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Veteran NCAA basketball analysts Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander took turns assembling their best starting 5 for the 2024-25 men’s college basketball season in college basketball’s starting 5 fantasy for the 2025-26 season.
Parrish kicked things off with the first overall pick and unveiled a roster filled with seasoned stars and high-potential freshmen.
Gary Parrish’s best starting 5
Leading Parrish’s picks was Texas Tech forward JT Toppin, who enjoyed a breakout sophomore campaign. The Dallas native averaged 18.2 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game while recording 19 double-doubles, one in each of Texas Tech’s four NCAA Tournament games. His efforts earned him the Big 12 Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year awards.
Parrish’s next two picks spotlighted incoming freshmen Cameron Boozer and Darryn Peterson. Boozer, a five-star recruit, is set to play for Duke and enters with high expectations alongside his twin brother. Peterson, also a five-star prospect, will suit up for Kansas, with head coach Bill Self describing him as a special talent and the best recruit he has ever had.
Guard Bennett Stirtz joined them, who followed coach Ben McCollum from Drake to Iowa. Stirtz led the Missouri Valley Conference last season in scoring (19.1), steals (2.2), and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.89), drawing NBA interest before deciding to return for another collegiate year.
BYU’s Richie Saunders also made the list. After initially entering the transfer portal, the junior returned and thrived as a full-time starter, averaging 16.5 points per game, and was named Big 12 Most Improved Player and earned first-team all-conference honors last season.
Parrish’s pick for head coach was St. John’s Rick Pitino, who guided St. John’s to a 31-5 record and Big East titles, earning AP National Coach of the Year honors.
Matt Norlander’s best starting 5
Norlander kicked off his picks with AJ Dybantsa, an incoming freshman forward rated as the number one player in the 2025 class after reclassifying from the 2026 class. He is set to represent BYU next season, becoming the highest-ranked committed recruit in the program’s history.
His next pick was Purdue’s point guard Braden Smith, who is entering his senior year. Smith delivered a standout 2024-25 season, averaging 15.8 ppg, 8.7 apg and 4.5 rpg. He also set a Big Ten record with 313 assists in a single season, becoming the first conference player to surpass 300 assists in one year. This performance earned him consensus first-team All-American honors and the Bob Cousy Award.
Norlander’s third pick was new UCLA transfer guard Donovan Dent, who is coming off his best scoring season with 20.4 ppg and 6.4 apg, earning him the Mountain West Player of the Year.
New Kentucky transfer Jayden Quaintance is his fourth pick. He is coming off a successful freshman year at Arizona State, averaging 9.3 ppg, 7.8 rpg and 2.6 bpg. He earned Big 12 All-Freshman and All-Defensive honors, only the fifth player to achieve both distinctions.
Norlander’s final pick was Solo Ball, the UConn shooting guard who averaged 14.4 ppg as a sophomore and was named to the Second-Team All-Big East.
His pick for head coach was Kelvin Sampson, who took the Houston Cougars to the national championship game last season, losing to Florida in the final. He was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year and the Sporting News Coach of the Year.
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Edited by Abhimanyu Gupta
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