The 2026 college basketball season is still months away, but rosters are taking shape now that most notable players in the transfer portal have found a new home and NBA Draft prospects recently had to decide whether they were staying in the draft or returning to school.
PFSN caught up with ESPN’s college basketball analyst Jay Bilas, who is golfing in the American Century Championship from July 10-12 in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and airing on NBC and Peacock.
Bilas opened up about Duke’s loaded roster, his early favorites to win it all, North Carolina’s hire of Michael Malone, expectations for Kentucky, the NCAA Tournament expansion, who should go No. 1 in the 2026 NBA Draft, the American Century Championship, and more.
Duke brought back quite a few key players and added some talented new pieces. What do you think of Duke’s roster and the job Jon Scheyer has done?
Jay Bilas: “Jon Scheyer has done an amazing job at Duke. In the four years he’s been head coach, I mean, he reached the Final Four, a couple of Elite Eights. It’s been really remarkable, and he’s done it with different rosters each year. Duke is still getting these superstar freshmen and then putting more experienced players around them, and I think it’s worked out really well.
“Certainly the way the game against Houston in the Final Four with Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel ended, and then the way the UConn game this last year in the Elite Eight ended certainly were unpleasant for them, but you kind have to look at the overall picture and what it took to beat them, it is pretty impressive. So, he’s done an amazing job. And given his age, I mean, who could have expected anything more? It’s been incredible to watch.”
What do you make of North Carolina’s decision to hire Michael Malone?
Bilas: “Michael Malone was what I would call an inspired choice. I wasn’t thinking that a change in coaches was necessary, but that’s up to North Carolina. But given the media speculation — ‘it’s going to be Brad Stevens or Billy Donovan or Tommy Lloyd or all this stuff’ — all that did was make those guys more money.
“But Michael’s daughter plays volleyball at North Carolina and I think it fits great with Bill Belichick there, a former professional football coach and now a former NBA coach that’s won a championship. It’s a little bit of a departure for North Carolina because since Frank McGuire has been there, it’s always been out of the North Carolina stable of coaches and former players. So this is different, but I think Malone will do a great job.”
Kentucky fans are frustrated with the current roster. When you look at the Wildcats’ roster, what are your expectations for Kentucky next season?
Bilas: “I think it’ll ultimately be good. I mean, when Mark Pope first got there, I think there were some similar questions because he does a lot of things based upon value and analytics, and so it’s not just McDonald’s All-Americans and one-and-dones like John Calipari did. It wasn’t all that when I say that, but that was the lead story. And Mark Pope, his first year, had an outstanding team of a bunch of players that people were going, ‘Wait a minute, how does this guy fit?’ You got Amari Williams coming in from Drexel and he wound up being a huge piece to what they were doing and last year had a lot of similarities to that.
“But one of the things that really hurt Kentucky were injuries. Jayden Quaintance barely played at all, and he’s going to be a first-round draft pick. If health had been on Kentucky’s side, I think we would’ve seen very different results than we wound up seeing. So you can look at the roster and say, ‘Wait a minute, this is not what we’re used to. What about this lottery pick or that lottery pick?’ But I think until you see how the pieces fit together, it’s hard to sort of bag on it because you would’ve bagged on their first team by the same logic. So, I’m not particularly concerned about it. They’ll be good, but Kentucky’s not used to being just good or really good. They want to contend for the whole thing, and we’ll see how that works out.”
I know it’s super early, but is your way-too-early favorite to win it all next season?
Bilas: “Based on roster, Duke has a ton of talent coming in. But I wouldn’t put anything past Michigan. I think Alabama’s going to be good again. Florida will be really good. For Florida, it’s going to come down to, like it did last year, how their guards perform. By the end of the year, their guards were performing at a really high level and they just got clipped by Iowa in a game that I think a lot of people could argue that they should have won. And if they had won that, I think you were looking at another Final Four for Todd Golden, so they’ll be up there.
“But it’s really hard now. It was probably more difficult than we gave credit for before, but 20 years ago, you kind of knew who was coming back on a lot of these teams, and in today’s game, you don’t really know. So it’s more like an NBA mentality and looking at rosters, you have to see how things are going to shake out. So with the preseason top 20, there’s a lot of guesswork that goes into it, and I’m not sure our guesses are all that good.”
