Hoosier State of Mind
Fansided

Indiana basketball: Ranking the top 15 team frontcourts for 2022-23

By Connor O’Keefe

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - FEBRUARY 27: Trayce Jackson-Davis #23 celebrates a play on court with Race Thompson #25 of the Indiana Hoosiers against the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the first half of the game at Williams Arena on February 27, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Hoosiers defeated the Golden Gophers 84-79. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - FEBRUARY 27: Trayce Jackson-Davis #23 celebrates a play on court with Race Thompson #25 of the Indiana Hoosiers against the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the first half of the game at Williams Arena on February 27, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Hoosiers defeated the Golden Gophers 84-79. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
6 of 15
Next
Indiana basketball
NEWARK, NJ – JANUARY 01: Eric Dixon #43 and Brandon Slater #3 of the Villanova Wildcats box out Tray Jackson #2 of the Seton Hall Pirates during a game at Prudential Center on January 1, 2022 in Newark, New Jersey. Villanova defeated Seton Hall 73-67. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

10. team. 479. . . . Wildcats

Eric Dixon, 6’8″ 255lbs, Junior Forward
2021-22 Stats: 9.1 pts/g, 6.4 reb/g, 0.5 blk/g, 21.9 PER

Cam Whitmore, 6’6″ 200lbs, Freshman Forward
2022 5-star prospect: #14 ranked nationally, #5 ranked SF

Brandon Slater, 6’7″ 220lbs, Senior Forward
2021-22 Stats: 8.5 pts/g, 3.7 reb/g, 1.1 stl/g, 15.1 PER

Villanova, after its Final Four run in 2022, is losing Collin Gillespie and Jermaine Samuels, along with Hall of Fame coach, Jay Wright. Despite all of this loss, the Wildcats rebounded in a big way with upperclassmen, Eric Dixon and Brandon Slater returning to the frontcourt and adding one of the best incoming freshman in the country in Cam Whitmore.

Slater will take on a slightly larger role when it comes to scoring and shooting the ball, even though he made just 34 threes last season. Dixon will continue to take charge of the defense and lead the team alongside lead guard Caleb Daniels. The most intriguing factor for the Wildcats this upcoming season is Whitmore, a 5-star forward out of Maryland that can score at a high clip and seemingly doesn’t have many weaknesses to his game.

Comparing to the Indiana basketball frontcourt

The one downfall, and the reason the Hoosiers’ frontcourt has the upper-hand, is because of the offensive scoring abilities of TJD, Thompson, and Kopp, all put together. Yes, experience once again plays a role in ranking Indiana basketball’s frontcourt higher. But offense has become so important to college basketball that it outweighs the defensive abilities of Villanova’s frontcourt.

Home/Indiana Basketball