By Jonathan Lidskin
After a season where I harped a lot on the fact that college basketball had a bad freshman group, the 2024 class should completely flip that. There is a plethora of both one-and-done talent, but also multi-year talent that could also make an impact right away. Here are a few guys that I believe recruiting sites have ranked too low as well as some honorable mentions:
Honorable Mentions:
Morez Johnson Jr. - Illinois (Harvey, IL): 29th in composite rankings, 17th in my rankings.
Trent Perry - UCLA (Studio City, CA): 33rd in composite rankings, 18th in my rankings.
Justin Pippen - Michigan (Chatsworth, CA): 60th in composite rankings, 30th in my rankings.
Ahmad Nowell - UConn (Philadelphia, PA)
The back-to-back national champs will lose a lot, but the point guard spot is not one where they should be concerned for next season. Ahmad Nowell has slowly risen in rankings during his senior season at Imhotep Institute, but 247Sports having him at 31st is still too low. Nowell’s size can overshadow his complete skillset as a point guard. For a soon-to-be freshman in college, Nowell has an upperclassman-type body that he uses extremely well. Weighing 180 pounds does not slow him down as he can easily get in the lane.
Last summer, Nowell proved that he was the total package as a guard. In EYBL with Team Final, he averaged around 14 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists while helping the team to the quarterfinals of Peach Jam. Nowell was also able to get those numbers while playing with multiple other top guards in the class.
The defensive ability is also impressive as he finished top 20 in EYBL in steals. If I had to critique Nowell’s game, I’d say that he could have trouble finishing at the rim in the Big East, but he’s going to have no problem getting into the lane and making plays so I don’t think that will matter.
While I have not completed evaluating every freshman that I want to, I have currently ranked 74 freshmen. Most of them are in 247Sports Top 150. In my rankings, Nowell sits at #9 while the composite rankings have him at #36.
Sir Mohammed - Notre Dame (Charlotte, NC)
Micah Shrewsbury’s addition of Sir Mohammed for next season gives me even more confidence that he has Notre Dame trending in the right direction. Mohammed is a 6’7 wing out of Myers Park High School in Charlotte, NC that can impact the game in a handful of different ways. After a rough summer shooting the ball, Mohammed re-established himself as a good shooter by shooting 53% from the field and 38% from three en route to Myers Park finishing the season 27-3.
Mohammed’s best skill might be his value as a secondary playmaker. He finished Top 5 last summer in UAA in assists per game and also averaged nearly 4 assists a game during the high school season with Tennessee commit Bishop Boswell running the show for Myers Park.
At Notre Dame, I expect Mohammed to be in the mix to start. The Irish were missing a wing who could make plays and Mohammed will be a guy that can play off the ball with ACC Freshman of the Year Markus Burton coming back. With Mohammed coming in, you can reasonably expect Notre Dame to be one of the better passing teams in the ACC.
In terms of rankings, I have Mohammed 13th out of 78 prospects that I’ve ranked. The composite rankings have him 65th.
Tyler Betsey - Cincinnati (Windsor, CT)
This is a little bit more of a risky addition because truth be told, I’m not sure how much playing time there is for Betsey next season. The Cincinnati roster is stacked in terms of depth for next season with Wes Miller not only returning a ton of production but bringing in a really good transfer group as well. With that being said, I still think Betsey has too much talent to get buried on the bench so don’t be surprised when he gets 18-20 minutes off the bench and is efficient.
Betsey’s skillset at his size is what made me drawn to his game right away. It’s not easy to find 6’8 wings in college basketball who have the playmaking and shooting ability of Betsey. Specifically, the shooting part is arguably the best part of his game as he effortlessly can rise up over defenders to hit shots.
Betsey’s physical traits also give him a ton of potential on the defensive end. He is listed as a +3 wingspan and with his positions and movement, he could be a disruptive wing defender who can deny the ball and contest shots at a high level.
The Composite rankings have Betsey as the 45th-best player in the 2024 class. I have the Cincinnati commit 15th.