Andy Katz Names Best Player in College Basketball Before NCAA Tournament

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Max Escarpio | Last updated Mar 19, 2025 7:33 PM ET

The NCAA Tournament is quickly approaching, following the formation of the official March Madness bracket.

Before the tournament takes place, college basketball analyst Andy Katz unveiled his top 10 player rankings.

From the No. 2 player to the No. 10 player, Katz listed Johni Broome, Derik Queen, JT Toppin, Mark Sears, Walter Clayton Jr., PJ Haggerty, Donovan Dent, Chucky Hepburn and Nique Clifford.

As Katz gave credit to this bunch, he also named Duke Blue Devils freshman Cooper Flagg as the No. 1 player in college basketball.

Andy Katz ranks the top players appearing in #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/Aqe4njYvrv
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2025

So far this season, Flagg has led the Blue Devils in average points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks, being the only freshman in the ACC to do so.

Flag has averaged 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks per game.

The star freshman was recently named a consensus First-Team All-American, having been listed as such by Sporting News, the Associated Press, NABC and the USBWA.

Flagg was recently sidelined, having suffered an ankle injury against Georgia Tech during the ACC Tournament, but there's been hopeful signs at a return for the Duke freshman.

He missed Duke's final two games in the ACC Tournament against UNC and Louisville.

The Blue Devils capped off the season with a 31-3 record and a 19-1 mark in ACC play.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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