Author: Aidan Joly

By Aidan Joly

The Big 12 was the best league in college basketball in the 2022-23 season and it wasn’t close.

Now, for the 2023-24 season, it will be a season of transition. It is the first season of new additions Cincinnati, BYU, Houston and UCF and the final season of Oklahoma and Texas being in the league before those two leave for the SEC in 2024. Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah will join in the summer of 2024.

That being said, the league projects to be strong once again in 2023-24. Let’s get into breaking down each of the league’s 14 teams for this season.

Kansas Jayhawks

2022-23: 28-8 (13-5 Big 12), lost in Round of 32

The Jayhawks lost both of their top two scorers to the NBA in Jalen Wilson and Gradey Dick, but claimed the top prize in the transfer portal in Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson, who projects as the team’s best player right out of the gate.

Dickinson seems like a perfect fit for this group, which was one of the most talented rosters in the country even without him. The Jayhawks return Kevin McCullar, KJ Adams and DaJuan Harris, all of whom will have larger roles this season. Freshmen Elmarko Johnson and Chris Johnson are both very good recruits as well.

The talent here is overwhelming. Two question marks are the health of head coach Bill Self, who missed the team’s round of 32 loss to Arkansas as well as Texas transfer Arterio Morris, who is suspended from the program following a rape accusation. The Jayhawks project on paper as a top-2 team in the country on talent alone.

Houston Cougars

2022-23 in American Athletic: 33-3 (17-1 AAC), lost in Sweet 16

The system that coach Kelvin Sampson has in place is more of a plug-and-play one that anyone can really play in. That’s why losing Marcus Sasser and Jerace Walker to the NBA isn’t a huge loss. Case and point, when the Cougars made a run to the Elite Eight in 2022 without Sasser, the team’s best player at the time.

The Cougars return two solid core pieces in Jamal Shead and J’Wan Roberts after they played key roles in what was a top-5 team in the nation for most of 2022-23. Baylor transfer LJ Cryer was one of the better players in the portal and Houston landed him, as well as Temple transfer Damian Dunn. Emanuel Sharp should also have an increased role this season after averaging 5.9 points per game last year.

It will be interesting to see how the Cougars do in a league with much stiffer competition that in the American, but all signs point to a great season with a deep postseason run.

Texas Longhorns

2022-23: 28-8 (12-6 Big 12), lost in Elite Eight

The Longhorns had one of the better stories for the entire season in 2022-23, enduring a midseason coaching change and not missing a beat, ending up one game away from the Final Four.

That was enough for Rodney Terry to get the permanent head coaching gig.

The Longhorns lost just about everyone, but do return Tyrese Hunter, who averaged 10.1 points per game, and Dylan Disu, who averaged 9.1 per game. Texas does bring in two top transfers in Kadin Shedrick (Virginia) and Max Abmas (Oral Roberts), who project to be two of the team’s top three players. Freshman AJ Johnson will have a role, but will have to be developed over time.

The biggest question here remains Terry. In two previous head coaching gigs, he went 163-158 in 10 seasons in the Mountain West (Fresno State) – his first season there was in the WAC – and Conference USA (UTEP). How will be do here in a permanent job?

Kansas State Wildcats

2022-23: 25-9 (11-7 Big 12), lost in Elite Eight

Another one of the best stories in 2022-23, the Wildcats exceeded all expectations in 2022-23, winning 25 games and making the Elite Eight for just the third since since 1988 in Jerome Tang’s first season at the helm, including a signature win over Kansas in January.

The Wildcats lost both of their stars in Markquis Nowell and Keyontae Johnson. However, they re-tooled in the portal, picking up Tylor Perry (North Texas), Arthur Kaluma (Creighton) and Ques Glover (Samford), three unsung guys who are likely to make an impact.

They also return Nae’Qwan Tomlin and David N’Guessan. Overall, this Wildcats team is likely to take a step back, but still be a threat overall in the Big 12.

Baylor Bears

2022-23: 23-11 (11-7 Big 12), lost in Round of 32

The Bears averaged 13th in the NET rankings in the past five years, with usually one of the top rosters in the country. This might be a lower number this year.

The aforementioned LJ Cryer is gone, as is Adam Flagler, who elected to stay in the NBA Draft. In response coach Scott Drew hit the portal, adding RayJ Dennis (Toledo) and Jayden Nunn (VCU) as transfers. They project to be solid replacements for the two departures.

Jalen Bridges does return after averaging 10.3 points per game this past season. A pair of freshmen in JaKobe Walker and Miro Little should help right out of the gate as well.

Scott Drew is one of the best coaches in the country. Dennis and Nunn come from mid-majors, but Drew has proven he can get a lot out of that type of player, looking at what he did with Flagler and MaCio Teague. We will see.

Cincinnati Bearcats

2022-23 in American Athletic: 23-12 (11-7 American), lost in NIT quarterfinals

This will be the first season in the Big 12 for the Bearcats and coach Wes Miller after deep NIT run last March.

Viktor Lahkin and Aziz Bandoago are two of the most underrated centers in the country on a national level, and both of them return in 2023-24. However, there is not much to be said for the other positions. There is Georgetown transfer Primo Spears, who should be solid at the guard position. They bring in Butler transfer Simas Lukosius, who will provide another option in the frontcount.

Cincinnati will be a decent team in 2023-24, but there will surely be some growing pains as they adjust to a new, highly competitive league.

