The 2020-21 college basketball season tips off on Wednesday (November 25), but many are refraining from getting their hopes up because of COVID. As of now, at least 19 first-day games have either been canceled or postponed, and it’s difficult to imagine the situation improving anytime soon. International basketball has been plagued by COVID postponements and cancellations, and some wonder if many overseas leagues will be able to finish their seasons. The same could apply to the NCAA Championship — there is a real chance that March Madness may not happen for the second consecutive year.
I have my fingers crossed that the season will be salvaged; however, given that we’re counting on the NCAA and the various conferences to manage this situation, I have serious doubts. Unlike the NBA, college basketball has no clear leadership, and even if it did, you can’t round up 350 Division I teams and put them in a “bubble” for four or five months. The current “plan” seems to be failing, and on some level, you have to question the decision-making up to this point, especially given that those in power had nearly nine months to come up with a viable solution.
Hoping for the best, let’s take a look at my rankings of the top teams (40) in the country. For each squad, I have included the top returning players and the top newcomers. For the players who are ranked on the Hoops Prospects 2020-21 Draft Board, their ranking is in parentheses following their position. Also, a player with an asterisk means that person could miss all or part of the season due to transfer rules or injury.
You also may want to check out HP’s Team Rankings, which are based on the overall pro potential on each squad.
| Rank | Team | Top Returning Players | Top Newcomers |
| 1 | Gonzaga | Joel Ayayi (PG, 24) | Jalen Suggs (SG, 11) |
| Corey Kispert (W, 44) | Andrew Nembhard (PG, 140) * | ||
| Drew Timme (PF, 93) | Julian Strawther (W) | ||
| Anton Watson (F, 104) | Oumar Ballo (C) | ||
| Dominick Harris (SG) | |||
| 2 | Duke | Matthew Hurt (F, 33) | Jalen Johnson (PF, 12) |
| Wendell Moore (SF, 49) | D.J. Steward (PG, 42) | ||
| Joey Baker (SF, 188) | Jeremy Roach (PG, 53) | ||
| Mark Williams (C, 98) | |||
| Jaemyn Brakefield (F, 105) | |||
| Henry Coleman (SF) | |||
| 3 | Kansas | Ochai Agbaji (W, 47) | Bryce Thompson (SG, 38) |
| Marcus Garrett (CG, 68) | Jalen Wilson (SF) | ||
| Christian Braun (W, 185) | Tyon Grant-Foster (F) | ||
| David McCormack (C) | |||
| Tristan Enaruna (SF) | |||
| 4 | Villanova | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (PF, 36) | Eric Dixon (PF) |
| Collin Gillespie (PG, 114) | |||
| Justin Moore (CG, 122) | |||
| Bryan Antoine (SG, 163) * | |||
| Jermaine Samuels (F) | |||
| Cole Swider (SF) | |||
| Brandon Slater (SF) | |||
| 5 | Kentucky | Keion Brooks (SF, 164) | B.J. Boston (W, 6) |
| Terrence Clarke (W, 9) | |||
| Isaiah Jackson (PF, 43) | |||
| Devin Askew (CG, 58) | |||
| Olivier Sarr (C, 79) | |||
| Lance Ware (F, 155) | |||
| Cam’Ron Fletcher (SF) | |||
| 6 | Baylor | Jared Butler (PG, 17) | Dain Dainja (C) |
