The NBA draft will forever be freshman and international-heavy towards the top of the draft. However, in recent memory, there have been numerous high profile college sophomores that have been drafted in the lottery. 

Look at the 2022 draft, where four sophomores were selected in the top ten, which comprised of Iowa PF Keegan Murray (#4 to the Kings), Purdue PG Jaden Ivey (#5 to the Pistons), Arizona SG Bennedict Mathurin (#6 to the Pacers), and Wisconsin SG Johnny Davis (#10 to the Wizards). With NIL allowing college players to make more money returning to school compared to a two-way deal with an NBA team, there has been a number of draftable players who opted to return to school. Here's a look at next year's college basketball “Super Sophomores” across the country. 

Duke SG Caleb Foster 

2023-2024 Season Stats: 7.7 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 2.1 APG, 43.7 FG, 40.6 3P%, 68.8 FT%

The Sherman Oaks, California native was the #19 ranked recruit in the country according to the 247 Sports Composite rankings, and earned a five-star rating to boot as well. Caleb had an up-and-down freshman season with the Blue Devils, but started 15 games and was starting to get into a consistent rhythm before a stress fracture in his ankle ended his season prematurely in February. His most notable performance this past year came against Michigan State in the Champions Classic, where he powered Duke to a 74-65 victory. He notched a season-high 18 points, going 7-8 from the field and 4-5 from the three-point line. With the Blue Devil roster undergoing massive turnover after an Elite Eight run last season, Caleb and Aussie guard Tyrese Proctor will be the only returning rotation players this upcoming season. Now, there's no reason to panic. Coach Jon Scheyer has an absolutely loaded recruiting class coming in, led by the number one recruit in the country, “The Maine Event,”, Cooper Flagg. 

Coming into his sophomore season, Foster should have increased opportunities in the Duke offense, and I expect his production to see a nice boost this year. Caleb was phenomenal last year as a catch-and-shoot deadeye, where a whopping 93% of his three pointers were assisted. He turned it up another level in big games also, shooting 60.9% from deep against opponents ranked in the top 50 of the NET rankings. He displays a smooth release and can get off any look he wants with a clean look. Caleb showed flashes at times of creation ability, where he could get downhill and get to a 15-foot pull-up mid-range look. However, it was, as I alluded to, “flashes”, not consistent production from that area of the court. 

Foster shot 36.7% on looks that were just 16.7% assisted, showing an immediate part of his game that can be improved upon. His ability on drives to the basket was a work in progress, shooting 55% at the rim, which ranked last on the Blue Devils (min. 40 attempts). Yet, Foster had moments in the season where he showed the ability to be an offense initiator, with an assist rate that ranked fourth on the Blue Devils, including above Jared McCain, a projected NBA lottery pick. I wouldn’t call Foster a liability by any means on defense, but he struggled to make a notable impact on that end of the floor, where his sub-200 pound frame served as a detriment when matched up against ACC veterans. 

Out of the Blue Devils rotation, Foster ranked last in team Defensive Efficiency when he was on the court, and towards the bottom of the team in DBPM (Defensive Box Plus-Minus)…but, these are all things that can be improved upon! Another year in the weight room, added responsibilities within the offense as a primary initiator, and increased comfortability in the Duke system are all coming together for an even better sophomore season for Caleb. Shooting is at a premium at the next level, and NBA scouts will be watching closely to see the progression of the lanky 6’5” sniper. 

Oregon PG Jackson Shelstad 

2023-2024 Season Stats: 12.8 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 2.8 APG, 45.0 FG%, 34.5 3P%, 85.7 FT%

Growing up in West Linn, Oregon, Shelstad drew comparisons almost from the jump from another Oregon Duck point guard who attended the same high school as Shelstad. Payton Pritchard was a much better passer coming out of high school then Shelstad, but Pritchard wasn’t making the same impact as a scorer as Jackson did his freshman season. 

A high-usage guard with a bag of tricks deeper than a magician, he showed his scoring prowess on numerous occasions, scoring 20+ points five times this past year. The freshman, in some instances, seemed to move at a different speed then everyone else on the court, with a stop and start ability that got him to his spots on the floor with ease. His mid-range pull-up game was his bread and butter, shooting 48.5% on 130 attempts from the floor. His threat of his dangerous mid-range game allowed him to fire away from three as well, hitting on 34.5% of his looks. 

