If you’re looking for Zach Edey on The Sporting News Midseason All-America team for the 2024-25 season, we understand. He was such a dominant presence in college basketball over the past two seasons, force of habit alone might have led you to wonder why we did not include him.
Instead, Edey is off trying to prove to everyone a 7-4 guy can be NBA Rookie of the Year more than 40 years after Ralph Sampson did it, and a decade after a lot of people in the pro game decided the center position no longer mattered.
But college basketball is powering on without him. (And Purdue is contending for the Big Ten title). There’s no one quite as big as Edey who matters this season, but there are some pretty big guys who are pretty big deals.
Sporting News midseason college basketball All-America team
First team
Johni Broome, Auburn
6-10, 240 pounds, Sr., C
Key stats: 17.9 ppg, 10.7 rpg, 2.7 bpg, .547 FG
Defining game: 23 points, 11 rebounds, 10-of-15 shooting in 87-69 win against Purdue
Overview: If you think it’s frustrating for us waiting for Broome to recover from his ankle injury, imagine how he feels. This is the moment for which he’s prepared his entire life. Three years ago, he’s an excellent big guy on a Morehead State team that reached the Ohio Valley final but just missed advancing to the NCAAs. Then, this fall, he quickly establishes himself as the best player in college basketball – only to have his dream season interrupted by the injury. Auburn has been just fine without him, but this is his moment. It would take a lot more missed time for him to lose his spot on this team; coach Bruce Pearl indicates that should not be an issue.
Cooper Flagg, Duke
6-9, 205, Fr., PF
Key stats: 19.2 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.2 bpg, 1.6 spg .488 FG, .348 3-PT
Defining game: 12 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks in 84-77 win against Auburn
Overview: Flagg is the most complete player in college basketball, even as a freshman. That shouldn’t be particularly surprising, because he’s the most complete American prospect to leave high school basketball in 20 years or so. Flagg understands he can impact games in a major way even without scoring, and that was how his freshman season mostly began. Now, he’s ringing up big point totals, as well, as he begins to find comfort shooting from deep. Since Christmas, he has been shooting .545 on 3-pointers and averaging 25 points.
DECOURCY: Go beyond the points to see how good Cooper Flagg is
PJ Haggerty, Memphis
6-3, 191, Jr., SG
Key stats: 22.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 3.1 apg, .494 FG, .404 3-PT
Defining game: 27 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 11-of-14 shooting in 68-64 win over North Texas
Overview: If someone is discussing the best transfer portal additions of the 2024-25 season and doesn’t mention Haggerty, you’ll know they’re not paying close attention. Haggerty has been a revelation for the Tigers since his first day in uniform, which ended as an 83-75 victory over Missouri in which he scored 25 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and passed for 5 assists. He had scored plenty at Tulsa last season, but the team was only 16-15; someone has to score the points. This is much different; Memphis has played like one of the top 20 teams in college hoops from the start, and Haggerty has gotten it done against many in that company. He’s averaged 21.3 points against high-major opponents, including Auburn, UConn and Michigan State. The Tigers went 6-2 against that group.
Kam Jones, Marquette
6-5, 200, Sr., PG
Key stats: 19.1 ppg, 6.9 apg, 4.7 rpg, 1.7 spg, .491 FG
Defining game: 32 points, 6 assists, 4 steals in 88-74 win over Wisconsin
Overview: Jones is right where we expected him to be at the start of the season – except we didn’t really he’d rank among the country’s top players while functioning as a fulltime point guard. Jones had excelled while playing off the ball, with Tyler Kolek running the Marquette attack. It was risky to move Jones away from where he was likely to be elite. The reward has been the Golden Eagles ranking among the nation’s best teams because Jones operates the offense so well while not losing track of the importance of his own scoring. His 3-point percentage has declined, in part because he takes more tough ones when the shot-clock gets in the way. But he still can get hot from deep.
