While starters obviously hold the most importance for teams, the margins at the top are always thin, and having two or three highly capable bench options is necessary to win big games in March.

When I started thinking about this idea, I looked back at some national championship-winning teams of the past few years to see if they had strong options off the bench. Most of the past champions had a bench group of 2-3 real contributors, and as I looked at these units one after another, I began to notice trends in the archetypes of players who came off the bench of the championship-winning teams: Rising Stars, Efficient Wings, and Low-Volume Bigs.

Efficient Wings are players who can play around 15 minutes a game, taking only a few shots and playing mainly off ball. These players are typically strong shooters and defenders.

Rising Stars summarizes it pretty well, but it typically is either a top recruit who is spending his freshman year off the bench as a sparkplug, or a young guy who comes out of nowhere to play meaningful minutes as an underclassmen.

Low-Volume Bigs are very straightforward. Every team who wants to win a championship needs a backup option in case their starting big gets in foul trouble, because that always seems to happen in March. Having an option a team can feel confident about in that role is a difference maker.

Last year’s Michigan team is a good example of this. By the year’s end, their bench ended up being a 3 man rotation, which would have been 4 if not for the injury to LJ Cason late in the year. Trey McKenney was their first man off the bench and rising star, a top freshman who will be a big time player this year. Along with him was Roddy Gayle Jr, an efficient wing (at least on a good day), and Will Tschetter, who didn’t get a ton of play but was the low-volume big stretching the floor.

2024-25 Florida shows this trend even more clearly, with three huge contributors off the bench in Thomas Haugh, who is now one of the best players in college, Denzel Aberdeen, a sparkplug wing, and Micah Handlogten, a very good low-volume big. This team fit the mold very well, which is the reason they were so dominant in every facet, no matter who was on the court.

Looking even further back, UConn had Donovan Clingan as a great big off the bench with guards like Joey Calcaterra who were very efficient in the system, and Baylor in 2021 had Matthew Mayer and Adam Flagler, along with JTT as a minute filling big.

While not every champion’s bench looks the same, filling these roles in some way is vital for teams that are able to win it all. So with all that being said, who fits the profile for this season?

The Cream of the Crop

Duke: Caleb Foster, Deron Rippey Jr, Cam Williams, Sebastian Wilkins, Bryson Howard, Drew Scharnowski

Duke is oozing with depth and has multiple guys that could potentially fill these roles. Most obvious is Caleb Foster, who has been a steady guard off the bench for a few years for Duke. Deron Rippey Jr is a sparkplug who will fit well into the rising star category, although he may not stay for another year as a starter. Wilkins, Williams, and Howard are all really highly coveted wings who should contribute very effectively as well. Their big rotation is less clear, but someone should step into that role, likely Drew Scharnowski. They have high level answers at every position, which makes them very dangerous.

Illinois: Stefan Vaaks/Ethan Brown, Jake Davis, Zvonimir Ivisic, Lucas Morillo,

Another team with really high level options off the bench. Jake Davis is the definition of an efficient wing who fills his role very well, and Vaaks, Brown, and Morillo are all rising stars who could explode in the system. The real question is which one steps up. Furthermore, one of Vaaks or Brown is likely to start, so the other will almost certainly take a large bench role. Big Z is a known commodity now, and is a great bench big behind his brother. Honestly, the Illini fit the archetype more perfectly than Duke, as long as the potential comes through.

The Fit:

Jake Davis: Efficient Wing

Stefan Vaaks: Rising Star

Zvonimir Ivisic: Low-Volume Big

Florida: Urban Klavzar, Isaiah Brown, Alex Lloyd, Viktor Mikic

Florida starts effectively three bigs, so their bigs off the bench aren’t super strong, however the guards are very impactful. Klavzar has been in college for a bit now, and is a consistent shooter and impact player. Brown and Lloyd are unproven, but have tons of potential and one of them breaking out will be huge for the Gators. The big situation seems to be starting with Viktor Mikic, but there are a few other Europeans in the locker room who could step up and surprise people.

