The top five freshman seasons in Duke basketball history

Best seasons by a Duke basketball freshman: No. 2 Jahlil Okafor

Jahlil Okafor impressed the entire nation his freshman season with his unstoppable abilities in the paint. He proved to be an ideal big man and an absolute powerhouse under the basket — his presence and stature made him basically unguardable.

As one of the most highly anticipated recruits going into the 2014-15 season, Okafor was picked as the Preseason Player of the Year by countless platforms, and he lived up to the hype.

Okafor was among the top five in the ACC that season with averages of 17.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Over his one season at Duke, the Chicago native was an eight-time ACC Rookie of the Week, two-time Wayman Tisdale National Freshman of the Week, and one-time ACC Player of the Week.

At the end of the regular season, Okafor earned the title of both ACC Freshman and Player of the Year, becoming the first freshman in ACC history to claim the conference’s Player of the Year honors. He was also picked as the USBWA National Freshman of the Year, after being ranked among the top in the nation in multiple categories.

With his natural-born talent and many reputable titles on his shoulders, Okafor helped carry his team to Duke’s fifth national championship, averaging 15.0 points per game in the tournament while shooting 63.5 percent from the field.

As one of the best college basketball players in the history of the NCAA, Okafor’s contributions to the Duke basketball program will never be forgotten. As part of the 2015 national champions, he paved the way for freshman Blue Devils, as well as freshmen around the nation, to strive for greatness.

Fresh off a national championship and many accolades, Okafor declared for the 2015 NBA Draft, where he became the third overall pick.