Mark Sears, Alabama
6-1, 191, Sr., G
Key stats: 18.9 ppg, 4.8 apg, 1.1 spg, 3.1 apg
Defining game: 24 points, 9 assists, 1 turnover, 38 minutes, 8-of-9 free throw shooting in 102-97 victory at Kentucky
Overview: If you want to understand how important Sears is to Alabama, maybe the best place to check is his stat line under “minutes”. He’s averaging 33 per game, and it’s 34 if you limit that to major opponents. Sears has not shot the ball as well from long range; he’s down from .436 to .351. Sears has been getting adjusted to a variety of backcourt partners and always handles multiple roles. He can be a playmaker (10 assists against Oklahoma, 9 against Kentucky) or scorer (27 each against Texas A&M and Creighton).
Second team
Lamont Butler, Kentucky
6-2, 208, Sr., PG
Key stats: 13.6 ppg, 4.9 apg, 1.8 spg, .396 3-PT
Overview: Butler is the one player on Kentucky’s roster who has been where everyone in Big Blue Nation is desperate to return: the Final Four. He ran San Diego State’s attack in the 2023 Final Four, but even with that background, he was not expected to carry such a heavy a burden with this deep Wildcats team. He began the season more or less alternating with veteran Kerr Kriisa, but an injury to Kriisa has left Butler as the guy in charge, and he’s taken command of the team’s varied weapons. He’s averaged 14.4 points and 6.8 assists in SEC play. His deep shooting has been a pleasant surprise; Butler’s best previous season percentage was 34.2 in the Final Four year.
Curtis Jones, Iowa State
6-4, 195, Sr., SG
Key stats: 17.8 ppg, 4.2 apg, 2.5 apg, 1.7 spg, .472 FG, .402 3-PT
Overview: The Cyclones have so many different directions their offense could flow – five regulars score in double figures – but it always makes sense to make sure Jones gets his share of opportunities. He’s one of just two Iowa State players with more than 15 3-pointers made. They need him to be sharp, and there’s been only one game against a major opponent in which he did not hit multiple threes. As Big 12 play began, he scored 19 or more points in five of Iowa State’s first six games.
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
7-1, 270, Sr., C
Key stats: 17.7 ppg, 8.4 pg, 2.9 bpg, .654 FG
Overview: Remember when Creighton was known for slinging threes and trying to outscore every team that shared the court with the Bluejays? Yeah, that was before Kalkbrenner put on their uniform. He’s made this into an elite defensive team that reached the Elite Eight in 2023 and Sweet 16 last season and is fighting its way back from a difficult start to another potential March run. He’s elite at guarding pick-and-roll and protecting the rim, and he’s developed a nice touch from long distance.
Javon Small, West Virginia
6-3, 190, Sr., PG
Key stats: 19.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 5.2 apg, 1.9 spg
Overview: Judging by the two rings earned by Tristen Newton at UConn and now Small’s brilliance over the first half of this season with the Mountaineers, if I’m a college coach looking for a dazzling guard in the transfer portal, I might want someone with “East Carolina” on his resume. (No offense, Pirates). Small took a detour from ECU through OK State on his way to Morgantown, and he averaged better than 15 points in each of his past two years. But nothing suggested he’d rank among the best guards in the Big 12. Small is filling every category with big numbers – and WVU has recovered beautifully from an embarrassing early season loss at Pitt.
Braden Smith, Purdue
6-1, 191, Sr., G
Key stats: 15.1 ppg, 8.9 apg, 1.1 spg, 3.1 apg
Overview: You don’t have to be a fan of that burgeoning beard to see the beauty in Smith’s direction of the Purdue attack. He’s been tremendous since he walked into the Purdue lineup as the 190-something player in the high school recruiting class of 2022 and directed the Boilers to dual Big Ten championships. Last year, his ability to put superstar Zach Edey in advantageous positions helped them reach the NCAA Championship game – and their first Final Four since 1980. Remarkably, he’s an even more complete offensive player now.
Third team
Walter Clayton, senior guard, Florida
Graham Ike, senior center, Gonzaga
Kasparas Jakucionis, freshman guard, Illinois
Chaz Lanier, senior guard, Tennessee
Kadary Richmond, senior guard, St. John’s
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