Rival Views: Who is the best defender in the 2022 class?

Each week, Rivals analysts Rob Cassidy and Jamie Shaw take a look at a trio of topics from around the basketball world and present their view on each. This week in Rivals Views, the duo tackles the best defensive prospects in the 2022 class, the struggling ACC and its collective tournament resume, as well as mid-major coaches that could be on the move this offseason.

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More: Cassiday's takeaways from the R1A Classic

2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position

2023 Rankings: Rivals150

2024 Rankings: Top 40

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Cassidy's view: BYU's Mark Pope. Pope has built an incredible track record of success during his three seasons in Provo. Pope, who guided the Cougars to a No. 18 ranking in the AP poll and would have easily qualified for the NCAA tournament had it not been canceled in 2020, broke the program’s five-year tournament drought a season ago and has the Cougars 14-3 and cruising toward an at-large bid. It seems like a foregone conclusion that Pope will have his share of opportunities this offseason, especially if his team catches fire in March. Whether or not he’ll decide to accept one, however, will likely depend on who comes knocking.

Shaw's view: San Francisco's Todd Golden. Golden is making the case to be a hot commodity. The 36-year-old head coach started his career off at Columbia where he was a director of basketball operations and then the same title under Bruce Pearl at Auburn. Now, the former St. Mary’s all-time leader in free-throw percentage sits at 14-2, ranked 37th by KenPom. With all the conference realignment happening, and college coming into more money, I am not sure what the coaching carousel will look like this offseason, but Golden has a good chance to get a long look.

Cassidy's view: I’ll take Dillon Mitchell, as I’ve seen the long athletic wing guard five-star prospects of all shapes and sizes, and frustrate them to no end. This started last year at a MADE Hoops event last spring, where he totally flustered current Memphis standout Emoni Bates and has continued ever since. Now at powerhouse Montverde Academy, he’s matched up against a long list of future college stars and seems to get the best of them on the defensive end more times than not, showing an ability to stay in front of smaller players on the perimeter while also being a shot-blocking presence on the inside. Last month he essentially shut down long, talented point guard Anthony Black during a narrow loss to Black’s Duncanville team at Hoophall West. Mitchell is a prospect that still needs to establish his offensive identity, but there’s no doubting his defense.

Shaw's view: Dereck Lively is completely unique because 7-foot-1 people just do not move the way that he does. His quick-twitch agility has him able to switch and guard on the perimeter while his length and pop enables him to protect the rim. Lively is still raw in his overall development as a player, but he has solidified himself as the top defender in this class.

Cassidy's view: Four. I might be conservative here, as we could be looking at five come Selection Sunday. Duke is the given here and I’m not sure who else is at this juncture, but red-hot Miami is looking like a great bet. Virginia Tech, North Carolina and Louisville are all players as well. The NCAA Tournament picture is going to twist and turn as conference play rages on, and some teams will emerge as one of the aforementioned ones fades.

Shaw's view: Five. Duke is a near lock and you would have to think - barring anything unforeseen - that North Carolina and Miami are as well. You look at Wake Forest, Clemson, Louisville and Virginia Tech and see a group of teams who are right there on the cusp of making it. A couple of teams are playing out of their minds and a couple of teams will regress to the mean of their talent. Early on, I feel comfortable with five of these seven to hear their names called on ‘Selection Sunday.’