The college basketball season tips off Monday night, but we’ve had an awful lot of action leading up to the season this year.

Some of it has been in view of the general fan, thanks to the proliferation of high-profile preseason games. But much of it has also been done in private, with scouts scurrying across the country to see players early and begin tracking their progress throughout the season.

In that vein, here are three takeaways from the dozens of conversations I’ve had with traveling scouts entering the 2026 NBA Draft cycle. (Those scouts spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak freely about the prospects.)

The race for No. 1 is on

There was no better appetizer to the loaded No. 1 pick race than the preseason, with Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer and AJ Dybantsa each showing out in their own ways.

Dybantsa kicked things off by going for 30 points on 19 shots with seven rebounds while drawing seven fouls against Nebraska. He followed it up by scoring 18 points with eight rebounds while drawing five fouls against North Carolina.
Boozer took his turn and was the most statistically dominant, as he was throughout high school. He had 33 points, 12 rebounds and four assists on 19 shots while drilling four 3s against UCF. Then he dominated Tennessee for 24 points, 23 rebounds and six assists.
Peterson didn’t disappoint either, drilling a top-10 Louisville team for 26 points on 15 shots, including six 3s in only 25 minutes, before sitting out Kansas’ second preseason game against Fort Hays.

It’s hard to overemphasize how excited scouts and general managers were about these performances, with one high-ranking executive telling me that he felt that “all three look like guys who could be All-Stars quickly in the NBA.” What these opening salvos told us is that this race isn’t going to take time to heat up. This is going to be a battle from day one, with all three well-prepared to dominate college hoops from the opening tip.

Peterson is the most polished perimeter scorer of the group, with a well-rounded offensive game as a shooter and passer. Dybantsa is the most physically dominant, with the ability to draw fouls at will with his straight-line slashing. Boozer — the son of former NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer — is almost a combination of the two in some ways, as he’s the true mismatch nightmare at power forward with skill as a passer and shooter mixed with immense strength and supreme footwork as a technician on the interior. Those skills will likely overwhelm just about every competitor this trio faces this season.

And yet, each has his own questions to answer.

With Peterson, scouts want to see just how efficient he can be while leading the Kansas offense. He improved drastically as a decision-maker in high school during his senior year, but will that remain as he steps up in competition?
For Dybantsa, it’s all about the attention to detail. Scouts were not wildly impressed by his defensive play in the opener against Nebraska, and his jumper has some questions entering the season due to its flatter trajectory.
For Boozer, the questions are more upside-related, as scouts worry about how flexible he is through his hips to separate from guys who are bigger and just as strong as he is. They want to see how well he survives defensively when he plays at the center position.

I’d be surprised if we don’t see at least two of these three guys on postseason All-America teams, and I’d also be surprised to see anyone else spike into the top three. Every year, it seems like a player emerges and becomes worthy of a top-three pick, but the gap is wider this season for scouts because of how great this trio has been and questions about the players below them.

You can expect a race to the bottom across the NBA starting in 2026 as teams position themselves to draft these three players. That factor will only be exacerbated by significant questions about the 2027 draft class.

Arizona’s freshmen have scouts’ attention

Duke’s freshman class has gotten a lot of attention with the Boozer twins, Nik Khamenia and Dame Sarr, but another hot spot for scouts in the preseason has been Tucson, Ariz. The Arizona Wildcats have three potential one-and-done players, with every scout seemingly having a different opinion on who the most interesting one is. 

Koa Peat dunks for an easy two points against Turkey in the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup (Altan Gocher / Hans Lucas via AFP via Getty Images)

• Forward Koa Peat has long had the five-star status and hype, coming off a storied career at Perry High School where he led his team to four state titles in Arizona while also playing on four gold medal-winning Team USA junior teams. The son of former NFL offensive lineman Todd Peat, he’s a big-bodied shot creator who developed physically earlier than most players in his class. But he’s also worked through his craft and has some vertical pop in addition to ballhandling skill. Think of him in the mismatch nightmare mold of someone like Tobias Harris. However, scouts are concerned about Peat’s jumper, as he hasn’t looked all that comfortable extending his range out to the 3-point line despite success in the midrange. Additionally, while he’s very conscientious on defense, I’ve talked to a few scouts who worry about how his frame will age and whether he’ll be able to maintain enough lateral speed long term to guard on the perimeter.

• Guard Brayden Burries is another top-15 recruit whom teams are thrilled to see this season. He’s listed at 6-foot-4 and has a strong, physical frame that allows him to absorb contact on the interior and finish. His jumper also continued to come around throughout his high school career. He’s tough and physical on defense and also rebounds the ball extremely well from his position. Essentially, he profiles a potentially well-rounded scoring guard given that he was one of the most efficient scorers on the AAU circuit last summer. He should have an early role next to Jaden Bradley in the backcourt and even see some occasional backup point guard minutes.