TCU Horned Frogs

2022-23: 22-13 (9-9 Big 12), lost in Round of 32

The Horned Frogs are coming off their second straight NCAA tournament appearance, something the program had not accomplished since 1952 and 1953.

Mike Miles is gone, but returner JaKobe Coles easily slides into having a larger role in his absence. Damion Baugh and Emanuel Miller return for the Horned Frogs as well. Coach Jamie Dixon did a solid job in the portal, picking up Oklahoma State transfer Avery Anderson III and Delaware’s Jameer Nelson Jr. Anderson will see the bigger role, but Nelson projects as about the fourth-best player in the roster.

It remains to be seen how large of a role freshman Jace Posey will have and that is something to monitor.

All in all, TCU should be in solid shape and will compete towards the middle of the league.

Iowa State Cyclones

2022-23: 19-14 (9-9 Big 12), lost in Round of 64

The Cyclones are positioned to be one of the youngest teams in the league following the losses of each of their top four scorers – Jared Holmes, Gabe Kalscheur, Caleb Grill and Osun Osunniyi – all to graduation.

Sophomore Tamin Lipsey will be thrust into a large role after showing some flashed as a freshman, a season where he averaged 7.2 points a game. UNLV transfer Keshon Gilbert will probably be the second-leading scorer, and Buffalo transfer Curtis Jones is likely to start.

A crop of freshman, Omaha Biliew, Milan Momcilovic and JT Rock, will need to develop quickly.

There will surely be some growing pains for the Cyclones at the start of the season, but it will be interesting to see how they progress as the season goes on.

BYU Cougars

2022-23 in WCC: 19-15 (7-9 WCC), no postseason

BYU had Ques Glover for a time this off-season before he re-opened his recruitments and landed with Kansas State, as mentioned before. That was a huge blow for the program as it tried to pick up a second star player.

That being said, Fousseyni Traore is a top-30 player in the country and will have a huge role. However, he will have to play in the post standing at 6-6, in a league where every team has a good center. They do have 6-11 Aly Khalifa, but Traore is much more talented. Spencer Johnson returns for the Cougars as well.

It will be fascinating to see how this team adjusts to the Big 12 buzzsaw, especially coming off a season in the WCC where it struggled to a degree.

UCF Knights

2022-23 in American Athletic: 19-15 (8-10 AAC), lost in NIT second round

UCF is another school joining the Big 12 this season. It has been a solid program for a while now under Johnny Dawkins. A lot of people seem to think that UCF will be something of a whipping boy for a bit, which could happen, but there is also a good shot the Knights can hold their own, even if the season ends towards the bottom of the league.

Darius Johnson is the guy to watch here. Most of the rest of the roster is not much to write home about. Sam Jose State transfer Ibrahima Diallo is a seven-footer who might be a defensive menace in the middle.

Defense has always been the key for Dawkins teams at UCF, and will have to hang its hat on that again this season.

Oklahoma State Cowboys

2022-23: 20-16 (8-10 Big 12), lost in NIT quarterfinals

Losing Kalib Boone and Moussa Cisse to the transfer portal is a huge blow to a team that missed the NCAA tournament last season. Two of the best big men in the nation, but barely playing over 20 minutes a game in coach Mike Boynton’s rotation. Who can blame them? That’s on Boynton and coaching. Avery Anderson III is gone to TCU, as well.

So, the Cowboys will have to lean on mid-major guards to lead the team. On paper, adding Javon Small (East Carolina) is a solid move. He had good stats with 15.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists, but a lot of that came against much inferior competition. Louisiana-Monroe transfer Russell Harrison missed all of 2022-23, but is now eligible.

Bryce Thompson is back, but he was wildly inconsistent in 2022-23. John-Michael Wright will need to have a bigger role too.

All in all, things don’t look great. You might be looking at the worst team in the Big 12 here.

West Virginia Mountaineers

2022-23: 19-15 (7-11 Big 12), lost in Round of 64

One of the biggest storylines off the off-season came in Morgantown, after Bob Huggins was forced into retirement after using an anti-gay slur on a radio station and then getting a DUI.

Interim coach Josh Eilert, less than two seasons removed from being a DOBO, will lead the team this season.

The team’s biggest get in the portal was Syracuse transfer Jesse Edwards, who will likely be the team’s best player. Montana State transfer RaeQuan Battle and Arizona transfer Kerr Kriisa are both solid gets, but neither dramatically move the needle.

Tre Mitchell is the best returner here. Overall, it’s tough to get too excited about this tea, but maybe they can prove doubters wrong.

Texas Tech Red Raiders

2022-23: 16-16 (5-13 Big 12), no postseason

New coach Grant McCasland is fresh off of a NIT championship with North Texas and will have a good shot at coaching in the NCAA tournament with these Red Raiders.

Arizona State transfer Warren Washington will be key in leading this group, which does not have a ton of returning players. However, Pop Isaacs is one of those returners, back after averaging 11.5 points per game as a freshman in 2022-23. Joining Washington will be Devan Cambridge, who also comes to the program from Arizona State.

The outlook here looks decent. Time will tell.

Oklahoma Sooners

2022-23: 15-17 (5-13 Big 12), no postseason

The 2022-23 season did not go well in Norman, and this year’s edition might take a further step back.

The team’s best player is probably John Hugley IV, who averaged 8.0 points and 3.6 rebounds a game for Pittsbrgh in 2022-23. As for guys coming back, Milos Uzan is probably the best of the group after he averaged 7.6 points per game last year.

