College basketball created stars in the very recent past. Steph Curry, Anthony Davis, Greg Oden, Kevin Durant, Jimmer Fredette, Adam Morrison, Blake Griffin, Gordon Hayward, and Tyler Hansborough all made their name in college ball. Even Trae Young was a big name in very recent history who came to the NBA with a fan base already around him.
Miller is a freshman who played like shyt in every game of the tourney and couldn't make it past the Sweet Sixteen. Tshiwebe is in his first year with Kentucky and didn't even make it past the 2nd round. Aqbaji was a meh skill level guy who didn't break out until his senior year and didn't have the sort of huge standout performances that create casual hype. None of those three guys has done enough to get casual fans excited. And they've also suffered from the fact that the biggest talents aren't even out there on the court.
Imagine if Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, Cole Anthony, Jonathan Kuminga, Evan Mobley, Scottie Barnes, Chet Holmgren, Paolo Banchero, Jabari Smith Jr., Cade Cunningham, Shaedon Sharpe, etc. had played college basketball this year. You don't think the sport would have gotten more hype? You don't think some of them would have been bigger names before they got drafted than they were?
