As the UNC football team continues to self destruct (both figuratively and literally), it’s a great time to turn the attention back to a sport that made the ACC the power conference it is: men’s basketball
(no offense to other sports that are awesome, but this is what the ACC is).
With that in mind, its time to continue our journey through the upcoming ACC men’s basketball season. Since we have already looked at the top returning player and top transfers, it only makes sense to turn our attention to the top freshmen for each team (international players are not being considered for this).
As in other articles in this series, this is not a list of the guys who will make up the all-freshmen team. Some of these guys are going to be first round draft picks, some future stars, some solid bench players, while others may not figure things out until they go somewhere else. One just never knows who someone might develop into (remember when Luke Maye was considered a disappointment as a recruit?)
So without further ado, here are the top freshmen for each ACC men’s basketball team (the schools are listed in alphabetical order, rankings are per 247).
Boston College
SG Akbar Waheed III (Rockville, MD) (NR: 186, PR: 42, St: 6)
Waheed III leads a three member class for the Eagles in coach Earl Grant’s fifth season. Waheed III, who had 18 ppg, 6 rpg, 4 apg last season, will look to form a solid backcourt with returning guard Donald Hand Jr and transfer Chase Forte this season.
California
SG Jovani Ruff (Long Beach, CA) (NR: 123, PR: 19, St: 9)
Ruff is joined by fellow freshman Semetri Carr in the Golden Bears second season in the ACC. Cal coach Mark Madsen will be hoping that Ruff, who was a two time league MVP and who scored 51 points in less than three quarters in a game last season, will be able to help make up for the loss of Andrej Stojakovic, who left the Golden Bears for Illinois this past off season.
Clemson
CG Zac Foster (College Park, GA) (NR: 63, PR: 12, St: 5)
Foster is the headline of a four-man class for the Tigers who will be looking to replace a lot of members from last season’s tournament team. Coach Brad Brownell will be hoping that Foster, who averaged 13 ppg, 3.6 apg, and 2 spg as a junior, can help solidify a backcourt that loss both starters from last season’s second place finish.
Duke
PF Cameron Boozer (Miami, FL) (NR: 3, PR: 1, St: 2)
Boozer, the son of former Duke starter Carlos Boozer, is joined by twin brother Cayden, as Jon Scheyer brings in another top class of recruits for the Blue Devils. In addition to the Boozer twins, Duke also brings in Nikolas Khamenia and Sebastian Wilkins as the Blue Devils look to replace three freshmen who accounted for 42.2 ppg, 18.1 rpg, and 7.4 apg for last season’s final four squad.
Florida State
CG Cam Miles (Bradenton, FL) (NR: 181, PR: 22, St: 25)
Miles is basically the Seminoles only recruit (they also added forward Thomas Bassong from Overtime Elite) in coach Luke Loucks first season in Tallahassee. With a lot of new faces at Florida State this season, Miles, who averaged 17.4 ppg and 5.2 apg last season as a postgraduate at IMG, will have a chance to earn some playing time as the Seminoles look to rebound from a disappointing season.
Georgia Tech
C Mouhamed Sylla (Scottsdale, AZ) (NR: 17, PR: 2, St: 2)
Sylla is the easy pick here as the crown jewel of the Yellow Jackets six member class. Sylla, who is 6-10 and originally from Senegal, will give coach Damon Stoudamire some good size as he looks to take Georgia Tech dancing for the time since 2021.
Louisville
PG Mikel Brown Jr. (Daytona Beach, FL) (NR: 6, PR: 2, St: 4)
Even if Brown Jr wasn’t the only eligible member of the Cardinal’s freshman class (the rest are international guys), he would probably still be the pick for every other team on this list except for Duke and UNC. Brown Jr, who averaged 10.3 ppg and 5.2 apg in six games as the starting point guard for the USA U18 men’s team that won gold in the 2024 AmeriCup, will be expected to come in and immediately lead a team that will be picked by many to win the ACC this year in coach Pat Kelsey’s second season at Louisville.
Miami
SF Shelton Henderson (Bellaire, TX) (NR: 25, PR: 7, St: 2)
After decommitting from Duke, Henderson followed lead recruiter, Jai Lucas, out the door and down to Miami where Lucas took over as the Hurricane’s new head coach. Henderson, one of three members in Miami’s freshman class, will look to bring a unique two-way versatility to a Hurricane’s team looking to rebound from a disappointing seven-win season.
NC State
SG Matt Able (Fort Lauderdale, FL) (NR: 28, PR: 46, St: 9)
Coach Will Wade hit the ground running, bringing in two top 100ish recruits (forward Zymicah Wilkins came in at 101) to join a strong transfer class for the Wolfpack. Able, who averaged 20.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg, and 3.7 spg last season, will be given the chances to grow with a State team that has a lot of experienced players on it this season and may not need much from the freshman class to be successful.
