Candid Coaches: Who will be college basketball’s best player for the 2024-25 season?

CBS Sports college basketball insiders Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander surveyed100-plus Division I men’s basketball coaches for our annual Candid Coaches series. They polled across the sport’s landscape: some of the biggest names in college hoops, but also small-school assistants in low-major leagues. Coaches agreed to share unfiltered opinions in exchange for anonymity. We asked 10 questions and will post the results over a three-week span. Today is Question No. 2.

There are three questions we ask pretty much every year in this series, because every year there is a lot of interest in these three particular topics. 

Who’s going to be the best team? 

Who’s going to be the best player?

Who was the best coaching hire in this cycle?

That first question was also the first one we published this time around; you can head over here to see the results. The third Q will be revealed on Friday; the voting for that was really interesting in what was the most loaded year for coaching turnover we’ve ever seen. 

Today, we’re unveiling the answers to Question 2. Though a lot of these coaches aren’t exactly concerning themselves with other teams and players in the thick of the offseason, many of them obviously love the sport and are dialed in enough to have an opinion on who they believe will be the best in the game. And we’re happy to return to this question after two years. We opted against it last year, because Zach Edey would’ve been the runaway winner. So, let’s get right to the evidence, shall we?

Who will be college hoops’ best player in 2024-25?

Other players who received multiple votes: Johni Broome (Auburn), Ryan Kalkbrenner (Creighton); six others received one vote.

Quotes that stood out

On Flagg

• “Has it all. Size, athleticism, competitive spirit, toughness and is surrounded by older guys.”
• “Cooper Flagg will ultimately be the best player in college basketball next season. He has all the ability and I think his confidence level is super high coming in. Playing against the USA team this summer and not backing down to those guys will give him an extra edge from the start. If I had to place a wager on the player of the year, I would actually go with Hunter Dickinson, but I think Flagg will be the best player and the guy that half of the NBA is trying to tank for next year.”
• “I’m on board the Cooper Flagg hype train. He’s gonna have the ball in his hands, he’s gonna have a very long leash and most importantly, he’s gonna have the nation’s attention on every move. The campaign is going to be loud.”
• “Just think he’s a generational talent, and he’s surrounded with really good players who will enhance him. Love the team that Jon Scheyer put together.”

On Sears

• “Just so good in their system. Hell to pay in those ball screens and go screens. Good shooter. His scoring is so good and he gets those guys involved. Has a poker face night in, night out. That dude’s a stud.”  
• “Experienced, complete lead guard who will be in Alabama’s system for a third year while coming off an All-American season. Shoots it, scores it and creates for his teammates. The pace he plays with and constant pressure he applies every possession is unmatched at the college level.” 
• “He is not only incredibly productive but also extremely efficient, which is very rare for a guard with his level of usage. With the way Alabama plays offense, I don’t see his numbers declining in any way.”

On Dickinson

• “Feel like he’s coming off a subpar year with something to prove and in a great system for his game.”
• “If I was starting a team, I’d start with Dickinson because he’s going to get you 18 and 10 per night.”
• “After being with Bill (Self) and Bill being with him, I think his skill level is off the chart. I think they’re going to go real old school and I think they’re going to play through the low post. We just watched Purdue make the final game playing through the low post. Bill will make that adjustment and [Dickinson’s] touches will go through the roof. If he has those touches and health … let’s call it what it is: He’s a 24-year-old guy playing college basketball.”

On Davis

• “He could have a Kemba Walker 2010-11 type year at UNC this year. Nation’s second-leading scorer, consensus First Team All-American, national champion, Most Outstanding Player are all on the table for RJ Davis this season.”
• “Dynamic. Ton of tourney experience. Great system for him to excel.”
• “He’s a bucket and that team is going to need him to score. He can play off the ball or with the ball in his hands. His ability to shoot is what makes him special. He’s a ball-screen nightmare … he’s starting to finish around the rim and is a good free throw shooter.”

The takeaway

Kevin Durant. Anthony Davis. Zion Williamson.

That’s the list.

Those are the only freshmen to win national player of the year. Will Cooper Flagg join the club? If the plurality of coaches who voted for him wind up being correct, he will. (Keep in mind, despite being amazing high school prospects, Durant, Davis and Williamson weren’t predicted to be college basketball’s best player when they began their freshman seasons.) 

Flagg’s reputation was well-established prior to this offseason, but it was his scrimmages with the men’s national team in June in Las Vegas that gave him another Q-rating boost. The comfortable favorite to go No. 1 in next June’s draft, Flagg will have rare pressure on him as a freshman — a big statement for any first-year player. But he is considered a once-in-a-generation-type prospect. 

Whether he meets that hype as a college player remains to be seen. At Duke, he’s going to have a lot of good and/or great teammates. He might not even lead his team in scoring. His defensive prowess is why he’s a valid choice to be the best player in college hoops next year. I suspected Flagg would win this poll, but didn’t think the margin would be 14 points. It’s far from a lock that he winds up as the best player in the hoops. Especially when you consider this is the last COVID year; Dickinson, Davis and Sears are all taking advantage of a fifth year of eligibility that otherwise would not be afforded to them. 

Is a soon-to-be 18-year-old going to beat out a bunch of guys who are 23, with a ton of experience, likely playing on Final Four contenders? Sears is a worthy pick at No. 2. He’ll play lead guard, and after averaging 21.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists on a Bama team that reached the Final Four, he’s likely to repeat those stats in his last year of college. Alabama might even be the preseason No. 1 pick come October. A few coaches who picked Flagg told me they had Sears as their second choice. He’s got a sweet chance to become the nation’s best guard. 

Unless that’s RJ Davis.

Davis is the only returning First Team All-American to college hoops. He was probably the third most valuable player in the sport last season to Edey and Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht. He’s bound to fill up the boxscore. Davis might even flirt with Tyler Hansbrough’s scoring record at North Carolina. The Tar Heels will need Davis to be a high-efficiency player to vie for an ACC title. 

As for Dickinson, who barely beat Davis for third, he’ll be the offensive centerpiece on a Kansas team that Parrish ranks No. 1 heading into the season. His defense is mediocre at best, but he’s the best hub-of-the-wheel offensive option in college hoops. Some coaches who voted for him did so with the belief he’s going to put up absurd offensive numbers on a team that gets a top seed. Reasonable pick. Can he average 22 and 12? 

A nod to Auburn’s Johni Broome and Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner, the only other two players to receive multiple votes. Broome is a dark horse NPOY pick, while Kalkbrenner will aim to be the nation’s best defensive big.

Big picture, here’s the great news for college hoops: We have the most hyped freshman since Zion coming in along with — at minimum — three other highly recognizable veterans. The familiarity entry point for so-called casual fans will be as good this year as it’s been in any in a half-decade or more. Blue-blood teams ranked near the top, Final Four schools from last season still viable nationally, and a handful of star players on squads that should occupy the top 10 of the rankings. 

Maybe Flagg becomes a supernova and is the most famous college player since Zion. Maybe he’s a pretty good freshman, but seniors wind up being the best players in this final year of COVID eligibility. And then there’s the very real possibility that someone who didn’t receive multiple votes also winds up in the thick of the NPOY chase. 

Looking ahead, I can’t shake the feeling that college basketball is set up for its best race for national player of the year in almost a decade.