Siena transfer Javian McCollum was a star in the MAAC, and he now gets a challenge and a role to put himself into for the Sooners.

It’s likely that this team takes a step back, which is a shame. Porter Moser is a solid coach, but this is just not a good fit for him geographically. A move somewhere else before Oklahoma makes a move could be the best option for him if the season goes even more south.

By Aidan Joly

Less than two months out from the return of college basketball, we are going to start conference previews for the season.

First up is the ACC.

First off, it’s no secret that this league is losing prominence nationally. In 2022-23, the league failed to impress for the second season in a row and only sent five teams to the NCAA tournament, but saved some level of face with a surprise Miami run to the Final Four.

More than half of the league has coaches who have been with their programs less than three years. Many of these teams have had major roster overhauls in the off-season, but the league still boasts a good amount of talent after faring well in the transfer portal.

Right now, the league probably has about seven teams with realistic NCAA tournament chances, and one with national title aspirations. Let’s get into each of the 15 teams.

Duke Blue Devils

2022-23: 27-9 (14-6 ACC), lost in Round of 32

The Blue Devils had high expectations heading into the NCAA tournament, which made a loss to Tennessee in the round of 32 a disappointing end to Jon Scheyer’s first season as head coach. However, all things considered, it was a respectable season after a roster overhaul.

This year’s edition of the Blue Devils brings backs four starters and five of its six top scorers, along with one of the best classes of freshmen in the country. Kyle Filipowski had 15.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game last year as a freshman, and should come back even stronger as a sophomore. The return of Jeremy Roach is huge for the guard position, an efficient player who is sure to be even better. Tyrese Proctor will be a good partner for him on offense.

The additions of freshmen Sean Stewart, Jared McCain, Caleb Foster and TJ Power, all top-20 recruits, will be big reinforcements.

The expectations will only get higher in Scheyer’s second season, and a national title has to be the goal.

Virginia Cavaliers

2022-23: 25-8 (15-5 ACC), lost in Round of 64

After falling victim to an upset in the first round of the tournament last March, Tony Bennett’s squad faced a major roster overhaul after Kihei Clark, Armaan Franklin, Jayden Gardner and Ben Vander Plas all graduated, and Kadin Shedrick transferred.

The Cavaliers do bring in Merrimack transfer Jordan Minor, Georgetown transfer Dante Harris, St. Thomas transfer Andrew Rhode and a few others in the portal, but would have likely been staring down an NIT appearance if not for the return of Reece Beekman, who brings back some much-needed continuity for the Cavaliers.

It’s no secret that outside of the 2019 national title that Virginia has struggled to compete in March, but Tony Bennett always figures it out and this season should be more of the same.

North Carolina Tar Heels

2022-23: 20-13 (11-9 ACC), no postseason

Year two under Hubert Davis did not go as well as year one, going from preseason national title favorites to notoriously declining a bid to the NIT, which makes much more sense now that most of the roster left.

Davis has had issues with playing time. Starters seemingly play the whole game, while the bench barely plays at all. Changes will have to be made with Davis’ coaching philosophy in that regard. Former top recruits Puff Johnson, Dontrez Styles, D’Marco Dunn, Seth Trimble, Jalen Washington and Tyler Nickel are all gone after not getting much of a chance in two years or less of development.

And it just might, with Armando Bacot coming back for another year. The Tar Heels also bring in Notre Dame transfer Cormac Ryan, Louisville transfer Jae’lyn Withers, Stanford transfer Harrison Ingram and Brown transfer Paxton Wojcik, among others. They also have a decent recruiting class coming in.

The overarching theme here is that on paper, the Tar Heels have one of the most talented rosters in the league. The question will be, can Davis make a simple but important coaching adjustment?

Florida State Seminoles

2022-23: 9-23 (7-13 ACC), no postseason

FSU had arguably its best team in the Leonard Hamilton era in 2019-20 and then made the Sweet 16 in 2021, its second second weekend appearance in five years.

Since then, the past two seasons have featured a ton of injuries that made it impossible for even one of the deepest rosters in the country to compete. At one point last year the Seminoles had a rotation of just seven players, most of them freshman and ideally wouldn’t have been playing much if the team had less injuries. The strange 16-game suspension of Baba Miller didn’t help, either.

Thus, this year’s roster is athletic and should result in a better season than last year. Miller is back, as well as Cam’Ron Fletcher, who missed time last year when he was hurt. Sophomore De’Ante Green can certainly make a step forward too.

Additions of true point guard Primo Spears, as well as Jaylan Gainey and Josh Nickelberry should keep the roster deep.

That’s if, of course, they can stay healthy.

Virginia Tech Hokies

2022-23: 19-15 (8-12 ACC), lost in first round of NIT

Despite coach Mike Young not playing as deep of a rogation as Hamilton and Florida State, the Hokies faced a similar issue that the Seminoles did this past season with injuries.

As a result, Sean Pedulla, Hunter Catoor and Justyn Mutts were forced to be iron men after it turned out that only about six players were prepared for roles in high-major college basketball, and the results were not good, with inefficient shooting that did not result in a lot of winning.

Two of the three in that group (Pedulla and Catoor) will return, so at least there is some continuity there. A four-star recruit in Brandon Rechsteiner is a remarkably similar player to Pedulla, so he should help out in a big way quickly. Transfer portal additions in Mekhi Long (Old Dominion) and the aforementioned Tyler Nickel should play roles for the Hokies as well.