What are your thoughts on the NCAA Tournament expanding to 76 teams?
Bilas: “Do I think it’s the right decision? No, it’s not something I would’ve done. I believe it’s being done primarily for money. Look, money is a good reason to do something! A lot of us do things for money! It is a variable. But it’s not going to change the tenor of the tournament very much, if at all. I wish that the NCAA would just call the First Four games ‘play-in games’ because that’s what they are. The NBA does it now, but somehow, we don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings. But anybody who’s playing in that knows they’re playing in the play-in, and the public by and large, except for the nerds like me, don’t care about those games. They care about the 64-team bracket that starts on the first Thursday of the NCAA Tournament. So whether it’s four play-in games or eight, it doesn’t really make a difference, and it’s more inventory.
“The diehard fans are going to watch ’em; I watch ’em and I’m very interested in ‘em. The overwhelming majority of fans aren’t going to care until their bracket is affected and all the bracket challenges I’ve seen, unless things change, [don’t include the play-in games]. I’ll give you an example. So Texas is in the play-in last year in Dayton, and I like their draw, so I put ’em through the Sweet 16. But unless you have those teams advancing, it doesn’t matter. So, I think it’s going to be similar. And look, the NCAA Tournament has always been idiot-proof, and thank God it is for the NCAA, and I think it still remains idiot-proof. I don’t think they have to worry about it. It’s not going to be a big deal.”
Who would you take with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft if you were making the decision for the Washington Wizards?
Bilas: “I think this is the deepest freshmen class of really high-level talent that I can remember, and I think it may be the best in my 30-plus years of dealing with this. That’s why you saw so many NBA teams wanting to get to the lottery because you’re going to get somebody really good even at No. 5, No. 6, No. 7, or No. 8, where in past years, maybe it wasn’t quite as good. That’s the beauty of this draft. Look, everybody wants to know who’s going to go No. 1. AJ Dybantsa from BYU seems to have captured the imagination of most at No. 1. But earlier in the year, it was Darryn Peterson.
“Peterson’s cramping issues and the fact that his availability was in question throughout the course of the year put doubt in people’s minds, but I still think he’s the best offensive player in this draft and super athletic. And to me, if you’re willing to take him at No. 2, if you happen to be in that slot, if Dybantsa was already gone, why wouldn’t you take him at No. 1? If you don’t have the same questions at No. 2, then you’d take him at No. 1. I would not be surprised to see him at No. 1. And I also would not be surprised to see a guy like Caleb Wilson of North Carolina go No. 2; he’s uber talented and he’s only going to get better, and I think he’s just scratching the surface of where he is going to be.”
Peterson got a lot of criticism because some people were wondering if he was quitting on his team or not wanting to play. But once the details came out about the full-body cramping and how traumatic that experience was, I think people understood a bit more. His medicals will obviously be super important for any team that’s considering drafting him, but when you look at that whole situation, did it change how you view him at all?
Bilas: “It didn’t change the way I viewed him because honestly, I thought what was being said about him was unfair. And look, I was disappointed that he wasn’t able to play more, but my disappointment was more selfish; I wanted to watch him play. I was there when he went head to head against Dybantsa and had 19 in the first half and was dominant, and then he had to tap out early in the second half and couldn’t play, but it wasn’t a want-to thing. His body wouldn’t allow it. Now, at that time, I did not know that in September they had to dial 9-1-1 because he had full body cramps and he had to be hospitalized over it. So you can understand a little reticence when that pops up again, that that’s going to happen again.
“But they got it figured out and under control. In the last 10 games or so that he played, he averaged over 32 minutes a game in a 40-minute game, so he was able to figure it out. And his talent is undeniable. Look, all these NBA teams have great medical personnel; they’re going to have all the information they need because now top prospects have to go through medical where years ago, they didn’t. There aren’t going to be any surprises in this. But I don’t see that being a problem for him long term.”
Do you have a favorite sleeper or potential steal in the 2026 NBA Draft?