| MaCio Teague (SG, 134) | L.J. Cryer (PG) | ||
| Davion Mitchell (PG, 153) | |||
| Matthew Mayer (SF, 174) | |||
| Mark Vital (PF) | |||
| 7 | Tennessee | Yves Pons (F, 61) | Jaden Springer (SG, 18) |
| Josiah James (CG, 91) | Keon Johnson (CG, 23) | ||
| John Fulkerson (PF) | Victor Bailey (SG) | ||
| Santiago Vescovi (PG) | Corey Walker (F) | ||
| 8 | Michigan State |
Aaron Henry (SF, 27) | Mady Sissoko (F, 137) |
| Marcus Bingham (C, 113) | Joey Hauser (PF) | ||
| Rocket Watts (CG, 162) | |||
| Josh Langford (SG) | |||
| Gabe Brown (SF) | |||
| Malik Hall (SF) | |||
| 9 | North Carolina |
Armando Bacot (PF, 82) | Caleb Love (SG, 16) |
| Garrison Brooks (C, 141) | Day’Ron Sharpe (C, 51) | ||
| Leaky Black (W) | Walker Kessler (C, 87) | ||
| R.J. Davis (PG) | |||
| Puff Johnson (SF) | |||
| 10 | Virginia | Jay Huff (C, 116) | Sam Hauser (F, 67) |
| Kihei Clark (PG) | Jabri Abdur-Rahim (SF, 136) | ||
| Casey Morsell (SG) | Reece Beekman (PG) | ||
| Kadin Shedrick (C) | |||
| 11 | Texas Tech |
Terrence Shannon (W, 28) | Nimari Burnett (SG, 102) |
| Kyler Edwards (SG) | Mac McClung (CG, 131) | ||
| Jamarius Burton (CG, 190) | |||
| Micah Peavy (SF) | |||
| Joel Ntambwe (PF) | |||
| 12 | Illinois | Ayo Dosunmu (CG, 25) | Adam Miller (PG, 101) |
| Kofi Cockburn (C, 57) | Andre Curbelo (PG) | ||
| Trent Frazier (CG) | |||
| Giorgi Bezhanishvili (PF) | |||
| 13 | West Virginia |
Oscar Tshiebwe (PF, 22) | Isaiah Cottrell (PF) |
| Miles McBride (PG, 52) | Kedrian Johnson (PG) | ||
| Derek Culver (C, 197) | |||
| Emmitt Matthews (SF) | |||
| 14 | Texas | Kai Jones (PF, 107) | Greg Brown (F, 10) |
| Courtney Ramey (CG) | |||
| Andrew Jones (SG) | |||
| Jericho Sims (C) | |||
| Matt Coleman (PG) | |||
| Will Baker (C) | |||
| Donovan Williams (W) | |||
| Gerald Liddell (SF) | |||
| 15 | Oregon | Will Richardson (CG, 69) | L.J. Figueroa (SF, 150) * |
| Chris Duarte (SG, 77) | Jalen Terry (PG) | ||
| N’Faly Dante (C, 108) | |||
| Chandler Lawson (PF) | |||
| 16 | Florida | Scottie Lewis (SF, 20) | Samson Ruzhentsev (W) |
| Keyontae Johnson (SF, 26) | Colin Castleton (PF) | ||
| Tre Mann (CG, 125) | |||
| Omar Payne (PF) | |||
| Noah Locke (SG) | |||
| 17 | LSU | Trendon Watford (F, 63) | Cam Thomas (CG, 41) |
| Darius Days (SF, 103) | Joshua LeBlanc (SF, 187) * | ||
| Ja’vonte Smart (CG, 157) | Mwani Wilkinson (F) | ||
| Shareef O’Neal (PF) | |||
| 18 | Alabama | John Petty (SG, 30) | Josh Primo (W, 147) |
| Herb Jones (SF, 99) | Jordan Bruner (PF, 172) | ||
| Jaden Shackelford (PG) | Jahvon Quinerly (PG) | ||
| 19 | Arizona State |
Remy Martin (PG, 100) | Josh Christopher (SG, 15) |
| Alonzo Verge (CG) | Marcus Bagley (F, 81) | ||
| Taeshon Cherry (SF) | Luther Muhammad (W) * | ||
| Pavlo Dziuba (PF) | |||
| 20 | Iowa | Luka Garza (C, 59) | Patrick McCaffery (SF) |
| Joe Wieskamp (SF, 65) | |||
| C.J. Fredrick (SG, 189) | |||
| Jordan Bohannon (CG) | |||
| Connor McCaffery (W) | |||
| 21 | Michigan | Franz Wagner (SF, 46) | Hunter Dickinson (C, 156) |
