Freshmen Orientation: ACC
With freshmen unpacking their bags and getting settled into college, we wanted to take a deeper look at the incoming classes in college hoops. In this edition of FRESHMEN ORIENTATION, we take a look at the best players, the impressive classes, the guys who could be the talk of the league, HoopSeen hoopers and more.
Let’s get into the ACC.
Head of the class
These are the guys that HoopSeen has tabbed as the ACC’s top newcomers at each position.
PG: Seth Trimble
CG: Tyrese Proctor
SG: Dariq Whitehead
SF: Leon Bond
PF: Mark Mitchell
C: Dereck Lively
Big man on campus
Dariq Whitehead is likely going to go into the season with preseason Freshman of the Year honors. I’d contend that he’s going to be in the ACC Player of the Year conversation. Whitehead is an athletic guard with a knack for scoring the basketball. He’s going to have the opportunity to lead the Blue Devils in scoring. If Jon Scheyer’s squad lives up to expectations, Whitehead will be one of the driving forces behind their success. HoopSeen has Whitehead as the No. 4 prospect in the 2022 class, and he’s the league’s highest rated incoming freshman.
Three classes that we love
Duke
I mean, come on, Jon Scheyer’s first class as the Blue Devils’ head coach is comically loaded. Duke has five players in HoopSeen’s top 20 on campus now. To convey how ridiculous this class is, no other ACC program has a player in HoopSeen’s top 25. Duke has five in the top 20 and four in the top 15.
With all of the talent coming to Cameron Indoor, it’s tough to determine where to start when breaking it all down. When I look at things, however, I can’t help but think about how scary this frontcourt could be. Starting with 7-foot-1 Dereck Lively, the Blue Devils are going to have an athletic rim protector who’ll play above the rim and create plenty of highlight moments to send the Cameron Crazies into hysteria. Joining Lively is 6-foot-11 Kyle Filipowski who will be able to slot in next to lively as a floor spacer and someone who can help control the glass. This tandem should pull in routine double-doubles. Not to be forgotten, Mark Mitchell will provide some depth to this stable of bigs.
UNC
The ‘Heels went to the midwest and picked up the No. 28 and No. 39 players in HoopSeen’s 2022 rankings. Seth Trimble and Jalen Washington might not be immediate impact players because of the production returning to Chapel Hill. I love their freshmen duo as multi-year players that will develop and continue UNC’s success beyond this current run.
Trimble reminds me of so many past UNC guards in the sense that he’s going to take major steps forward as a sophomore and beyond. Look at the current guards in Chapel Hill. They came in as highly-touted freshmen and have spent time developing into players who fueled a March run to the national championship game. In a similar regard, Washington is a big who will grow into the Carolina big that we’ve become accustomed to.
Virginia
The Cavaliers haven’t had the same level of success that they had when they were continuously operating as one of the top teams in the country. We know that a Tony Bennett team is always going to provide a tough challenge.
With Isaac Traudt, Leon Bond and Isaac McKneely joining the fray in Charlottesville, the Cavs should figure to be one of the top teams in the ACC. The trio all rank within the top 100 in the class and will provide talented depth across the board.
The HoopSeen Connection
As a part of a JH1 team that made plenty of noise on the NY2LA and Grassroots Basketball Association circuits, HoopSeen got to see a lot of Leon Bond during the height of his recruitment.
The smooth-scoring wing drew a crowd full of college coaches during live periods via athletic drives to the basket and a lethal mid-range game. He’s got a strong build and should be able to have early success at UVA.
Random things you should know
Florida State has routinely been one of the biggest teams in college basketball over the last few seasons. At every position, the ‘Noles have size. That’s partially why they have been so formidable. With Chandler Jackson coming in as a 6-foot-4 point guard, size will continue to be a factor in Tallahassee. Jackson is joined by a 6-foot-6 Tom House, 6-foot-6 Jeremiah Bembry, 6-foot-9 De’Ante Green, 6-foot-9 Cameron Corhen and 6-foot-11 Baba Miller. That’s a lot of dudes who are certainly bigger than I am.
Notre Dame has a sneaky contender for ACC Freshman of the Year in JJ Starling. While Duke’s crop of talented freshmen may chew away at each other’s chances of winning the award, Starling should be stepping into a prominent role early on in South Bend. Starling will be able to give the Irish some scoring punch while playing on or off the ball.
Despite the program perpetually stepping in rakes over the past decade and change, Louisville brings in an interesting class that will help usher in the Kenny Payne era. Kamari Lands, Devin Ree, and Fabio Basili should see significant playing time for the Cardinals this season. While small, this class could be the one that lays the foundation for bigger and brighter things to come in this new iteration of Louisville Basketball.