With more able contributors, the NCAA tournament should be a realistic goal for this group, but it does need the ball to bounce the right way from time to time.

Syracuse Orange

2022-23: 17-15 (10-10 ACC), no postseason

Of course, the Orange had the most notable coaching change of the off-season when 78-year-old Jim Boeheim handed the keys to Adrian Autry after 47 years, a career that included 34 NCAA tournament appearances, five Final Fours and the 2003 national championship.

Autry, the former associate head coach, inherits a roster chalk-full of young talent, including a former five-star recruit and a member of last year’s All-Freshman team.

Notre Dame transfer JJ Starling was the one who was on the All-Freshman team, and he will team up with Judah Mintz to form what should be one of the best backcourts in the league. Benny Williams was inconsistent as a sophomore, but showed some serious flashes and should show more this season and hopefully be more consistent. Chris Bell and Maliq Brown both had their moments as freshman, too.

Despite Autry working with Boeheim for 12 years, he has been clear that he will move away from Boeheim’s patented zone defense in favor of man-to-man. This should help out their defensive rebounding woes and bring them into the 21st century a bit when it comes to defense.

All in all, with the young roster, expectations should be reasonably high for the Orange in Autry’s inaugural campaign.

Miami Hurricanes

2022-23: 29-8 (15-5 ACC), lost in national semifinals

The Hurricanes made a surprise run to the Final Four last March, but it will be tough to follow that up this season.

Replacing reigning ACC Player of the Year Isaiah Wong will be tough, but Bensley Joseph will try to do it after coming off the bench last year. The team will also deal with the loss of star forward Jordan Miller, which will be tasked to Florida State transfer Matthew Cleveland. Cleveland is a great addition and as close to a player to Miller that they could have gotten, maybe Cleveland is slight less strong.

Nijal Pack, Norchad Omier and Wooga Poplar return, bringing some decent pieces back this season.

The starters won’t be the problem as much as the bench and depth, which may do the Canes in this season. But they can certainly try, although an NCAA bid might be tough to come by.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons

2022-23: 19-14 (10-10 ACC), no postseason

Steve Forbes first three seasons in Winston-Salem have been moderately successful, but have still yet to produce a NCAA tournament appearance.

Several players, including Alondes Williams, Jake LaRavia and Tyree Appleby, have done well after struggling in other offensive systems.

This year’s team will bring back Cam Hildreth, who will likely play a major role and they also bring in Central Michigan transfer Boopie Miller and former top recruits Hunter Sallis and Efton Reid, both coming out of Gonzaga. Both are skilled players who will be looking for a new opportunity playing under Forbes.

Their presence, along with capable players in Andrew Carr and Damari Monsanto and freshman Parker Friedrichsen should make for a team that threats on offense. The question is defense, which hasnt seemingly been a priority of some Forbes teams in recent years.

If things go right, an NCAA tournament bid could be in the cards, which would be a good place to be in year four.

Boston College Eagles

2022-23: 16-17 (9-11 ACC), no postseason

The 2022-23 season was a tale of two schedules for the Eagles. It went 7-6 against a non-very-impressive non-conference slate, which included losses to New Hampshire, Tarleton State and Maine. It did this without Quinton Post, one of the better players on the team. If he had been healthy, BC may have made some sort of postseason for what would have been just the third time since 2009.

Post is back this year, though. Prince Aligbe and Devon McGlockton both showed promise as freshman and should make leaps as sophomores. Charleton Southern transfer Claudell Harris is at least an equal player to replace Makai Ashton-Langford, if not an upgrade. Jaeden Zachary has a chance to re-discover himself after struggling last year, and two former solid recruits in Chas Kelly and Donald Hand will have roles off the bench.

If things go well, this seems to be the year that Earl Grant can bring the Eagles back to some sort of postseason. Even the NIT would be a huge plus.

Clemson Tigers

2022-23: 23-11 (14-6 ACC), lost in NIT first round

The season ended on a pair of bad notes in both missing the NCAA tournament and then losing in the first round of the NIT, but overall it was a better season than expected.

The biggest returnee is Chase Hunter, who is back after averaging 13.8 points per game this past season. Syracuse transfer Joe Girard is in theory an upgrade to Brevin Galloway on offense, but he will need to take less shots, which taking too many would likely reduce Clemson’s efficiency on offense, something it did well with last year.

Air Force transfer Jake Heidbreder should be an upgrade over Alex Hemenway. However, Girard and Heidbreder will likely halt the development of former recruit Dillon Hunter, who will need to have at least a small role in Clemson’s success. Hunter Tyson will be missed on offense.

It seems like Clemson has a lot of guys, but them meshing together will be the question. The Tigers could certainly be good again, but will need a lot of things to go right for that to happen.

Pittsburgh Panthers

2022-23: 24-12 (14-6 ACC), lost in Round of 32

Pitt was one of the major feel-good stories in college basketball last year, Jeff Capel having a breakthrough year and the program making its first NCAA tournament since 2016.

With a lot of departures, the Panthers will likely struggle on offense and overall, take a step back. Really the only core player who is back is Blake Hinson, who wasn’t particularly close to the team’s most important player in 2022-23.

There are Spanish twins Jorge and Guillermo Diaz Graham, who could make up a lethal frontcourt, but both will need to fill out more of their potential, considering their respective size at 6-11 and 7-0.

High Point transfer Zach Austin is here, as is Rhode Island transfer Ishmael Leggett. Their roles are yet to be seen.