North Carolina
PF Caleb Wilson (Atlanta, GA) (NR: 8, PR: 3, St: 1)
Wilson is one of three top 50ish (guard Isaiah Denis came in at 53) recruits to join the Tar Heels this season. The 6’9 Gatorade player of the year for the state of Georgia, who averaged a double-double last season (21.1 pts, 11.1 rebs) on his way to leading his team to a state title, will join transfers Henri Veesaar and Jarin Stevenson as Hubert Davis looks to strengthen the team’s biggest weakness last season (the front court).
Notre Dame
CG Jalen Haralson (La Porte, IN) (NR: 18, PR: 4, St: 2)
Haralson is one of two top 100ish players (forward Ryder Frost came in at 104) in the Fighting Irish’s four-man class. The tall combo guard, Haralson comes in at 6’7, is coach Mike Shrewsberry’s first McDonald’s All American. He will be joining a backcourt that returns starters Markus Burton and Braeden Shrewsberry on a Notre Dame team that is a sneaky dark horse ACC contender this season.
Pittsburgh
CG Omari Witherspoon (Washington, DC) (NR: 106, PR: 16, St: 4)
Witherspoon is one of three members of the Panther’s freshmen class (they also brought in two international player). Witherspoon will join fellow freshman guard Macari Moore to help coach Jeff Capel replace the production of last season’s high scoring backcourt duo (32.5 ppg) of Jaland Lowe (who transferred to Kentucky) and Ishmael Leggett (who graduated).
SMU
C Jaden Toombs (Dallas, TX) (NR: 30, PR: 4, St: 3)
Toombs is one of three top 100ish (forward Jermaine O’Neal Jr, son of NBA player Jermaine O’Neal, came in at 115) recruits from the state of Texas to join the Mustangs this season. Toombs, who is 6’9 and nearly averaged a double-double last season (15 ppg and 9.7 rpg), will join forward Nigel Walls (6-10) to give SMU coach Andy Enfield a pair of big guys as he tries to keep the Mustangs toward the top of the ACC for a second straight season.
Stanford
PG Ebuka Okorie (Wolfeboro, NH) (NR: 118, PR: 14, St: 6)
Okorie is one of two members of coach Kyle Smith’s freshman class (the Cardinal also brought in a couple of international guys). Okorie, who was the Gatorade player of the year in the state of New Hampshire, will be joining a Stanford team that is bringing back nine players from last season’s team but neither of its starting guards in Oziyah Sellars (transferred to St John’s) and Jaylen Blakes (who graduated) who combined to average 26.8 ppg and 6 apg.
Syracuse
SG Kiyan Anthony (Glen Head, NY) (NR: 32, PR: 7, St: 1)
The last time a freshman named Anthony walked into Syracuse, the Orange went 30-5 on their way to a Big East and National Championship. So even though fellow top 50 recruit, forward Sadiq White Jr, ranks higher, there is no one bigger joining the team than the son of hall of famer Carmelo Anthony. Coach Adrian Autrey will be hoping for similar results from the younger Anthony, who was the Jordan Brand MVP with 26 pts (his dad had 27 in 2002, but lost out on MVP to Sean May and Amare Stoudamire).
Virginia
PG Chance Mallory (Charlottesville, VA) (NR: 55, PR: 6, St: 3)
Mallory is one of two top 100 players to join the Cavaliers in Ryan Odom’s first season at Virginia. The diminutive point guard (5’9), who finished his high school career as the school’s all time leader in points, assists, steals, and wins, will join fellow Virginian forward Silas Barksdale, as the team looks to rebound from last season’s ninth place ACC finish.
Virginia Tech
C Christian Gurdak (Washington, DC) (NR: 116, PR: 18, St: 5)
Gurdak is one of two top 150 recruits in the Hokies four-man class (they also brought in a couple of international guys). The big German, who stands at 6’9, 260 lbs, will look to help Mike Young, who is entering year seven, improve upon Virginia Tech’s disappointing 13 wins last season.
Wake Forest
SG Isaac Carr (Portland, OR) (NR: 147, PR: 25, St: 1)
The Demon Deacons bring in a pair of shooting guards this season in Carr and NC local Jaylen Cross (Greensboro). Carr, who had 26 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists in the 2024 OSAA 6A boys championship game, will look to help coach Steve Forbes replace the production of Hunter Sallis (a rookie for the Philadelphia 76ers) who averaged 18.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg, and 2.8 apg as Wake Forest looks to avenge last season’s NCAA tournament snub.
