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With the NCAA National Player of the Year race all but wrapped up in favor of Duke’s freshman phenom Cameron Boozer, the bi-weekly NPOY Ladder will now shift into a Top Prospect Tracker, rounding up the top performances of the best college players that are expected to enter the upcoming NBA Draft in June.
The leading trio of Boozer, Darryn Peterson, and AJ Dybantsa will be featured on the tracker for its duration, while the fourth and fifth spots may be more up for grabs depending on how the performance of other players across the country impacts their respective draft stock.
The Five
Cameron Boozer, Duke
Out of respect, the inaugural tracker tips off with the guy who is almost certainly going to walk away from his lone collegiate season with a mantle of assorted National Player of the Year trophies. Cameron Boozer scored seven consecutive Duke points in the closing minutes of the Blue Devils’ win over No. 1 Michigan on Saturday in an 18-point effort, and he was even more impressive against Notre Dame on Tuesday. In a 100-56 win over the Fighting Irish in South Bend, Boozer tallied 24 points and nine rebounds en route to handing Notre Dame its worst home loss in 128 years.
Cameron Boozer’s stat line in the first half is almost the same as the entire Notre Dame team 😮 pic.twitter.com/0dknhR88yf
— ESPN (@espn) February 25, 2026
Darryn Peterson, Kansas
Darryn Peterson is still likely to be the No. 1 overall pick when the Draft finally does come around in June, but the recent narrative surrounding his list of ailments and perceived lack of desire to be on the court with his teammates has reportedly led to some cold feet regarding his efficacy as the top pick in league circles. Peterson was largely a non-factor in Kansas’ 84-68 loss to Cincinnati on Saturday, the worst home loss of the Bill Self era, scoring 17 points on an unimpressive 7-of-17 shooting (1-of-7 from 3-point range). He wasn’t much better against No. 5 Houston on Monday, scoring just 14 points on 5-of-14 shooting while again struggling with a 1-of-7 performance from beyond the arc. Fortunately, Kansas collectively did enough to hand the Cougs a surprising third straight loss.
“We just don’t see guards like this.”@BillSimmons and @jkylemann on why Darryn Peterson’s ability to attack the basket and shoot make him a top prospect. pic.twitter.com/hjLO6y2aWg
— The Ringer (@ringer) February 25, 2026
AJ Dybantsa, BYU
AJ Dybantsa has been doing just about everything he can do to keep BYU afloat, but the stark reality of the Cougs’ situation is that they’ve now lost 7 of their last 11 games in Big 12 play and are quickly looking like a team that would be lucky just to advance past the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Still, Dybantsa leads the nation in scoring at 25.1 points per game overall and has averaged 30.4 points per game across his last seven games. As a team, BYU may be in a free fall, but with Peterson’s recent shortcomings, Dybantsa may be in as good of a position to be the top pick as he has been all season.
Games with 25+ points this season:
AJ Dybantsa = 13Darryn Peterson + Cam Boozer = 13 pic.twitter.com/NUdLpKc1Ze
— Underdog (@Underdog) February 25, 2026
Kingston Flemings, Houston
Freshman Kingston Flemings has emerged as the best player on a Houston team that returned three starters from last year’s national runner-up and added a fellow freshman in Chris Cenac, who was a higher-rated recruit than Flemings across the board. While Houston has technically lost three games in a row, Iowa State and Arizona were both ranked in the top six, and Kansas can play like the best or worst team in the Big 12 on any given night. Flemings was solid in all three games, however, and averaged 18.3 points, 5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game. Houston gets three of the worst teams in the conference (Colorado, Baylor, Oklahoma State) to close its schedule, so Flemings has a good opportunity to continue putting up good numbers while the Cougs find their way back to the win column.
Kingston Flemings makes the game look easy 🥶
(Via @tyler_rucker 🎥)
pic.twitter.com/huulD9A77k
— Players Era (@Players_Era) February 24, 2026
Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas
We knew Darius Acuff Jr. was a high lottery-level talent all season long, but his performance in recent weeks has him rising up mock draft boards as we approach March. Plus, if we know anything about how John Calipari’s guards function at the NBA level, Acuff Jr. is essentially a can’t-miss player in a class that is seemingly full of them. He impressed with 20 points, five assists and four rebounds in a 94-86 win over Mizzou on Saturday, but his most impressive performance of the week was actually a 49-point endurance effort in the Razorbacks’ 2OT loss at Alabama last Wednesday. Acuff Jr. made 16-of-27 attempts from the field in what was a surefire game of the year contender, draining six of his 10 attempts from 3-point range in the effort.
Darius Acuff Jr. with an ALL-TIME performance against No. 25 Alabama 🔥
🏀 49 PTS in 50 MIN🏀 5 REB🏀 5 AST
A defensive nightmare 😤 pic.twitter.com/Jxpq4K7qXs
— ESPN (@espn) February 19, 2026