All in all, Capel probably bought himself two more years with last year’s performance, provided his players improve and the season isn’t a disaster. But don’t expect last year again.

NC State Wolf Pack

2022-23: 23-11 (12-8 ACC), lost in Round of 64

Coach Kevin Keatts did a solid job with a huge roster turnover last year, getting the program back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2018.

It’s another off-season of major roster turnover in Raleigh, in particular losing Terquavion Smith and Jarkel Joiner to graduation.

In theory, Arizona State transfer DJ Horne and North Carolina A&T transfer Kam Woods are capable of replacing Smith and Joiner in the backcourt, but that level of production shouldn’t be expected, at least right off the bat.There will be more opportunities for Casey Morsell too, who broke out a bit this past year. Former Kansas recruit MJ Rice is here too after struggling to get his footing in Lawrence.

In the frontcourt, it is returner DJ Burns, Clemson transfer Ben Middleton and another returner in Ernest Ross, a former top-60 recruit who has not lived up to his hype so far. This is an important year for him.

Keatts did one of the best jobs in the ACC last year in simply making the tournament, but it’ll be hard to replicate with a paper roster that is less talented. Stranger things have happened, though.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

2022-23: 15-18 (6-14 ACC), no postseason

After anther season of struggling, Georgia Tech parted ways with Josh Pastner.

The Yellow Jackets brought in Damon Stoudamire. It is an interesting hire to stay the least. He went an unimpressive 71-77 in five seasons with Pacific from 2016-2021 and had been an assistant with the Boston Celtics since. His NBA name is a recruiting tool, which helps matters.

There isn’t a ton here, but the Yellow Jackets do have one player worth writing home about in Miles Kelly, a perimeter volume shooter who really did well last season. Florida transfer Kowacie Reeves has a good reputation, even if the stats haven’t shown up yet. Juniors Lance Terry and Dallan Coleman are both good perimeter shooters, so the Yellow Jacket have all of that going for them as a dangerous team from behind the arc. Ole Miss transfer Amaree Abram helps there, too.

It’ll be a four-guard lineup with either Western Carolina transfer Tyzhaun Claude or NC State transfer Ebenezer Dowuona in the post, so there will be some defense and rebounding questions.

It’s tough to gauge how Georgia Tech will be this season. Seemingly, it’ll live by the three and die by the three.

Louisville Cardinals

2022-23: 4-28 (2-18 ACC), no postseason

Kenny Payne’s first season at the helm was nothing short of a disaster. Payne had some roster turnover but there was talent, a lot of the issues seemed to be coaching-related.

So, of course there was a mass exodus. Most notably, El Ellis and Jae’lyn Withers are gone, both of their best players. Sydney Curry is gone, too. Offensive struggles were expected, but it wasn’t supposed to be that bad, with the Cardinals in the bottom third of the country in several offensive categories, and much worse than when Chris Mack was fired midway through the 2021-22 season and Mike Pegues ran the team in the interim.

Payne was known as a good recruiter, but his top get this off-season was Skyy Clark, a former top recruit who struggled mightily at Illinois and bizarrely leaving the team mid-season, announcing his intention to transfer just hours after the Illini were eliminated from the NCAA tournament (without him). A former five-star recruit, Trentyn Flowers, l eft the program over the summer to play professional overseas instead of play overseas after experiencing the program briefly. Not much talent is there otherwise.

Overall, the roster is slightly more talented, but it will likely take some major improvements for Payne to keep his job beyond this season.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

2022-23: 11-21 (3-17 ACC), no postseason

Last year’s Notre Dame team underachieved and played with remarkably little energy, leading Mike Brey, the most successful coach in the program’s history, to announce his retirement in February.

Replacing Brey is Micah Shrewsberry, who the Irish were able to lure from Penn State after he had a successful two seasons in Happy Valley.

Shrewsberry is easily one of the top coaches in the country right now, but there was next to nothing he could do to avoid a near-complete roster turnover.

There won’t be any success in this first year with a roster that might be one of the worst in Power 6. Nobody on the roster has ever averaged more than 4.4 points per game at the college level – that would be Julian Roper at Northwestern last season.

Where will points come from? Micah’s son Braeden, a four-star freshman, will probably get opportunities, as will top-70 recruit Carey Booth. Sophomore J.R. Konieczny, who played sparingly last year, might emerge as the top scorer.

Simply put, this is a complete rebuild job and winning right now isn’t realistic. But, could things go worse than last year? Probably not. And it’s realistic to think just about everyone will return for year two, and we already know Shrewsberry’s ability to build up a program and develop players.

By Aidan Joly

As conference realignment rolls on in college sports, questions have lingered about two of the best college basketball programs in the country, a pair of programs that lie on opposite sides of the country.

Gonzaga and UConn. Would the powerhouses head to the Big 12? Or would they stay put in the WCC and the Big East.

At the end of the day, Big 12 commissioner Brent Yormack said that after the additions of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah to bring the league to 16 teams starting in the summer of 2024, it won’t expand any more.

What about Gonzaga and UConn? It’s good that they will stay in their respective leagues. It is fair to say that both of these programs don’t need the Big 12 and will be better off in the long run not being on the addition list, for different reasons.

First, let’s talk about UConn. One major lesson in the past 20 years of conference realignment is to know what you’re good at. Look at schools like Nebraska, Miami, Boston College and Maryland. For the most part, those athletic programs have been worse since moving to new leagues.

