Freshman Cooper Flagg headlines the men’s basketball preseason All-Americans list

The GIST: Thanks to a tie, six players were named to the men’s preseason All-American list: five oldies (but goodies) — Hunter Dickinson (Kansas), Caleb Love (Arizona), Mark Sears (Alabama), Johni Broome (Auburn), and RJ Davis (North Carolina) — and one new kid on the block: Duke’s Cooper Flagg. Let’s get to know ’em.

Duke phenom in rare company: Flagg is the first freshman to be named to the All-American list since current NBAer and former Oklahoma State guard Cade Cunningham got the nod in 2020. It doesn’t happen all that often because, well, usually you have to play a few games first. But he’s that good.

• The No. 1 player in his class, Flagg is making major waves in Durham. He already has a shoe deal with New Balance and is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. It’s Flagg’s world, and we’re all just living in it.

The old guard: Dickinson, Love, Sears, Broome, and Davis are all heading into their fifth seasons. In other words, their basketball careers are starting kindergarten, while Flagg’s is still learning to hold its head up without support.

• Dickinson represents Kansas, the country’s preseason No. 1, and Davis is the only player of the five upperclassmen who hasn’t transferred during his career.

• Of the five returners, Sears was the highest scorer last season, averaging 22.5 points per game for the high-octane Crimson Tide, a program on the rise.