The best football player on each top-25 college hoops team

— -- The Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings for next season in college basketball have been updated, and now that rosters are beginning to crystallize, it's time to get familiar with each team. Our friends in college football gave us the best basketball player on each team, so we're returning the favor. Which player on each top-25 team could have been a football star?

1. Duke Blue Devils: Luke Kennard
The Blue Devils guard who averaged 11.8 points per game as a freshman considered a collegiate career in football. The former prep quarterback registered more than 2,300 passing yards and threw for 26 touchdowns as a junior at Franklin High School (Ohio), where he earned the Associated Press Division III player of the year award. Kennard even earned a scholarship offer from Louisville, but he skipped his senior season to pursue basketball. Could the young star pull a Greg Paulus and pursue football after his career at Duke? His credentials suggest he could make that transition. -- Myron Medcalf

2. Villanova Wildcats: Mikal Bridges
A five-steal outing in Villanova's Elite Eight win over Kansas in March showcased the then-freshman' greatest athletic gift: his 7-foot-1 wingspan on a lithe 6-foot-7 frame. His development on the hardwood (in a surely expanded role) will be thrilling to watch, but the idea of Bridges lined up as a wide receiver or pass-catching tight end is a fairly exciting hypothetical in its own right. -- Eamonn Brennan

3. Kentucky Wildcats: Bam Adebayo
The Wildcats' latest batch of highly rated freshmen includes Edrice Adebayo, better known as "Bam." He announced his commitment by intending to "take his talents" to Lexington, and he's built similarly to the man who made that line famous and another hoopster whom football folks salivate over: LeBron James. Adebayo has always been bigger than his classmates, and you would be hard pressed to find a defensive back who was excited about the idea of covering his 7-foot-plus wingspan or an offensive lineman willing to block all 240 pounds of him. -- Sam Strong

4. Kansas Jayhawks: Lagerald Vick
The sophomore guard could bring a much needed boost to any passing game. Think of him as a less-physical Randy Moss. The 6-foot-5 Vick dabbled at wide receiver and even some at quarterback at Douglass High School in Memphis, Tennessee. His pass routes would be pretty simple: Throw it up and let Vick use his athleticism and height advantage to go get it. The Jayhawks' football team didn't have anyone like him on the roster last season as neither of their two leading receivers, Tre' Parmalee nor  Steven Sims Jr., eclipsed 6 foot. -- C.L. Brown

5. Virginia Cavaliers: London Perrantes
Around the same time that college hoops coaches were circling hard around him as a hoops prospect, Perrantes threw a monkey wrench in everyone's plans. He headed to the football field. He had been a starting quarterback as a freshman, and Perrantes rejoined the pigskin patrol as a junior at Crespi Carmelite High School (California). He wasn't too bad, either. Plus, as Perrantes has proven since coming to Virginia, he loves to pass the ball. -- Dana O'Neil

6. North Carolina Tar Heels: Kennedy Meeks
North Carolina's Isaiah Hicks and Joel Berry II actually played football in high school. The 6-foot-10, 260-pound Meeks lettered in basketball and tennis as a prep schooler. But every NFL team craves an agile offensive lineman. Meeks would earn "great feet" kudos from Mel Kiper if he decided to pursue football one day. He has great hands. He's mobile. And although he's lost a significant amount of weight in recent years. Meeks could bulk up. He might lack the physical edge the game demands, but he has the size/athleticism combo that should intrigue any football coach. -- Medcalf

7. Oregon Ducks: Dillon Brooks
For a 6-foot-6 dude with broad shoulders, Brooks moves remarkably well. Well enough, in fact, to spend most of his time in Dana Altman's lineup on the perimeter. It's not hard to imagine him in pads. -- Brennan

8. Wisconsin Badgers: Nigel Hayes
Hayes often uses brute force to back opponents down in the paint, and we can't help but wonder whether some of the skills he learned as a letterman on Whitmer High (Ohio) have translated to the court. Hayes was so dominant as a third-grade wide receiver that he was ordered to sit out a year, which indirectly led to his interest in basketball. -- Strong

9. Xavier Musketeers: Trevon Bluiett
The junior guard would probably make the best transition to the gridiron, but not necessarily because of the physical attributes he possesses. Both of Bluiett's parents served in the Marines and his mother reportedly had the nickname "Mad Dog." He grew up with the kind of toughness and discipline that football coaches incessantly talk about. And their home gym in the basement was where Bluiett learned the importance of a good workout. -- Brown

10. Michigan State Spartans: Gavin Schilling
At 6-foot-9 and a solid 240 pounds, Schilling already is built like a tight end. And as a guy who isn't afraid to mix it up in the low post, it's easy to imagine him laying out a few people with a debilitating block. He already has the résumé for it. He took his team to the youth nationals in eighth grade. -- O'Neil

11. Indiana Hoosiers: OG Anunoby
The high-flying forward who put innocent young men on multiple posters during his freshman season boasts the frame (6-foot-8, 215 pounds), speed and athleticism to compete in football. Per the Indianapolis Star, Anunoby played wide receiver for a youth football squad but decided against a career in the sport because it's "too dangerous." But he has the tools to play on the edges at an elite level. We all know he can fly. And he's an aggressive athlete who always finishes strong, even when he's fouled. He looks like a football player. -- Medcalf