Bilas: “Late first round, there are a bunch of guys that are certainly capable. I don’t know that you’re sitting here going, ‘Hey, let’s think about the second-round steals.’ I mean, the second round is not what it used to be. We’ve seen the number of early-entry candidates shoot way down. I think there are only 71 this year whereas usually there are 100-to-200 in that range and some pulled out. But because you can make so much money in college now, there’s no reason for you to stay in the draft, especially if you can rise up next year. You can get paid to play college ball, work on your game, and then next year is not as good of a draft as this year, so you’re going to naturally rise up. So, the second round is not as loaded with quality players as it has been in the past. Not to say these guys aren’t quality players, but there aren’t as many of ’em to choose among.
“But there’s still some quality. [As for first-round steals], what I’d say is Hannes Steinbach of Washington is going to make a lot of people happy if he’s available later in the first round. Koa Peat out of Arizona is another one. The number of high-quality prospects at the top means that guys that would’ve been drafted at or near the lottery [most years] are going to be pushed further down and make somebody really happy.”
You have been competing in the American Century Championship for years, and you’ll be doing so again from July 10-12 on NBC and Peacock. Every year, it’s a star-studded field. How excited are you for this year’s tournament, and how much fun is it competing against stars like Stephen Curry, Jerry Rice, Ray Allen, Tony Romo, Aaron Rodgers, Charles Barkley, and Miles Teller?
Bilas: “It’s awesome. I don’t know what getting an invitation to the Masters would feel like, but I can’t imagine it’s any better than getting your invitation to the American Century Championship. It’s in a beautiful setting in Lake Tahoe, playing at the Edgewood Resort. It’s a great golf course. The greens are lightning and you’re playing against and with some outstanding golfers — like guys that can really play. I’m waiting for Annika Sorenstam to win this thing. I mean, she’s finished second and third and all that stuff, and I don’t know that her feet have ever touched the rough in that tournament. She is just so accurate. But the people at the top, whether it’s Joe Pavelski or Steph Curry or Tony Romo or John Smoltz, all these guys can really play. All of ’em have played in pro tournaments! You’re playing in front of crowds that are 70,000 a day, so it’s kind of like it’s playing in a real golf tournament! And heck, we’re wearing long pants, so it’s a real golf tournament!
“But the folks at American Century Investments are so nice and it’s just this joyful event for the players, but definitely for the crowd [as well]. And there’s nothing better than getting to 17, that par three that’s on the water of Lake Tahoe where there’s nothing but boats and people in swimsuits and they’re throwing footballs around and music’s playing. You got fans lining to the left and boats lining the right. I think one year, Sean Payton knocked one right and it landed in a boat, and he climbed aboard the boat and hit his second shot off the back of the boat after I’m sure what was a legal drop. But it’s just awesome to have that kind of setting and to be able to play with those people. It’s just fantastic.”
Is there anyone in particular that you’re looking forward to competing against or trash-talking with? Derek Lowe told me he’s concerned that Steph has had too much time to practice his golf game lately with the Warriors missing the playoffs this year.
Bilas: “I don’t know about trash talk. I’m not good enough to trash talk. I’m not going to be competing for the trophy. I’m competing for a personal best and trying to do the best I can and enjoy myself. Steph is a legit golfer. He’s just got a smoothness to everything he does, and I know his dad Dell real well. Dell is a really good golfer, but Steph’s better. These young guys hit the ball so far. That’s sort of the separator for guys like Steph and Mardy Fish and Joe Pavelski. I mean, they hit the ball a mile, so they’re hitting wedges into these greens, and the par-fives for them are all two-shotters. So I can reach two of them in two if I pipe a drive, but that’s about it. But they’re hitting short irons into some of these things and they can really play. It’s really fun to watch these guys.
“Everybody I’ve played with has been wonderful to be with — just couldn’t be nicer people. And most everybody has their families with ’em or maybe a family member or their best friend is caddying for them, and so it’s just fun. Everybody wants to play well, but we don’t have any illusions that we’re professional golfers, but it is just a blast. And just being able to interact with people in the crowd, most of the time they’re supportive; there are a few cat-calls here and there after you three putt, which has been not infrequent in my experience, but it’s just fun as hell.
“And you just can’t say enough about American Century Investments. I mean, they’ve given away to charity over $8 million from this tournament alone, but American Century donates 40% of their profits to medical research and they’ve got their clients there. The events are great, and for my wife, it’s the highlight of her year. So if there’s ever a time where they don’t invite me, and there will be [someday], there will be a quick divorce and she’ll quickly marry somebody who does get invited so she can go back every year.”
