NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Matchups We Can't Wait to See Between 2015 Stars

Now that football season is over, the lion’s share of attention can be turned toward the basketball court: this season and next season.

With one eye on the present and another on the future, let’s look to see what 2015 recruits make for the most engaging matchups.

Now, the bulk of the players in the top 10 offered by 247Sports haven’t committed to a school yet. There are some leaning stronger in one direction over another, so in those cases we’ll politely assume they’ll attend a certain school so we can hypothesize on a potential matchup.

Take Jaylen Brown. If we’re to believe the 247Sports percentages, he’s leaning toward Kentucky. This would put him in the teeth of No. 1 recruit Ben Simmons, who signed with LSU months ago. Who wouldn’t want to see these small forwards play each other?

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the best potential matchups for the 2015-16 season.

All statistics are current as of Feb. 8. Recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.

Diamond Stone vs. Deyonta Davis

Nati Harnik/Associated Press

The Big Ten has been pretty quiet with the 5-star recruits, but Deyonta Davis was one top-tier player to commit to the Midwest in East Lansing.

Davis remains in his home state of Michigan to play for coach Tom Izzo. He’s listed as a center, but being 6’8” and 205 pounds makes him awfully small. He’s 15 pounds lighter than LSU’s Simmons who is a small forward.

If Davis is listed at center, then he’s listed at center, and that could pit him against Diamond Stone. Stone may sign with Bo Ryan at Wisconsin. Stone is a big boy.

He stands at 6’10” and 246 pounds. With that kind of size, Stone could potentially make a mockery of Davis. Maybe Davis will put on some mass and challenge Stone. Maybe Davis will be an athletic power forward. Maybe Davis will be on the wing. We can’t know until much, much later.

If Davis is as gritty as Izzo, then maybe this could be one of those great woodshed games the Big Ten is known for.

Brandon Ingram vs. Dwayne Bacon

Gregory Payan/Associated Press

Dwayne Bacon committed to Florida State and could pose some serious headaches to the power elite in the ACC.

As Terrence Payne notes, after watching Bacon at the Reebok Breakout Challenge, Rob Dauster of CollegeBasketballTalk evaluated Bacon by saying, “There aren’t many players in the Class of 2015 that can get buckets the way that Dwayne Bacon can get buckets. The 6'6", 5-star wing capped off his week with a 43-point performance over a team that includes Arizona commit Justin Simon.”

To keep pace with FSU, Duke needs to sign Brandon Ingram, a small forward of about the same size and make as Bacon.

Should Duke land Ingram, who is also considering North Carolina and Kansas, he could be lethal on the wing and a Grant Hill incarnate. With Chase Jeter down low and Luke Kennard circumnavigating the arc, it could create some fascinating matchups for Ingram.

There aren’t many that would be as intriguing to watching as Ingram vs. Bacon.

Chase Jeter vs. Skal Labissiere

Gregory Payan/Associated Press

Mark your calendar. On Nov. 17 Kentucky plays Duke in the Champions Classic, and two freshmen big men will clash.

Chase Jeter, the 6’11”, 230-pound big man, will fill the likely hole left behind by Jahlil Okafor. Jeff Borzello of CBSSports.com wrote:

"

Jeter is known for his jump hook over his left shoulder, and his length makes it nearly impossible to block. Jeter runs the floor very well, blocks shots and is also unselfish when he gets double-teamed on the block. His ability to run the floor will help Duke in transition, especially when the Blue Devils push the tempo.

"

Seeing Jeter in the low block against Skal Labissiere, assuming Labissiere is eligible to play, who knows?

Should the two be in the starting lineups next season, this could be one of those early preview games for the Elite Eight or the Final Four.

Whatever happens, these two square off early in the season, and that’s reason enough to celebrate Thanksgiving a week early.

Antonio Blakeney vs. Isaiah Briscoe

Gregory Payan/Associated Press

This matchup would have been even saltier had Antonio Blakeney (6'4", 170 lbs) not reneged his early verbal commitment to Louisville, but such is life when the big bad monolith that is a shoe company stomps out the lowly ant.

Still, since Blakeney decided to take his talents to Baton Rouge, that still means he gets his shot at Kentucky and subsequently Isaiah Briscoe.

Briscoe (6'4", 200 lbs) does play more of the point while Blakeney is a 2-guard, but both are the same size and depending on the zone will get in each other’s way at some point.

Jason Patt of SB Nation wrote of Briscoe, “By nabbing Briscoe, Calipari has yet another shiny toy to play with as he reloads his roster with elite talent yet again.”

Kentucky travels to LSU this year so will likely host the Tigers next season. Seeing Blakeney and Briscoe at Rupp Arena could signal a power shift in the SEC.

Ben Simmons vs. Jaylen Brown

Gregory Payan/Associated Press

Ben Simmons is the consensus No. 1 recruit across almost every board, and he signed early with LSU. Simmons actively recruited Blakeney and shored up what may be one of the most explosive tandems in the country.

This also serves as a potential tectonic shift of the SEC continental landscape.

Brown’s front-runner is Kentucky, according to 247Sports. He hasn’t committed yet, but if he does, he’ll be a mirror image of Simmons, just wearing blue and white.

Both are small forwards and both are roughly the same size. Simmons is listed at 6’8”, and Brown is 6’7”. Simmons is 220 pounds; Brown is 217. They sit at No. 1 and No. 2 in the recruiting rankings.

The balance of power in the SEC for the 2015-16 season may hinge on this matchup alone. Hopefully we’ll see it.