Duke’s Cooper Flagg is hoping to join a short list of freshmen to lead their teams to national championships. The national player of the year front-runner and presumed No. 1 pick in June’s NBA draft could join that group if he leads the Blue Devils to their sixth national title and first of the Jon Scheyer era.

Below is a ranking of the 20 greatest NCAA tournament runs by freshmen — who weren’t eligible to play until 1972 — in the history of men’s college basketball. We limited consideration to players who helped their teams reach the national title game, giving more weight to those who actually won the crown and accounting for quality of performances through the full tournament (not just an exceptional game or two).

Our apologies to all of the great freshmen who fell short of the final game, but we had to cut the list down somehow.

20. Derrick Coleman, Syracuse (1987)

Coleman did not leave the 1987 NCAA tournament with a championship, but he came close. As a freshman, he averaged 10.5 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.6 blocks as he led the Orange to wins over multiple teams with future NBA standouts — including Florida and North Carolina — before Syracuse lost the title game to Bobby Knight’s Indiana squad, which was led by Steve Alford.

19. Gene Banks, Duke (1978)

Believe it or not, Duke basketball didn’t begin with Mike Krzyzewski. Two years before the legendary coach’s arrival, Banks fueled Duke’s trek to the program’s second national title game, where the Blue Devils lost to Kentucky. But Banks was brilliant: He averaged 19.2 points and 10.0 rebounds in five NCAA tournament games as a freshman.

18. Gerry McNamara Jr., Syracuse (2003)

Yes, Carmelo Anthony was the star of Syracuse’s magnificent run to the 2003 national championship, but McNamara was a capable Robin to Anthony’s Batman. McNamara averaged 13.3 points and 2.5 steals in the tournament, connecting on 41% of his 3-point attempts, which helped him earn a spot on the all-tournament team next to Anthony.

17. Stephon Castle, UConn (2024)

During UConn’s second consecutive national championship run last season, opposing backcourts committed 24 turnovers against the Huskies in the tournament. Castle (12.5 points per game in six games) played elite defense, most notably in the national championship game when Purdue star Braden Smith (4-for-12) struggled against his pressure. Castle showed early signs of future NBA stardom during that run a year ago.

16. Patrick Ewing, Georgetown (1982)

Before Michael Jordan became a national star for his game winner in the 1982 title game, Ewing nearly stole Jordan’s glory. In his team’s 63-62 loss to North Carolina in the championship, the 7-foot big man registered 23 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Although Ewing (13.2 points per game in the 1982 NCAA tournament) was disappointed that night, he led Georgetown to the national title two years later.

15. Mike Conley Jr., Ohio State (2007)

Before he was a 17-year NBA veteran, Conley was a pivotal contributor to Ohio State’s run to the championship game in the 2006-07 season, averaging 16.0 points, 4.8 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals during that tournament. He played with a maturity that few freshman point guards had ever showcased on the biggest stage in college basketball.

14. Chris Webber, Michigan (1992)

The leader of the Fab Five, Webber helped his team reach the title game in the 1992 NCAA tournament, where the Wolverines ran into one of the greatest Duke squads of all time (see: Christian Laettner) and lost by 20 points. But Webber was phenomenal in the tournament, averaging 16.3 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks.

13. Jalen Rose, Michigan (1992)

Michigan’s 1992 title run would not have happened without Webber’s efforts, but Rose — another key member of the Fab Five — deserves recognition for his performance, too. On that Wolverines squad that fell to Laettner’s Blue Devils in the national title game, Rose averaged 17.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists over six NCAA tournament games.

12. Toby Bailey, UCLA (1995)

UCLA’s 1995 national title would not have been possible without Bailey, who earned a spot on the all-tournament team as a result of his efforts that March. While he averaged double figures throughout the postseason, his performance in his team’s championship win over defending champion Arkansas (26 points, 9 rebounds) solidified his legacy with the Bruins.

11. Jeremy Lamb, UConn (2011)

As he led the Huskies to their third national championship in 2011, Kemba Walker became a superstar and earned the nickname “Cardiac Kemba.” But he also needed Lamb, who averaged 16.1 points and connected on 63% of his 3-point attempts — that’s not a typo — in the NCAA tournament during a fabulous postseason campaign for the Huskies freshman.