The Fit:

Urban Klavzar: Efficient Wing

Isaiah Brown: Rising Star

Viktor Mikic or other large European: Low-Volume Big

UConn: Colben Landrew, Junior County, Nils Machowski, Oscar Giltay, Egor Amosov

The Huskies have some real unknowns off the bench this year, which is atypical for them, but they did a great job filling the gaps. County and Landrew are talented freshman who should make an impact from day one, likely being the two most important players off the bench. At big they are relying on Stanford transfer Oscar Giltay, who wasn’t great there, but he can be solid for Hurley in low minutes. Machowski and Amosov are coming from lower levels, but show potential to be efficient options on the wing.

The Fit:

Egor Amosov: Efficient Wing

Colben Landrew: Rising Star

Oscar Giltay: Low-Volume Big

Houston: Corey Hadnot II, Ikenna Alozie, Arafan Diane, Braden East, Chendall Weaver*

Houston, similar to UConn, have had their depth step into starting roles and have some youth that will now need to step up off the pine. Hadnot is a dynamite scorer from Purdue Fort Wayne who will need to play against tougher competition but is a sparkplug nonetheless. Alozie is a freshman guard with a ton of talent, and Diane is a big man whos been called “Baby Shaq”, but still has a long way to come in his development. Braden East and Chendall Weaver (if eligible) are great defensive pieces who can play steadying roles; especially Weaver with his extensive college basketball experience.

The Fit:

Corey Hadnot II: (semi)Efficient Wing

Ikenna Alozie: Rising Star

Arafan Diane: Low-Volume Big

Kansas: Leroy Blyden Jr., Trent Perry, Kohl Rosario, Dennis Parker Jr., Keanu Dawes, Christian Reeves

This one feels really strange, since half of these guys were starters before the Jayhawks’ addition of three 5th year seniors relying on courts for eligibility. However, if they’re all eligible, this team has a LOT of talent. Blyden and Perry are young, talented guards who should be sparks this year. Rosario is still very young and talented as well, while Parker and Dawes are experienced playmakers who should be very effective in their role. Christian Reeves (and raw Paul Mbiya) are huge space-fillers off the bench that will do their jobs.

The Fit:

Kohl Rosario: Efficient Wing

Leroy Blyden Jr: Rising Star

Keanu Dawes: Low-Volume Big

Others in Striking Range

Louisville: De’Shayne Montgomery, Karter Knox, Obinna Ekezie Jr., Isaac Ellis

The Fit:

De’Shayne Montgomery: Efficient Wing

Isaac Ellis: Rising Star

Obinna Ekezie Jr: Low-Volume Big (and rising star)

Michigan State: Carlos Medlock Jr, Jasiah Jervis, Kur Teng, Kaleb Glenn, Anton Bonke…

The Fit:

Kur Teng: Efficient Wing

Jasiah Jervis: Rising Star

Anton Bonke (maybe) or Kaleb Glenn: Low-Volume Big

Alabama: Tarris Bouie, Cole Cloer, Jaxon Richardson, Keitenn Bristow, Brandon Garrison, Jamarion Davis-Fleming

The Fit:

Cole Cloer: Efficient Wing

Jaxon Richardson: Rising Star

Keitenn Bristow: Low-Volume Big

Arkansas: Davion Thompson, Abdou Toure, JJ Andrews, Maper Maker, Ilia Frolov

The Fit:

ideally JJ Andrews: Efficient Wing

Abdou Toure (or any of them, they’re all freshman): Rising Star

Ilia Frolov: Low-Volume Big

Virginia: Elijah Gertrude, Christian Harmon, Jurian Dixon, Kalu Anya, Jan Vide

The Fit:

Christian Harmon: Efficient Wing

Elijah Gertrude: Rising Star

Kalu Anya: Low-Volume Big

IN THE END:

There are many other teams that have a chance to fill these roles and compete for a championship, but almost every recent champion has filled these roles. The importance of finding 2-3 answers off the bench is massive, and championship teams are the ones who find them. Whether it’s a sparkplug or a minutes-filler, the bench leads teams to big time results.