12. Arizona Wildcats: Parker Jackson-Cartwright
Jackson-Cartwright's so-so sophomore season felt like a product of opponents adjusting to his size, or lack thereof, and the quickness the (allegedly) 5-foot-10 guard had long since used as compensation. Punt returners and slot receivers don't need to be tall. They do need to be fleet-footed and sure-handed. PJC is both. -- Brennan

13. Louisville Cardinals: Matz Stockman, Anas Mahmoud
This has everything to do with size. Louisville's tallest football player stands at 6-foot-6, so what will coach Bobby Petrino do when he's holding a two-point lead and the opponent lines up for a potential game-winning field goal? He'll turn to Stockman and Mahmoud, of course. The pair of 7-footers would surely send such a kick back from where it came, and they might be able to do it without jumping. -- Strong

14. Purdue Boilermakers: Caleb Swanigan
The sophomore forward's guardian, Roosevelt Barnes, played both football and basketball at Purdue more than 30 years ago. Imagine if Swanigan did the same. He could fit the mold of a football player from that era who might have been better fit to catch alley oops. Former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Ed "Too Tall" Jones was 6-foot-9, 270 pounds. Swanigan, 6-foot-9 and 260 pounds, isn't much of a shot blocker for the Boilermakers, but he could bat down some passes. -- Brown

15. West Virginia Mountaineers: Daxter Miles Jr.
The obvious answer is coach Bob Huggins. The man just looks like a linebacker, but since Huggs doesn't play, we'll go with Miles. Why? For starters the way he shimmies around with the ball, it's easy to imagine him slicing through a gap as a running back. Plus he's not afraid to run his mouth, which makes him a Richard Sherman heir apparent or a Joe Namath protégé. Miles'  prediction that the Mountaineers would beat undefeated Kentucky in the  2015 NCAA tournament didn't exactly come true (Or close to true. Or even in the same planet as true), but give the kid points for making the prediction. -- O'Neil

16. Gonzaga Bulldogs: Jeremy Jones
The Gonzaga walk-on transferred from Rice, where he accepted a football scholarship after high school. Jones was a standout quarterback at East Central High School in San Antonio, where he missed four games his senior season but still threw for more than 1,200 yards. He accrued more than 700 rushing yards and 29 total touchdowns in his career. But he left football behind when he transferred to Gonzaga to pursue his basketball dreams. -- Medcalf

17. UCLA Bruins: Prince Ali
Despite a rough freshman season overall, Ali did provide the singular feel-good highlight of the Bruins' 2015-16 campaign -- a runway dunk over Kentucky forward Alex Poythress that felt like the basketball version of a massive end-zone leap. So let's go with him. -- Brennan

18. Maryland Terrapins: Jared Nickens
You know that trick play where the quarterback wanders toward the sideline to pretend like he misunderstood the play call all while the running back takes a direct snap and bolts for a first down. Well, Maryland could run that with Nickens. But instead of throwing his hands in the air and faking confusion, Nickens would just start dancing to distract the opponent. He's pretty good at it. -- Strong

19. Saint Mary's Gaels: Emmett Naar
Fellow Australian and Sydney native Jarryd Hayne played last season at fullback for the San Francisco 49ers. So why couldn't Naar fit in as a slot receiver? As dependable as he is at point guard for the Gaels, he'd be the kind of player a quarterback would find comfort throwing to on third downs. -- Brown

20. Creighton Bluejays: Maurice Watson Jr.
Watson can shoot -- he averages 14.1 points per game. He can pass -- he ranked among the nation's best in assists, dishing out 6.5 per game. He makes smart decisions -- he sinks 47.5 percent of his buckets. All of which would make him a pretty sweet dual-threat quarterback. Above all, Watson is from Philly, where guards are bred to be tough and fearless, which would override any football worries about his 5-foot-10 frame. -- O'Neil

21. Rhode Island Rams: Rex Sunahara
Well, this isn't fair because Sunahara, a Rhode Island walk-on, is a member of the school's football team. Sunahara was a long-snapper for the Rams last season who appeared in eight football games. He also made four tackles on special teams. He played wide receiver and defensive back in high school and even earned a slot in a Cleveland-area high school all-star game. -- Medcalf

22. Cincinnati Bearcats: Gary Clark
As is tradition, the Bearcats' roster is primarily, and maybe even entirely, comprised of players who wouldn't look out of place on a football field. If we have to choose one, Clark -- a 6-foot-7, 235-pound rebounding and rim-protecting workhorse -- might make for a pretty tough defensive end. -- Brennan

23. Florida State Seminoles: Michael Ojo
Ojo sat out all of last season because of an injury, which can only mean he was in the weight room adding to his already massive frame. At 7-foot-1 and 304 pounds, Ojo might get in his own quarterback's way, but it's hard to imagine any defensive tackle bull rushing the fifth-year senior from Nigeria. -- Strong

24. Connecticut Huskies: Rodney Purvis
Purvis' shifty style and knack for changing gears quickly makes him a natural fit at running back. Those openings in the line close up quickly on the gridiron, but Purvis has the ability to slip through them. The Huskies' 6-foot-4 senior guard would be a bigger target than today's average running back. Then again, that never stopped Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson, who was 6-foot-3 and ran straight up with an upright style. -- Brown

25. Syracuse Orange: Paschal Chukwu
Chukwu, who is from Nigeria, is still learning the nuances of basketball, let alone mastering American football. And yes, he was a scrawny 226 pounds when he arrived at Syracuse after transferring from Providence. But Chukwu also is 7-foot-2. Most defensive backs aren't. Throw the ball up. Odds are Chukwu will catch it. -- O'Neil