10. Arnie Ferrin, Utah (1944)

Although freshmen were not eligible to compete in basketball until the early 1970s, exceptions were made during wartime. With the United States in the middle of World War II, Ferrin — and other freshmen — were given the rare opportunity to compete. He did not waste the moment, becoming the first freshman to win the postseason’s Most Outstanding Player after he scored 22 points in Utah’s 42-40 win over Dartmouth in the title game.

9. Greg Oden, Ohio State (2007)

Oden played the entire 2006-07 season with a heavily taped right wrist because of ligament damage that required surgery. We’ll never know what Oden — who still averaged 16.1 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in the NCAA tournament — might have done at 100% health, but he was still incredible, scoring 25 points in the championship loss to Florida.

8. Mark Aguirre, DePaul (1979)

More than 40 million people watched the 1979 national championship between Magic Johnson’s Michigan State Spartans and Larry Bird’s Indiana State Sycamores in 1979, but Aguirre nearly stopped it from happening with a 19-point performance in DePaul’s narrow 76-74 loss to Indiana State in the Final Four. Overall, Aguirre averaged 23.4 PPG and connected on 52% of his shots in the 1979 NCAA tournament.

7. Derrick Rose, Memphis (2008)

If he had made one more free throw in the final seconds of a loss to Kansas in the national title game, Rose would be higher on this list. Instead, Mario Chalmers became a star at Rose’s expense thanks to a game-tying 3-pointer late in the game. Still, Rose had an amazing run for a Memphis squad that fell short of a ring, averaging 20.8 PPG, 6.0 APG and 1.3 SPG in the NCAA tournament.

To many, Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time — a narrative that began during his freshman season at North Carolina, when he scored 16 points and hit the game-winning shot in the final seconds of a 63-62 victory over Georgetown in the title game. Jordan wasn’t a star yet, but he was clearly on his way, averaging 13.2 PPG in the NCAA tournament.

5. Tyus Jones, Duke (2015)

During the final national championship run of Mike Krzyzewski’s career, Jones was the leader of a Blue Devils squad anchored by an impressive collection of freshmen. But Jones, the Most Outstanding Player of the 2015 Final Four, stood out with an average of 13.0 PPG, 4.5 APG and 1.6 SPG to go with 42% shooting from beyond the arc in the NCAA tournament. He scored 23 points in Duke’s come-from-behind victory in its national championship win over Wisconsin.

4. Mike Bibby, Arizona (1997)

If Miles Simon had not won Most Outstanding Player, the award probably would have gone to Bibby at the end of the 1997 NCAA tournament. Long before his lengthy NBA career, Bibby averaged 18.0 PPG and made 49% of his 3-point attempts during Arizona’s run to the title. He also finished with 19 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals in his team’s overtime win against Kentucky in the championship game.

3. Pervis Ellison, Louisville (1986)

As a freshman at Louisville, Ellison earned the nickname “Never Nervous Pervis” for his clutch performances that helped him Most Outstanding Player honors, including a 25-point, 11-rebound effort in Louisville’s 72-69 victory over Duke in the national championships. Overall, Ellison averaged 15.5 PPG, 9.5 RPG and 1.8 BPG in the NCAA tournament.

2. Anthony Davis, Kentucky (2012)

The freshman punctuated a season full of accolades — Wooden Award, Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA tournament and SEC player of the year — by carrying Kentucky to the 2012 national championship with an average of 13.6 PPG, 12.3 RPG and 4.8 BPG in the tournament. Because of his defensive gifts, four of Kentucky’s opponents in the NCAA tournament failed to score more than 100 points per 100 possessions, the standard for a good offense.

1. Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse (2003)

Long before his son Kiyan signed to play for Syracuse, Anthony earned Most Outstanding Player honors after he led the Orange to their only national championship. He averaged 20.1 PPG and 9.8 RPG with 48% shooting from beyond the arc in the tournament, serving as the catalyst for wins over No. 1 seeds Oklahoma in the Elite Eight and Texas in the Final Four. He went on to score 20 points in his team’s 81-78 victory over a veteran Kansas squad in the title game to complete the greatest run by a freshman in NCAA tournament history.