| Isaiah Livers (F, 78) | Chaundee Brown (W) | ||
| Brandon Johns Jr. (PF) | Zeb Jackson (CG) | ||
| 22 | Memphis | Boogie Ellis (CG, 182) | Moussa Cisse (PF, 14) |
| D.J. Jeffries (SF) | Landers Nolley (SF, 83) | ||
| Lester Quinones (SG) | DeAndre Williams (F) | ||
| Alex Lomax (PG) | |||
| 23 | Florida State |
Balsa Koprivica (C) | Scottie Barnes (F, 8) |
| M.J. Walker (W) | SarDaar Calhoun (SG) | ||
| Malik Osborne (PF) | |||
| Anthony Polite (W) | |||
| 24 | Wisconsin | Nate Reuvers (C, 196) | Ben Carlson (PF) |
| D’Mitrik Trice (PG) | |||
| Brad Davison (SG) | |||
| Micah Potter (PF) | |||
| Aleem Ford (F) | |||
| 25 | UCLA | Chris Smith (F, 73) | Johnny Juzang (W) |
| Jalen Hill (PF) | |||
| Jaime Jaquez (F) | |||
| Tyger Campbell (PG) | |||
| David Singleton (CG) | |||
| 26 | Houston | Quentin Grimes (SG, 120) | Tramon Mark (SG) |
| Caleb Mills (SG) | |||
| Marcus Sasser (CG) | |||
| Dejon Jarreau (CG) | |||
| J’wan Roberts (F) | |||
| 27 | Louisville | David Johnson (CG, 37) | Carlik Jones (PG, 170) |
| Sam Williamson (SF, 94) | |||
| Malik Williams (C, 199) | |||
| Aidan Igiehon (C) | |||
| 28 | Stanford | Oscar Da Silva (PF, 97) | Ziaire Williams (F, 7) |
| Spencer Jones (SF, 178) | Michael O’Connell (PG) | ||
| Daejon Davis (CG) | |||
| 29 | Indiana | Trayce Jackson-Davis (PF, 34) | Khristian Lander (PG, 183) |
| Race Thompson (F) | |||
| A.J. Durham (CG) | |||
| Jerome Hunter (SF) | |||
| 30 | Oklahoma State |
Isaac Likekele (PG, 76) | Cade Cunningham (SF, 1) |
| Kalib Boone (PF) | Rondel Walker (CG) | ||
| Matt Alexander-Moncrieffe (F) | |||
| 31 | Ole Miss |
K.J. Buffen (F, 128) | Matthew Murrell (SG, 160) |
| Devontae Shuler (SG, 195) | Romello White (PF) | ||
| Dimencio Vaughn (W) | |||
| 32 | Marquette | Jamal Cain (SF) | D.J. Carton (CG, 54) |
| Theo John (C) | Dawson Garcia (PF, 90) | ||
| Justin Lewis (F) | |||
| 33 | Creighton | Marcus Zegarowski (PG, 75) | |
| Mitchell Ballock (SG, 191) | |||
| Damien Jefferson (W) | |||
| Christian Bishop (F) | |||
| 34 | Connecticut | James Bouknight (SG, 48) | Andre Jackson (W) |
| Akok Akok (F) | Adama Sanogo (PF) | ||
| R.J. Cole (PG) | |||
| 35 | Ohio State |
E.J. Liddell (PF, 96) | Seth Towns (SF) |
| C.J. Walker (PG) | Meechie Johnson (PG) * | ||
| Kyle Young (PF) | Justice Sueing (W) | ||
| 36 | Maryland | Aaron Wiggins (SF, 144) | Jairus Hamilton (F) |
| Eric Ayala (CG) | |||
| Darryl Morsell (W) | |||
| Chol Marial (C) | |||
| 37 | Providence | David Duke (PG, 88) | Brycen Goodine (SG) |
| A.J. Reeves (SG) | |||
| Nate Watson (C) | |||
| Greg Gantt (SF) | |||
| 38 | Seton Hall |
Sandro Mamukelashvili (PF, 138) | Bryce Aiken (PG) |
| Jared Rhoden (W, 168) | |||
| Tyrese Samuel (PF) | |||
| Myles Cale (W) | |||
| 39 | Arizona | Jemarl Baker (CG) | James Akinjo (PG, 119) |
| Azuolas Tubelis (PF, 121) | |||
| Dalen Terry (CG) | |||
| Jordan Brown (PF) | |||
| Bennedict Mathurin (W) | |||
| Kerr Kriisa (PG) | |||
| Daniel Batcho (PF) * | |||
| 40 | Rutgers | Ron Harper Jr. (SF, 64) | Cliff Omoruyi (C) |
| Geo Baker (CG) | |||
| Myles Johnson (C) | |||
