We, as in the media, are guilty of throwing around the term star way too often. Especially in college where the Big Man on Campus located in some out of the way town 1,000 percent earns the title if his highlights are good enough to make it on SportsCenter once or twice.
But there are also legit stars in the college ranks, the kind that are already earmarked for the lottery of next year's NBA Draft or the ones that will wreck havoc when it's (fingers crossed) time for the NCAA Tournament in March. So with the NBA not returning until December 22, in order to keep our sanity and bide our time between NFL games, we're going to be paying attention to a lot of college basketball and decided to showcase a baker's dozen of the most noteworthy "amateurs" before the pros earn most of our attention.
If you're a NBA Draft junkie and already have the 2021 first-round mock memorized, then almost all of these names will be familiar. We didn't name every single impact player in the country for obvious reasons because this list could easily go 50 deep—or even 100. But if you're really a NBA fan tuning into the college game just to whet your basketball appetite, these are (for the most part) future first-round selections, with a few other college stars mixed in for good measure, that deserve your attention.
Josh Christopher, Arizona State
James Bouknight, Connecticut
Marcus Zegarowski, Creighton
Class: Freshman
Position: Forward
No photos of Johnson exits on our wire services—which is pretty damn egregious considering Johnson is the most hyped Duke freshman and appears destined to be a high lottery pick in next year's draft. While he didn't have a great performance against Michigan State, Johnson's college debut was ridiculous—19 points, 19 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 blocks against Coppin State. He's the one to look for when you're hate-watching the Blue Devils.
⚡️𝐀𝐂𝐂 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡𝗺𝐚𝐧 𝗼𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤⚡️
Our guy @Jalen_J23 was the 1st major conference player in 20 years to debut with a game of 15/15/5... and he added 4 blocks 😤😤 pic.twitter.com/735RGDss2d
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) November 30, 2020
Keyontae Johnson, Florida
Jalen Suggs, Gonzaga
Ayo Dosunmu, Illinois
Luka Garza, Iowa
Brandon Boston, Kentucky
Jason Preston, Ohio
Class: Junior
Position: Point Guard
If you want to be inspired and dazzled at the same time, make sure you check out what Preston is doing at Ohio. The junior didn’t think he was going to play college ball after high school, but despite being a skinny 6’ guard relegated to prep ball, he finally got a scholarship offer from Ohio and Longwood after the two schools saw the highlights he posted of himself on Twitter. Three years later, Preston’s put on a bunch of pounds, added four inches, and is averaging over 20 a game after shooting 40.7 percent from three and pouring in 16.8 points per game as a sophomore. While you won’t see him on every mock NBA Draft, don’t be surprised if he ends up being a late second-round selection. For now, just enjoy how he's defying the odds.
A 6’0, 140lb high school senior that averaged 2 points (no college offers)
This story is incredible pic.twitter.com/1dVKKfHRO7
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) November 28, 2020