The Basketball Hall of Fame unveiled its positional award watch lists this week, which gathers each of the top 20 players nationally at their respective positions.
Because we can’t get enough college basketball season preview coverage, we decided to take things a step further.
Four writers from our Heat Check CBB staff participated in a 10-round snake draft based on the player pool generated from the preseason watch lists. The goal was to create the best team possible, and the only rule is that each writer had to have at least one player from each position.
Here are the draft results:
| ROUND | Brian Rauf | Connor Hope | Eli Boettger | Andy Dieckhoff |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State (PG) | Marcus Zegarowski, Creighton (PG) | Luka Garza, Iowa (C) | Ayo Dosunmu, Illinois (PG) |
| 2 | Kofi Cockburn, Illinois (C) | Marcus Garrett, Kansas (PG) | Jared Butler, Baylor (PG) | Jay Huff, Virginia (C) |
| 3 | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Villanova (PF) | Oscar Tshiebwe, West Virginia (PF) | Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana (PF) | Brandon Boston Jr., Kentucky (SF) |
| 4 | Jalen Suggs, Gonzaga (PG) | Joel Ayayi, Gonzaga (SG) | Corey Kispert, Gonzaga (SF) | Terry Taylor, Austin Peay (SG) |
| 5 | DJ Steward, Duke (SG) | Evan Mobley, USC (C) | Cameron Krutwig, Loyola Chicago (C) | Oscar da Silva, Stanford (PF) |
| 6 | Sandro Mamukelashvili, Seton Hall (PF) | Drew Timme, Gonzaga (PF) | Jalen Crutcher, Dayton (PG) | Antoine Davis, Detroit Mercy (SG) |
| 7 | Sam Hauser, Virginia (SF) | Collin Gillespie, Villanova (PG) | Scottie Barnes, Florida State (PG) | Derek Culver, West Virginia (C) |
| 8 | Jermaine Samuels, Villanova (SF) | James Bouknight, Connecticut (SG) | Garrison Brooks, North Carolina (PF) | Derrick Alston Jr., Boise State (SF) |
| 9 | Remy Martin, Arizona State (PG) | Jayden Gardner, East Carolina (SF) | Caleb Mills, Houston (SG) | McKinley Wright IV, Colorado (PG) |
| 10 | MaCio Teague, Baylor (SG) | Keyontae Johnson, Florida (SF) | John Petty Jr., Alabama (SG) | Trendon Watford, LSU (PF) |
Which one of our experts drafted the strongest team? Let us know in the Twitter poll right here:
Here is the full selection order:
- Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State (PG)
- Marcus Zegarowski, Creighton (PG)
- Luka Garza, Iowa (C)
- Ayo Dosunmu, Illinois (PG)
- Jay Huff, Virginia (C)
- Jared Butler, Baylor (PG)
- Marcus Garrett, Kansas (PG)
- Kofi Cockburn, Illinois (C)
- Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Villanova (PF)
- Oscar Tshiebwe, West Virginia (PF)
- Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana (PF)
- Brandon Boston Jr., Kentucky (SF)
- Terry Taylor, Austin Peay (SG)
- Corey Kispert, Gonzaga (SF)
- Joel Ayayi, Gonzaga (SG)
- Jalen Suggs, Gonzaga (PG)
- DJ Steward, Duke (SG)
- Evan Mobley, USC (C)
- Cameron Krutwig, Loyola Chicago (C)
- Oscar da Silva, Stanford (PF)
- Antoine Davis, Detroit Mercy (SG)
- Jalen Crutcher, Dayton (PG)
- Drew Timme, Gonzaga (PF)
- Sandro Mamukelashvili, Seton Hall (PF)
- Sam Hauser, Virginia (SF)
- Collin Gillespie, Villanova (PG)
- Scottie Barnes, Florida State (PG)
- Derek Culver, West Virginia (C)
- Derrick Alston Jr., Boise State (SF)
- Garrison Brooks, North Carolina (PF)
- James Bouknight, Connecticut (SG)
- Jermaine Samuels, Villanova (SF)
- Remy Martin, Arizona State (PG)
- Jayden Gardner, East Carolina (SF)
- Caleb Mills, Houston (SG)
- McKinley Wright IV, Colorado (PG)
- Trendon Watford, LSU (PF)
- John Petty Jr., Alabama (SG)
- Keyontae Johnson, Florida (SF)
- MaCio Teague, Baylor (SG)
Eli Boettger is a college basketball writer and founder of HeatCheckCBB.com. He has previously worked for Sporting News, DAZN and USA TODAY SMG.
Boettger’s content has been featured by Bleacher Report, NBC Sports, FiveThirtyEight, Yahoo Sports, Athletic Director University, Washington Post, Illinois Law Review and Notre Dame Law Review, among other publications. Boettger is also a current USBWA member and Rockin’ 25 voter.