Yet those percentages do not tell the full story, as from the start of the season until January 18th, Shelstad was hitting the three-ball at a 43.6% clip, which would have ranked first on the Ducks by a wide margin. Shelstad began to slump in the proceeding month, enduring many single-digit scoring performances in this stretch. I have full confidence that Shelstad’s shooting from deep will level out this next season with another year in coach Dana Altman’s offense and added chemistry with bigs Nate Bittle and Kwame Evans in the pick and roll game. 

Jackson’s assist rate of 16.1% suggests he has the ability to take another leap as a distributor within the Ducks offense, especially considering his season long progress in the turnover department. On December 17th, Shelstad’s turnover rate was clocked in at 19.5%, but flash forward to the end of the season and Shelstad had managed to whittle that number down to 14.3%. This linear progression gives me encouragement that as part of a sophomore leap, Jackson can adapt to be more of a true point guard rather than a scoring guard in the offense. 

On the defensive end, how should I put this, it’s not pretty. Shelstad registered a negative (that’s pretty difficult to accomplish) -0.3 DBPM. The advanced stats aren’t great, and neither is the tape. Particularly, he is late on closeouts and lacks the positional strength to match up with bigger guards on the other side of the ball. Shelstad will always be behind the eight ball when it comes to size on the court, but adding weight to his frame and amping up his activeness on the defensive side of the ball will pay off in the long run if Shelstad has aspirations to make it to the league. Like I said previously, there are not a lot of players in college basketball that play at a different speed then everyone else. His ability to create out of live dribble reads is something special, and Oregon should be excited for this next year and what Shelstad has in store. 

North Carolina PG Elliot Cadeau

2023-2024 Season Stats: 7.3 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 4.1 APG, 41.7 FG%, 18.9 3P%, 64.8 FT%

If Elliot Cadeau has a million fans, I am one of them. If Elliot Cadeau has 100 fans, I am one of them. If Elliot Cadeau has one fan, I am that fan. If Elliot Cadeau has zero fans, that means I am not on this Earth. This is just an understatement about my belief in the second year point guard from the basketball factory state known as New Jersey. Cadeau was so good on the AAU circuit with future Auburn point guard Tahaad Pettiford for New Heights Lightning that he elected to forgo his final year of high school and join the North Carolina Tar Heels this past season. It can be described as a learning experience for the should've-been high school senior turned college freshman last year. 

He ended up starting 31 games and didn’t miss a contest for the Tar Heels over the course of the season. It was a bit of a struggle at first as Cadeau really had to find his role for the team where there were a lot of mouths to feed in the offense such as RJ Davis, Armando Bacot, and Harrison Ingram. But as the season progressed, Elliot began to hunt for his shot more while also maintaining his great passing ability within the offense, where he ranked eighth in the ACC in assists. 

Elliot’s vision is his best trait, as he maintained an impressive 28.2% assist rate this past year. He consistently made great reads off the pick and roll, off the bounce and in transition to the point that it was just exciting for me to watch him pass rather than score. The guy is as unselfish as it gets. 

When it comes to putting the ball in the peach basket, Cadeau was at his best attacking the basket off the bounce, where he excelled at contorting his body through contact for tough finishes. Cadeau especially thrived in switches off of the pick and roll, where he could beat a mismatch off the dribble for an easy two. The aspect of his game where he struggled the most was easily his jumper, as it began to be a problem for UNC by tourney time when defenses were daring him to shoot. 

Cadeau did hit a couple of open threes when UNC played Alabama in the Sweet Sixteen, but 18.9% from three is not pretty for a lead guard. In all honesty I believe it to be more of a confidence issue for Cadeau rather than a mechanics problem. His jumper isn’t wonky by any means, and he had shot the ball well in AAU and international settings. In the 2022 EYBL circuit, Cadeau shot the three ball at a 36% clip, and during the U18 Euros where he represented Sweden, he shot 40.9% from deep as well. I am not saying Cadeau will develop into a sharpshooter overnight, but the track record is there for Cadeau to be a capable jump shooter in the offense. Cadeau’s ability to beat his man off the bounce, attack the basket, and orchestrate an offense lead me to believe he's due for a monster sophomore season. 