Sure, it’s more money from television rights deals, but does that improve the day-to-day lives of fans? Fans want their teams to be good, to play in games that matter, and have regional rivalries.

For decades, UConn had it playing in the old Big East. Then, the program lost it with its move to the American Athletic. It recently got it back by moving back to the Big East, and now is back on top of the basketball world with its fifth national title since 2000 this past season, more than any program in the past 30 years.

You can’t forget about the women’s program either, which has a claim of being the best women’s program in the country with 11 national titles since 1995, but has not won one since 2016 as other programs catch up to Geno Auriemma and the Huskies.

A move to the Big 12 would have created intrigue, but it would have made it far more difficult for UConn to win conference championships, consistently earn high seeds in the NCAA tournament, lose regional rivalries and potentially lose territorial dominance in the northeast. It also has a synonymous connection to Madison Square Garden, which it likely would have lost, too.

On top of that, in an era of student-athlete empowerment, logging thousands of miles more in travel would have hampered their well-being. There’s a financial cost to that, too.

UConn let football drive the bus in the move to the American in 2013, which was a mistake, and it would likely be doing the same if it had moved to the Big 12. That money would have been huge – and much of it likely would have gone to overhauling a football program that struggles to make any sort of wave in its own region, much less nationally.

If the ACC comes calling in a few weeks, months or years, this might be a different discussion. But for now, UConn knows what it is good at.

Now, let’s move over to Gonzaga.

The Bulldogs have been flirting with other conferences ever since it became a national power more than two decades ago.

Similar to UConn, it would have been knocked down a peg or two with a move to the Big 12, but it would have brought much more national exposure to the program. Coach Mark Few is forced to be one of the most ambitious coaches in the country when it comes to non-conference scheduling on a yearly basis – because the program essentially disappears for the most part in January and February. And now with BYU leaving for the Big 12, Gonzaga has lost two high-profile games in the middle of the season too. It needs those non-conference games.

Gonzaga can not, and should not, be content to stay in the WCC and let its standing within the sport slip as its counterparts leave for better leagues. Now, the league is down to nine after BYU’s departure.

In the short term, staying in the WCC is fine for the program to maintain its top-10 status in the sport. How about long term? That’s another question.

The Mountain West has pushed hard to add Gonzaga in the past, but GU said no, using it as leverage for scheduling benefits and a larger share of media rights in the WCC. Now, Gonzaga needs to wait and see what happens with the remnants of the Pac-12 and see if there is any sort of merger with the Mountain West. When you look at the way money is tiered for NCAA tournament performance, the Zags are a cash cow for the rest of the league, which has always been a three-bid league at best.

The Pac-12 has looked down on Gonzaga for a long time, due to the school not having football. Now, it should go to wherever Cal, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State, or some combination of the four go. That should be the Mountain West.

As mentioned before, Gonzaga has always flirted with other leagues. The Big East was one of them, but those talks have fizzled, likely due to the geographic aspect. If Gonzaga was in the Midwest, it would have surely joined the Big East by now.

Gonzaga moving to the remnants of the Pac-12, or joining during some sort of merger, feels like the best move to set up the program for long-term success, even after the 60-year-old Few’s coaching days are up.

Realignment never ends. It has always defined college sports, and the conference landscape will certainly look different in 50 years. Gonzaga and UConn and defined by basketball. There’s a price to that, but the experience is surely much better.

Is that not the point?

By Aidan Joly

The Pac-12 took yet another hit on Thursday after it became official that the University of Colorado will leave the league for the greener pastures of the Big 12 in 2024.

Colorado was arguably the school that had the best options out of anyone else in the league and it turns out they had the ability and motivation to move on from the Pac-12 and return to a league that called home for more than six decades. A surge in popularity with the school was caused by hiring Deion Sanders as the school’s new football coach, too.

If we are keeping score at home, that is now three schools that will leave the Pac-12 next summer after both USC and UCLA will head to the Big Ten in the summer of 2024, leaving the league with just nine schools moving toward as of this writing.

To add onto that, rumors continue to swirl that the Pac-12 could lose up to more schools in the coming weeks and that it might be the larger brands that remain. Oregon, Washington, Arizona or Arizona State would make the most sense.

Now at 13 schools, the Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormack certainly isn’t done expanding. Some other schools in other leagues, such as UConn, remain possibilities too. The Huskies would have to pay a seven-figure exit fee to leave the Big East though. Yormack has said he would like to cap expansion at 14 once Oklahoma and Texas leave, so it is going to be a mad scramble for that 14th spot.

It all comes down to passive leadership within the Pac-12. In 2021, when Texas and Oklahoma announced that they would leave the Big 12 for the SEC, the Pac-12 had a chance to chew at the bones of a wounded league. Instead, the powers that be stood pat and let the Big 12 re-tool and finally take away schools from them. Two years ago, the Big 12 seemed unstable and perhaps headed down a similar road that the Pac-12 is currently heading down, has struck a blow to the Pac-12.

How will the Pac-12 remain afloat?

San Diego State seemed like the easy call, but the Pac-12 could not get its media rights deal straight fast enough, enough time for the Mountain West to double its exit fee, a move to try to prevent that program from leaving. For now, SDSU stays in the Mountain West.

The loss of prestige is hitting the league hard. It has now lost both the Los Angeles and Denver markets, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see them lose at least part of the Arizona market in short order. It went from having four schools that have won football national championships to one. In basketball, after UCLA leaves, only one current school will have won a national title since 1959.