• The pleasant surprise has been Dwayne Aristode, a chiseled 6-8 wing originally from the Netherlands. Ranked as a top-30 player in the class, multiple scouts who have been to Tucson have come away thinking he has the best upside when it comes to an NBA role. His tools have impressed on defense, and he looks like the type of big 3-and-D wing whom NBA teams search for across the globe. Aristode missed his senior season with a foot injury and comes in with less hype because of it, but teams are really interested in seeing how early he can establish himself for the Wildcats.

• Don’t sleep on two other Europeans, either. German wing Ivan Kharchenkov is one of the top teenage international freshmen in the class. The 6-7 Kharchenkov has EuroLeague experience from his time developing with Bayern Munich and has a tremendous feel for the game. He passes well, has always been active on defense and has a jumper that looks developable long term. Teams believe he’s more likely to be on the multi-year track as he adjusts to the collegiate game, but if he shoots it well early, there will be some excitement. Additionally, center Motiejus Krivas had some juice entering last season but dealt with a foot injury in the preseason that got worse as the season progressed and ultimately resulted in him being shut down in December. He’s 7-2, dominates the glass, has great hands and moves well enough to play at the next level.

Non-Duke ACC newcomers have impressed

People who watch college basketball are well aware of the top-10 recruits entering the ACC this season, from Boozer at Duke to Mikel Brown Jr. at Louisville to Caleb Wilson at North Carolina. But from a draft perspective, the league is much deeper than that.

Scouts who have visited NC State have been impressed with the talent level under new coach Will Wade. Late-rising freshman guard Matt Able has particularly caught scouts’ attention.

Listed at 6-6, Able was committed to Miami (Fla.) until late February. He settled on Wade’s Wolfpack about a month later and profiles as a big-time combo guard who can handle and shoot it at a high clip for a teenager. He came off the bench in NC State’s preseason opener, but don’t be surprised to see him grow and become more comfortable as the season progresses. Speaking of shooting, wing Paul McNeil has highly impressed scouts with his ability to knock down shots from the perimeter and could end up finding himself in the draft conversation as a big-time scorer.

And yet, it remains to be seen how exactly the Wolfpack’s rotation will shake out. They have seven guys who should play a lot in Able, McNeil, Darrion Williams, Terrance Arceneaux, Quadir Copeland, Tre Holloman and Ven-Allen Lubin. Williams, an undersized combo forward who carves out space at will and debated turning pro after a first-team All-Big-12 campaign last year, will be the fulcrum of everything after transferring from Texas Tech. He has also garnered some NBA looks in the preseason from scouts, although they feel like they have more of a handle on him after his long collegiate career (he turns 23 in April) and were more interested in talking about McNeil and Able. Wade has a pretty loaded team, and I’m a big fan of his ability to elevate what he has typically. I’d have them as a top-20 team entering the season.

Will Wade is entering his first season at NC State. (William Howard / Imagn Images)

Elsewhere in the league, Virginia Tech’s Neoklis Avdalas declared for the draft last year out of Greece before withdrawing. Had he decided to go through with it, he undeniably would have been selected in the top 45. However, he decided to take a collegiate year, and that seems like the right choice. Scouts have noted how much stronger and more physical he looks after he weighed 200 pounds last season. Multiple scouts have also noted that he shot the ball exceedingly well in the practices they attended. He’s going to have the ball a lot in what should be a perfect scheme for him under Mike Young, with scouts expecting him to play a bit of point guard/point forward.

Virginia has also gotten some buzz from the scouting community for its duo of international imports in Thijs de Ridder and Johann Grunloh. The older de Ridder, who turns 23 in January, is originally from Belgium and was one of the best young players in the tough Spanish ACB last season as a skilled four who can defend, move without the ball and knock down shots from the perimeter. Grunloh is the one scouts have had a bit more excitement about, though, as the 7-footer is a tremendous shot blocker and defender who can also step out and occasionally knock down a shot. Both have a real shot to get drafted in 2026. In general, the Cavaliers have been one of the teams scouts have mentioned as a potential surprise. They’re essentially ranked 40th in the preseason AP poll to start the year, but they have an older, experienced team that should hit the ground running.

There are plenty of other names to track. Louisville isn’t just Brown’s team, as shown by his roller-coaster preseason that included a struggle against Kansas followed by a monster preseason game against Bucknell. Transfers Ryan Conwell and Adrian Wooley are seen by scouts as potentially intriguing guards in the backcourt next to Brown. Miami freshman Shelton Henderson has been noted to me as a player to keep an eye on early due to his athleticism and size on the wing at 6-6 with long arms, even if the jumper remains a work in progress. Even Pittsburgh has some interesting newcomers. Australia’s Roman Siulepa has been recognized as the big name following strong youth-level performances, but scouts have actually been a bit more excited by the long-term potential of Omari Witherspoon, a 6-4 guard with a good frame and potential to develop into a playmaker thanks to his dribble, pass and shoot skills.

For the last couple of years, it’s felt as if Duke has had the majority of NBA prospects in the ACC, but that will change this season after some significant investments into the international market and some smart recruiting decisions by the rest of the league.