South Carolina PF Collin Murray Boyles

2023-2024 Season Stats: 10.4 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.8 APG, 59.7 FG%, 66.7 FT%

The Columbia native was unknown to the NBA draft community to start the year, being absent on draft boards entirely as a relatively unheralded four-star recruit. It would take until late December for Murray-Boyles to gain his stride due to a bout of mono to start the year, but once he did, he never looked back. 

By SEC play, he was inserted into the starting lineup and he started to feast. Between February 2 and the final game against Oregon in their first round tournament loss, Murray-Boyles averaged 14.5 PPG and 7.5 RPG as he emerged as a true number one option for a Gamecock offense that at times felt like watching paint dry on the court. Murray-Boyles’ draft stock increased with his stellar play over the course of SEC play, as he began to be talked about as a potential late first-round pick in a historically weak draft class. But fans across Columbia, South Carolina rejoiced when he announced he was returning for his sophomore season to lead the Gamecocks this upcoming season. 

Collin Murray-Boyles showed the ability to be an offensive hub as a big man throughout the course of the season, where he showcased his skill as an efficient finisher around the rim. He used a variety of up-fakes, nimble footwork and powering through contact on his way to a cool 67.6% in the restricted area. His strong 6’7” frame shocked me as a viewer. He was bullying defenders in the post as a true freshman! Just incredible stuff for such a young player. 

He also showed the ability to attack from the perimeter and draw contact to get to the line. His free throw rate of 43.9% was greater than both of the starting guards on the Gamecocks who earned SEC All-Conference recognition (Meechie Johnson and Ta’Lon Cooper). Murray-Boyles, as he drew more attention from SEC defenses, acted as an offensive initiator from the block and the perimeter off pick-and-roll feeds with more frequency. He consistently made good reads and posted an assist rate of 17.1% that ranked third on the Gamecocks. His impact on the Gamecocks’ season in general is incredible when you view his advanced stats, where he posted a team high in both box plus minus and offensive rating among rotational players (9.5/127.0). 

The analytics darling also made his impact on the glass where his 12% offensive rebound rate was first on South Carolina among rotational players. He boxes out like a pro and keeps the plays alive through second chance opportunities on controlled tips, or just hauling in the board over his man with ferocity. His defensive impact on the Gamecocks’ highly regarded defense was seismic also, registering a team high 3.8 defensive box plus-minus as a stone wall defender in the post. 

Murray-Boyles plays bigger than his listed size, and that makes him such an appealing long-term prospect for any NBA team. Does he have a three ball at this point in his career? No, but adding it to his repertoire will only shoot up his draft stock for the 2025 draft. With the departures of seniors B.J. Mack and Ta’Lon Cooper, along with the transfers of Meechie Johnson and Josh Gray, the responsibility on Collin Murray-Boyles will only increase tenfold. Yet, I think he is up for the challenge, and the super-soph is going to show out this year. 

Mississippi State G Josh Hubbard 

2023-2024 Season Stats: 17.1 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 1.7 APG, 38.5 FG%, 35.5 3P%, 85.3 FT%

Josh Hubbard is a guy who I liken to a Detroit Pistons player that was integral to the Bad Boy Pistons’ back to back championships in the late 80’s. Vinnie “The Microwave” Johnson had one role on those Pistons teams off the bench, and that was to score the rock. That is the same role Josh Hubbard played as the Mississippi State sixth man to start the season, and he was just like a microwave when entering the game. 

He can heat up at any moment's notice, and towards the final stretch of the season when he was inserted into the starting five, he went on an absolute tear. 32 points against LSU and 34 vs. Kentucky in back to back games, a 28 piece against a stingy South Carolina defense, and 24 against a Texas A&M team on the road. The guy knows how to score the rock. Keep in mind he started the year off the bench! 

The way I would describe Hubbard is a self-creating maestro, attacking off the bounce and hunting for looks. Josh loves to get into the mid range for a patented pull up jumper, where he knocked down 41.8% of his looks where an insanely low 7.3% of his makes were assisted on. The undersized scorer is a true three level threat, a label not for the weak of heart on the court.  

I never said Hubbard was the most efficient of scorers, as he was never afraid to get downhill, but shot an almost team low 43.8% at the rim. Even with his low efficiency at the rack, he racked up free throw attempts in bunches, knocking in 85.8% of his free throw attempts on just above four attempts a game. Hubbard was deadly in the two-man game with big man Tolu Smith, using a variety of ways to get great looks. Dribble handoffs, ball screen rejections, you name it and Hubbard used it.

