The 50 Men's college basketball players to watch in 2024-25

By Donnie Woods, 09/26/24, 11:15AM CDT

Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee

It's always challenging condensing a list of the top 50 players entering any college basketball season. However, we once again gave it a go for 2024-25 season.

1. Hunter Dickinson, Kansas

Dickinson, a 7-foot-2 senior, has been one of the most dominant and productive big men in the country during his college career. This past season, he averaged 17.9 points and a career-high 10.9 rebounds, which ranked eighth nationally -- en route to earning second-team All-America and first-team All-Big 12 honors.

2. Alex Karaban, Connecticut

During the 2023-2024 season, he averaged 13.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game. He also shot 49.5% from the floor, 37.9% from three point range, and 88.5% from the free throw line.

3. Cooper Flagg, Duke

A five-star prospect from Newport, Maine, Flagg is the top-rated player in the 2024 class by World Exposure Report out of Montverde Academy in Florida. Flagg was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year, Naismith Player of the Year and a McDonald's All-American as a senior in 2023-24, averaging 16.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.7 blocks per game to lead Montverde to a 33-0 record and a national championship title.

4. R.J. Davis, North Carolina

Davis had a senior season to remember, as he was tabbed as the ACC Player of the Year and was later named a consensus first-team All-American. He was simply a "walking bucket," averaging 21.2 points per game while shooting 42.8% from the floor, including nearly 40% from three-point range.

5. Caleb Love, Arizona

Love was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year, a third-team Associated Press and World Exposure Report All-American and one of the top 10 players in the running for the Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy last season.

6. Johni Broome, Auburn

Broome became the 14th player in the 118-year history of Auburn Basketball to be named an All-American (consensus third team by The Associated Press, NABC, USBWA and The Sporting News)and was the only player to rank in the Top 10 among SEC leaders in scoring (8th, 16.5 ppg) and rebounding (2nd, 8.5 rpg).

7. Mark Sears, Alabama

Sears averaged 21.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 33.6 minutes per game. After leading Alabama to the 2024 Final Four, the 6-foot-1 point guard was named a World Exposure Report All-American.

8. Braden Smith, Purdue

Smith has 808 points, 445 assists and 373 rebounds in just 74 games. He is one of six players (Magic Johnson, Kenny Anderson, Nick Calathes, D.J. Cooper, Ja Morant) to have at least 800 points, 425 assists and 350 rebounds by the end of his sophomore season. He currently already ranks eighth on Purdue’s career assists list and needs just 245 helpers to set the school record for career assists. His 445 assists are the second most in Big Ten history through the end of his sophomore campaign (Magic Johnson – 491).

9. Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M

Taylor is a two-time All-SEC First Team selection is college basketball’s only player to log 500+ points, 100+ assists and 60+ steals in each of the past two seasons. During the 2023-24 campaign, he averaged a team-high 19.1 points per game and led the Aggies to the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018.

10. Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee

Zeigler, a senior guard, was a First Team All-SEC designee and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2023-24. He has twice been one of 10 semifinalists for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.

11. Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton

A 7-foot-1 senior, Kalkbrenner has been one of the elite defensive players in college basketball over the past three seasons. He was a first-team All-Big East performer in 2022-23 and a second-team selection this past season, winning Big East Defensive Player of the Year honors in each of the past three seasons.

12. Graham Ike, Gonzaga

Ike, a 6-foot-9 redshirt senior, was an All-WCC forward and among the 10 finalists for the Karl Malone Power Forward award last season. He was also named a 2023-24 World Exposure Report All-American.

13. Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State

Lipsey averaged 12.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game, while shooting 70.5 percent at the free throw line.

14. Robbie Avila, Saint Louis

Averaged 17.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists for Indiana State his sophomore year, shooting 53.6 percent from the field and 39.4 percent from the arc while draining 61 3-pointers.

15. J’Wan Roberts, Houston

Led Cougars and finished sixth in the Big 12 with 6.8 rebounds per game. He was one of only three players in rank among the Big 12 Top-10 leaders in both offensive (2.6 orpg, 3rd) AND defensive (4.1 drpg, 10th rebounding.

16. Oumar Ballo, Indiana

A two-time All-Pac-12 First Team selection that has produced 1,273 points, 867 rebounds, 109 assists, 76 steals, and 140 blocks in 132 career games with Arizona and Gonzaga.

17. L.J. Cryer, Houston

Led the Cougars with 15.5 points per game and topped Houston and the Big 12 with 3.0 3-point field goals per game... Led Houston with 13 20-point games and 27 double-digit scoring games.

18. Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest

The Wake Forest guard has really high defensive upside, only allowing his matchups to convert at a 35 percent clip at the rim thanks to the utilization of his 6-foot-5 frame which also allows him to switch all over the floor

19. Great Osobor, Washington

Osobor was named Mountain West Conference Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year last season while playing for Sprinkle at Utah State. He averaged 17.7 points per game and 9.0 rebounds per game to earn World Exposure Report All- American.

20. Yaxel Lendeborg, UAB

Lendeborg is a two-time World Exposure Report NJCAA All-American and back-to-back ACCAC Player of the Year. At UAB last week, he was named the MVP of the American Athletic Conference tournament.

21. Dylan Harper, Rutgers
22. Ace Bailey, Rutgers
23. VJ Edgecombe, Baylor
24. Tre Johnson, Texas
25. Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State
26. Walter Clayton Jr., Florida
27. Egor Demin, BYU
28. AJ Storr, Kansas
29. Tucker Devries, West Virginia
30. Chucky Hepburn, Louisville
31. Kadary Richmond, St. John's
32. Eric Dixon, Villanova
33. Tyon Grant- Foster, Grand Canyon
34. Johnell Davis, Arkansas
35. Bryce Hopkins, Providence
36. Markus Burton, Notre Dame
37. Chaz Lanier, Tennessee
38. Payton Sandfort, Iowa
39. Tyrese Proctor, Duke
40. Liam McNeeley, UConn
41. Bruce Thornton, Ohio State
42. Khaman Maluach, Duke
43. Drake Powell, North Carolina
44. Ian Jackson, North Carolina
45. Coleman Hawkins, Kansas State
46. Kam Jones, Marquette
47. Jeremy Roach, Baylor
48. Dajuan Harris, Kansas
49. Jaxson Robinson, Kentucky
50. Augustas Marciulionis, St. Mary's