Oregon and Washington have talked to other leagues too. The move here needs to be to double down and keep them happy, which would probably have to be a bigger cut of media money, which the league has talked with multiple platforms in recent years, but nothing has come to fruition.

Rumors say that the Pac-12 has been asking for $500 million annually, which breaks down to $50 million per school in a league that just lost its two biggest west coast brand. An outlandish ask.

The Big 12 essentially took away a chance for the league to partner with Fox or ESPN due to their deals, while the Big Ten has partnered with CBS, Fox and NBC for a rich deal. Why would networks pay similar money for the Pac-12?

Apple still remains an option for the Pac-12, which might be sweetened with the league’s connections to Silicon Valley. Still, it’s not one that would make a ton of sense.

All in all here, it’s hard to see the Pac-12 completely dying. It’s likely to stay around in some form, but the relevance remains to be seen.

The last bit of irony: Colorado left the Big 12 back in 2011 because of its lack of stability. 12 years later, it heads back to that league in search of stability.

How about that?

By Aidan Joly

It’s been just about four months since Hall of Fame head coach Rick Pitino left Iona for St. John’s.

A complete roster overhaul has occurred since then, and that St. John’s will become a recruiting powerhouse as long as Pitino is at the helm.

Earlier this week, the Red Storm picked up Harvard transfer and Brooklyn native Chris Ledlum, one of the best remaining players in the transfer portal. He was highly recruited while he was in the portal after averaging more than 18 points and eight rebounds with the Crimson this past season. He actually had originally committed to Tennessee earlier in the off-season, but entered the portal for a second time this summer and now lands closer to home.

The roster now features 12 newcomers and 10 transfers coming in. The Ledlum addition came at the expense of Quinn Slazinski, who had followed Pitino from Iona to St. John’s, who entered the portal shortly after the Ledlum commitment. He quickly committed to West Virginia.

It’s just the latest in high-profile additions for the Johnnies. Pitino picked up dynamic Penn transfer Jordan Dingle, Kansas transfer and former top prospect Zuby Ejiofor and flipped top-40 recruit Simeon Wilcher from North Carolina to come to Queens.

A big part of Pitino’s recruiting wins so far have been picking up local products in the New York City area. As previously mentioned, Ledlum is from Brooklyn, Dingle hails from Long Island and Wilcher is from New Jersey. The program is heavily recruiting high school stars Boogie Fland and V.J. Edgecombe, who are also both local.

Pitino has built an NCAA tournament roster in year one in a span of these four months, one that additionally is capable of making noise in the Big East. UConn, Marquette and Creighton all have better rosters on paper to this point, but having a Hall of Famer on the sidelines certainly doesn’t hurt your chances of competing at the top of the league. It’s a stunning shift from both the years of previous head coach Mike Anderson and more so the past two decades, which has been mainly filled with mediocrity (the program still has not won an NCAA tournament game since 2000).

St. John’s still does not have the best on-campus facilities. Playing at Madison Square Garden is an allure, but playing for Pitino is probably a bigger one. What happens if St. John’s wins, and wins a lot? Does St. John’s become even more of a threat in the recruiting trail?

When he was hired at Iona in 2020, he proudly pronounced that the Gaels were the last stop of his career. He slowly moved away from that over three years and guided the program to two NCAA tournaments, but did not win a game. He spent this past season with a foot out the door. He also left behind a major rebuilding project for the program and new head coach Tobin Anderson.

There’s no guarantee that Pitino will stay at St. John’s – a blueblood could come calling – and he’s said that he would like to coach for another decade. It’s likely that if and when he does leave, St. John’s is likely to be left in a similar situation that Iona is in right now.

But for St. John’s, it’s easy to tell why they would take this trade-off.

By Aidan Joly

The Peach Jam is always one of the most star-studded youth basketball events of the calendar year. It has the highest-level high school players in the world, NBA stars make appearances and the next generation of stars is born at the event.

This year, it was Cooper Flagg who stole the show.

Flagg hails from one of the most unlikely states in the country. That state is Maine, a state that hasn’t had a player who hails from there drafted in nearly 40 years, and only one player in the league right now from there (Duncan Robinson).

With his local team, Maine United, Flagg put together eye-popping stat line after eye-popping stat line, including a 38-point, 16-rebound, 12-block and 6-assist game on Thursday, one of the most epic Peach Jam performances in recent memory. He followed it up with 37 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocks two days later in an elimination, double overtime win.

Flagg came into the week as the No. 2 player in the class of 2025 behind Cameron Boozer, but it seems to just be a matter of time before he surpasses Boozer to take the top spot, even though Boozer’s Nightrydas Elite beat Maine United in the 16U title game.

Flagg impressed all week. Still just 16 years old, he stands at 6-foot-8 and weighs 200 pounds and plays well beyond his years, moving the ball like a point guard, setting up open shots for his teammates and scores with multiple guys on him. On defense, he’s a true rim-protector.

Like just stated, Flagg is doing this at 16 years old. He still has two or so more years of growing, so he might get up to seven feet tall by the time he is in college basketball and the NBA. It’s still early in his recruitment, but due to his age he can re-classify into the class of 2024 and be in college for the 2024-25 season and be eligible for the 2025 NBA Draft. It might behoove him to do so, as the class of 2024 lacks the star power that the class of 2025 and class of 2026 does. Cameron Boozer and brother Cayden are both high-impact players, as are Caleb Wilson, Darius Acuff Jr. and Jalen Haralson. In 2026, AJ Dybantsa and Tyran Stokes made headlines in North Augusta.