Getting looks beyond the arc was Hubbard’s bread and butter at the end of day however, where he launched 176 shots on a 63.6% three point rate. Hubbard as his role as a scorer was prone at times to stretches of going hot and cold, and he would run into trouble during games where he tried to create too much. This was apparent in the tournament, where he went 6-18 from the floor and 3-11 from three in an eventual loss to Michigan State in the first round. Hubbard’s shot creation ability is what makes him so special as an undersized scorer, but it also is his kryptonite at times. For next season, I think an approach that John Calipari used with similarly dynamic scorer Rob Dillingham this past year would do wonders for Hubbard in improving his overall efficiency. 

Calipari stated about his star guard Rob Dillingham when asked about the leeway he gives him on the court, “I give him two a half, the third one you’re coming out, you’re not going nuts this isn’t the And1 tape.” 

He also says before that statement about Dillingham, “You’re coaching a kid that can create space and get a basket when he wants. Do you clip his wings? You can’t, you gotta let him go.”

Josh Hubbard is going to receive the full attention of SEC defenses next year with the departure of Tolu Smith, and his low turnover rate (9.4%) suggests that he can shoulder a greater role as a distributor while maintaining his volume of shooting. Striking a balance between the two is crucial for Hubbard to take that next leap. I will say, Hubbards diminutive size (5’10”) is a huge detractor for his pro prospects, but I have a belief that he can carve out a microwave role off the bench for any NBA team.

Notre Dame G Markus Burton

2023-2024 Season Stats: 17.5 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 4.3 APG, 42.1 FG%, 30.0 3P%, 82.1 FT%

During the opening rounds of the conference tournament season in college basketball, I was doing what any sane college kid who loves basketball would be doing in the middle of an Econ lecture. I had my laptop open, not with my Economics notes open, jotting down concepts about interest rates and capital depreciation, but with Youtube TV displaying a variety of the conference tournament games on my screen (Youtube TV is a life changer). One of the games I had open was a matchup between two bottom-of-the-conference ACC teams where the crowd had as much excitement as a funeral. 

But I soon began to be enthralled with the playmaking ability Notre Dame freshman Markus Burton displayed as he led the Fighting Irish to an opening round 84-80 victory against Georgia Tech in the ACC tournament. The little guard with the big ticker wasn’t someone who I had on my radar much over the course of the college basketball season, with Notre Dame struggling in the ACC with an inexperienced roster under first year head coach Micah Shrewsberry. Well, Burton is squarely on my radar for this next year, and so are the Fighting Irish. Burton was a revelation as a true freshman from nearby Mishawaka, Indiana, earning Freshman of the Year honors in the ACC in a season where he led Notre Dame in points, assists, and steals. 

The thing that stood out to me the most while watching Burton’s tape of this past season was his great quickness on both sides of the ball. He used this to great effect to generate shots in the half court through isolation and in ball screens. His easy dribble penetration into the teeth of the defense was on display time and time again, and it generated offense for Notre Dame when it was tough to get contributions from his surrounding cast. 

Burton showed innate craftiness around the rim, finishing over big men that had up to a foot on him in height, and a willingness to finish through heavy contact. This opened up looks for shooters across the court, where Burton was willing to dish it out on his way to a 35% assist rate. Markus also showed his quickness off as a great off-ball defender, disrupting the passing lanes with active hands, and pouncing on unaware drivers in the gaps. Posting a team high in defensive box plus-minus (2.2)! He showcased a two-way skillset that is rare for a player his age. 

If Burton gets a steal, he is making a beeline to the basket, where he loves to get out in transition on the break. Burton’s usage was incredibly high for a freshman (33.6), and that showed up in his efficiency numbers. His effective field goal rate and three point percentage (46.3/30.0), were both below average. But when you consider how much of a load he had to shoulder in the Notre Dame offense, you begin to get a clearer picture.

Burton had to self-create like another player on this list previously mentioned (The Microwave), but I think his lack of efficiency off the dribble shooting (28th percentile), is an aspect of his game that will improve with a more experienced roster around him. Burton is an all around point guard that can put pressure on all three levels, and returning to school after testing the draft waters will give him another year to showcase his improvements in the aforementioned parts of his game. Markus Burton is an electric player to watch, and South Bend, Indiana should be lining up to watch this guy play.