College basketball insider names under-the-radar freshmen joining the ACC
It’s no secret that in college basketball, a freshman can make a major impact on the game. That statement might be the most true in the ACC conference, where just last season four ACC freshman were taken in the NBA draft.
Many of these names were top recruits, like Duke’s Paolo Banchero, AJ Griffin, and Trevor Keels. But Notre Dame’s Blake Wesley was more under the radar, as he was ranked number 100 on On3’s Consensus Top Basketball Recruits of 2021. Wesley was a first round pick in this year’s draft, and the next version of him could be entering the ACC this season.
College basketball insider Jon Rothstein ranked the top 15 under-the-radar freshmen entering the conference for this upcoming year as a part of his 2022-23 ACC season preview.
Below is the full list, in no particular order:
The conferences two Florida schools Miami and Florida State share the only tandems on the list. Miami’s AJ Casey and Favour Aire could serve as a freshman duo that could make some noise in the conference this season, Casey at power forward and Favour at center. The duo definitely bring some length and versatility to the Hurricanes roster that made a tournament run last season all the way to the elite eight led by Kameron McGusty who graduated last season.
Florida State’s under-the-radar duo is also a similar combination of power forward and center with freshmen Cameron Corhen and De’Ante Green. Green is the lowest ranked prospect on the list ranked at 168 nationally according to On3’s 2022 Consensus Top Basketball Recruits of 2022, and hopefully that chip on his shoulder can help shake the Seminoles from their 10-10 finish in conference play last season.
Leon Bond on the other hand is the highest ranked recruit on the list, and the Cavaliers are hoping that his skillset can help lead them back to their championship glory they saw just a few seasons ago in 2019.