College basketball is here. After a long offseason full of interesting storylines and dealing with the transfer portal, the 2022-23 season is here. And wow is there a lot of returning stars and incoming talent.
With the implementation of NIL, it is allowing college basketball stars, who don’t have a clear path to the NBA stay and earn money playing on the big stage in college.
With that being said, it is time to detail some of these returning players and incoming talent. All-America teams are fun, but sometimes hard to predict. This season, however, it is pretty clear-cut who some of the best players in the country are going to be. Here are The Game Haus’ college basketball preseason All-America teams.
First Team
Marcus Sasser | Houston | G | Sr.
After dealing with an injury for parts of last season, Sasser returns fully healthy for this year. His No. 3 Cougars are talented and mean defensively. They are ready to make a second Final Four in three tournaments. Sasser is electric and scores with ease, and will be the leader of this Houston team. He will be the best guard in the country and will be one of the best two-way players as well.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. | UCLA | G/F | Sr.
UCLA brings in freshmen talent and returns nice core pieces from last years team in Tiger Campbell and Jaquez. Jaquez is arguably the best wing in the country, who averaged 13.9 points and 5.7 rebounds a game last season. He will likely improve those numbers as his role will grow for the Bruins after the departure of Jonny Juzang. Like Houston, UCLA is looking to keep its high status and also make its second Final Four in three tournaments. While he’ll have help, Jaquez’s production will be integral to the Bruins’ success.
Drew Timme | Gonzaga | F | Sr.
What left is there to say about this guy? Timme is one of the best and most consistent college basketball players the sport has seen in recent years. He’s the preseason player of the year in some eyes, and will likely be in the race come March. Timme’s production was reduced a season ago due to sharing the frontcourt with Chet Holmgren, but Timme is alone down there now and will have one the best stat lines in the country game after game.
Armando Bacot | North Carolina | F/C | Sr.
One of two double-double machines in the First Team, Bacot returns to Chapel Hill looking for revenge. He led his team to beating Duke twice in Coach K’s final season, including in the Final Four, but lost to Kansas in the championship game. The question is, can Hubert Davis coach his team to the Final Four again after getting the No. 1 rank in the AP Top 25? That answer will depend on Bacot crushing it once again.
Oscar Tshiebwe | Kentucky | C | Sr.
The second of our double-double machines, Tshiebwe won every NPOY award, and record it seemed like, like season and becomes the first player since Tyler Hansbrough to return to college after winning NPOY. He averaged 17.4 points and 15.1 rebounds on over 60% shooting, and it’s possible he could improve those numbers. If Tshiebwe wins NPOY again, he’d be the first since Ralph Sampson in the early ’80s to win NPOY in back-to-back seasons.
Second Team
Mike Miles Jr. | TCU | G | Jr.
Miles returns to a TCU team who won a game in the NCAA tournament and returns all important pieces. He is the leading returning scorer in the Big 12, averaging 15.4 points a game last season, and will try to lead this team to a potential Big 12 title and high seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
Kendric Davis | Memphis | G | Sr.
Do you like watching someone who scores the basketball a lot? You should become a Memphis fan this season, as Penny Hardaway picked up Davis from SMU. Davis averaged 19.4 points a game last season and won AAC player of the year. While Sasser is likely to win it this season, Davis will certainly have a shot.
Caleb Love | North Carolina | G | Jr.
As the second Tar Heel on this list, Love heads into his junior season with a defined role on this UNC team. Once Davis switched roles mid-season for Love and fellow guard RJ Davis, Love shined in his off-ball scoring role. Now he gets to have a full season with it, and hopes to improve his 15.7 points a game last season.
Trayce Jackson-Davis | Indiana | F | Sr.
Indiana is the favorite in the Big Ten heading into the season because of returning pieces including preseason Big Ten POY, Jackson-Davis. He averaged a stellar stat line of 18.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.3 blocks, and scoring at 58.9% from the field. Jackson-Davis will be a force down low, as Indiana looks to make its first back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances since 2015 and 2016.
Hunter Dickinson | Michigan | C | Jr.
Dickinson is one of the most talented bigs in the country, scoring and rebounding with ease, as he’s the leading Big Ten returner in both categories. Michigan had an underwhelming season last year, but hopes to improve this year with the return of Dickinson. While Jackson-Davis is preseason Big Ten POY, Dickinson will likely be challenging it come March.
Third Team
Adam Flagler | Baylor | G | Sr.
Flagler will be one of three in arguably the most talented backcourt in the country at Baylor. He’ll be joined by returner LJ Cryer, and incoming freshman Keynote George. Flagler averaged 13.8 points on excellent shooting numbers last season. He will be the leader of this Baylor team as they push for a second national title in three seasons.
Nick Smith | Arkansas | G | Fr.
Arkansas loses a lot from last year’s Elite Eight team, but gains a lot in freshmen talent, led by a top-three recruit in Smith. Scoring, confidence and drive is what this kid is all about. He is one of the most pure talented players heading into the season and currently holds top-five pick status in the 2023 NBA Draft.
Jalen Wilson | Kansas | F | Jr.
Wilson is talented, can shoot and has tremendous size and is the leading returning scorer for Bill Self’s Jayhawks. Kansas is currently a top five team in the AP Top 25, and if they are going to keep that status and potentially win another Big 12 title, Wilson is going to need to have a great season.
Jayden Gardner | Virginia | F | Sr.
Virginia had a down year a season ago, but got a lot of praise during the off-season, and are currently ranked No. 18 in the AP Top 25. Gardner was the leading scorer last year for the Cavaliers and has a career average 17.4 points per game. If he can get up to his average, and Virginia makes a push for an ACC title, Gardner has a chance to be an All-American.
Zach Edey | Purdue | C | Jr.
The last member is the 7’4 Boilermaker giant Edey. He averaged 14.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, and 65% from the field last season. Purdue is going for it’s eighth straight NCAA Tournament appearance with Edey as the main guy this season. With the departure of Trevion Williams, Edey will get more time and room in the paint to score and rebound.
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