but should bounce back to a solid level. He joins returning double-digit scorer Finley Bizjack to form the backcourt. Bizjack shot 43% from three last year, which will help take pressure off of Jackson and open up driving lanes.

If Michael Ajayi can have a bounce back season, then Butler’s ceiling gets significantly higher. He didn’t fit as well with Gonzaga, and saw his numbers take a big drop from his junior season with Pepperdine in 2023-24. At his best, he’s a floor-spacing four man with athleticism and strength to go off the dribble and back to basket. The center tandem of Drayton Jones and Yohan Traore leaves plenty to be desired, but it’s a considerable upgrade over Boden Kapke and Andre Screen.

Jamie Kaiser and Yame Butler should make up a passable tandem on the wing as well. Of the five-man freshman class, Azavier Robinson and Jack McCaffery seem most fit to jump into the rotation early. 

73. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (ACC)

For four straight years, Wake Forest has won at least 19 games, but the Deacs have not made an NCAA Tournament in Steve Forbes’ tenure. I don’t think that changes in his sixth season at the helm, but they will have a chance to win some games in the ACC.

Forbes has a few exciting transfers coming in the backcourt. Nate Calmese had a great season for Washington State, Mekhi Mason was solid for Washington, and Myles Colvin will have a clearer road to a big role at Wake than he did at Purdue. One of those players will likely take a jump and be another feather in Forbes’ cap as a talent developer, but will it be enough?

The experienced enforcer Tre’Von Spillers returns, and he’ll share a frontcourt with Omaha Biliew, who Wake hopes can finally hit his breakout. Valpo transfer Cooper Schwieger gives a different look in the frontcourt with serious scoring juice.

There are a lot of solid pieces in the mix, but that’s not new for Wake.

72. Liberty Flames (Conference USA)

Liberty enters the season as one of the clear best teams among the traditional one-bid leagues. The Flames return four key pieces from last year’s 28-7 C-USA Championship team, including Isaiah Ihnen, who missed much of last year.

After a finish at 64 in KenPom last year, Liberty has the potential to finish even higher this year. Colin Porter is the sharpshooting point guard who can explode to score whenever he needs to, but also knows when to take a step back.  His backcourt partner, Kaden Metheny, is another sharpshooter who is back for year six, where he should be the leading scorer.

Ihnen and Zach Cleveland are joined in the frontcourt by former Stetson big Josh Smith. The sub-6 foot backcourt duo combined with the three-headed monster in the frontcourt gives the Flames a unique look.

Zander Yates and Brett Decker are also back, and will be the first two players off the bench.

71. Providence Friars (Big East)

Kim English went from a rising young coach last offseason after galvanizing an injured Providence team to nearly lead them to the NCAA Tournament in year one to a coach under pressure entering year three.

The Friars were stale offensively and poor defensively, and lost 20 games for the first time since 1984-85. Vanderbilt transfer Jason Edwards is hoping to light a massive spark offensively and has the pedigree to do so. He averaged 17 points and shot 35% from three on high volume for the Commodores. The problem for PC is how Edwards will get the ball. He can create for himself, but he’s not a natural primary ball handler. Daquan Davis is a point guard, and Ryan Mela is a solid playmaker, but they still leave questions to be answered. Corey Floyd and Rich Barron are back in the mix as well.

Providence also brought in Jaylin Sellers - a high-level scorer from UCF - and Duncan Powell - a nice four man from Georgia Tech - from the transfer portal, to pair with Oswin Erhunmwunse. PC needs a big breakout from Oswin, who is one of the better bigs in the Big East as it stands, in order to have a strong season.