Going back to Flagg; if he goes to the class of 2024, he immediately becomes the best player in the class and increases his chances of becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the draft in 2025. He has lots of time to make a decision on that, but it will be fascinating storyline to follow in the next handful of months.

As for where he could go to college, look at Duke or any of the top programs in the northeast to make a hard charge at him, particularly Villanova and UConn. Schools like Michigan and Kansas are sure to be in the running as well.

Or a pipe dream: stay home and play at Maine for a year. Imagine how cool that would be? The Black Bears would be a force in mid-major basketball and give the program, state and America East a ton of recognition. It’s highly, highly unlikely, but one can dream.

This all being said: Cooper Flagg is a future star and what comes next in his career will be very fun to follow.

By Aidan Joly

A few weeks ago on this blog, I wrote that when the mighty fall, it’s rarely a soft landing.

However, it’s surprising to see how bad it has gotten between Bob Huggins and the school he coached at for 16 years, West Virginia.

When he resigned and retired last month after a drunk driving arrest in Pittsburgh, many assumed that he needed some level of help, but he would be alright eventually and might be able to repair the relationship eventually.

That’s not going to happen anymore. As of Tuesday, there have been four letters sent back and forth between Huggins through his attorney and the school, with Huggins claiming he never resigned from his position at WVU and said that the statement put out by West Virginia announcing his resignation was not written by him.

On Monday he doubled down, claiming he checked into a “world class rehabilitation center” and would return to his coaching duties.

He has also threatened legal action against the school if he is not reinstated as head coach. Huggins’ lawyer claims that the resignation came from a text message written by Huggins’ wife.

West Virginia has twice responded, first calling Huggins’ claims “completely factually inaccurate” and said that Huggins told his players in person he was resigning and told university officials in an email.

WVU pushed back again on Monday, saying “there is no support in the law or on these facts to suggest that Mr. Huggins may now ignore his resignation and his actions upon which all have relied, undo his voluntary separation, and return to work as if none of this ever occurred.”

It went on: “But let me again restate the obvious: the university will not accept Mr. Huggins’ attempted revocation of his resignation, nor will it reinstate him as head coach of the men’s basketball program.”

Several players have already transferred out of the program, which has promoted assistant coach Josh Eilert as interim coach for the 2023-24 season.

This is a man who made anti-gay comments on a radio show in May that got him suspended and fined. Five weeks later, he blew a .21 and got arrested for drunk driving. This is clearly not a man who is fit to coach college basketball.

Instead, he is choosing to be a distraction to Eilert and the players who remain in Morgantown. It’s surprising that people in his circle are not advising him better. It’s one of the uglier breakups we’ve seen in college sports in recent memory.

Really, it’s mind-boggling what is happening here. Huggins could have moved on from coaching and eventually return to West Virginia to be properly honored for his career.

Now, any chance of that happening is out the window in this ridiculous and sad saga.

By Aidan Joly

On Wednesday, ESPN announced the 14 ACC-SEC Challenge games for the upcoming season, set to be held on November 28 and 29.

This combines and replaces the ACC-Big Ten Challenge and the Big 12/SEC Challenge, which were both discontinued following the 2022-23 season by ESPN.

So, this ACC-SEC Challenge will be the inaugural one. Let’s take a look at each game and ranking them.

14. Boston College at Vanderbilt (Nov. 29, 9:15 p.m.)

This game doesn’t do anything for me. A game Vanderbilt probably wins and it helps its NET rankings a little bit, but that’s really all I have here.

13. Georgia at Florida State (Nov. 29, 9:15 p.m.)

Another game between two teams at the bottom of their respective leagues, but the two schools are closer to each other in proximity. Georgia coach Mike White has played FSU a couple times while he was the coach at Florida, so there’s some familiarity.

12. LSU at Syracuse (Nov. 28, 7 p.m.)

LSU couldn’t get much worse than it was this past season, so the Tigers should be a little better. For Syracuse, the Orange play a non-conference schedule that also features the Maui Invitational and a neutral site game against Oregon, so add another Power 6 game to Red Autry’s first non-conference schedule.

11. Virginia Tech at Auburn (Nov. 29, 9:15 p.m.)

Auburn does play a tough non-conference schedule, but this should be a relatively easy win for the Tigers. Virginia Tech probably won’t be good enough to really be in the tournament conversation, but a win here would go a long way if they string enough wins in conference play together to be on the bubble.

10. Notre Dame at South Carolina (Nov. 28, 7 p.m.)

The Lou Holtz Bowl, but in basketball. This game doesn’t really move me, but it should be a decent early-season litmus test for new coach Micah Shrewsberry going on the road against a Power 6 opponent.

9. Mississippi State at Georgia Tech (Nov. 28, 7 p.m.)

Another game that will be more of a litmus test to see where they stack up and is a solid home game in year one for new Georgia Tech coach Damon Stoudamire as it faces a Bulldogs team that went to the NCAA tournament this past March.

8. Clemson at Alabama (Nov. 28, 9:30 p.m.)

*Insert a football joke here* Could have given Alabama a much better matchup here, but alas. Clemson is a projected tournament team, but this is a game that the Crimson Tide should win. But a win for Clemson would be huge for tournament hopes.

7. Florida at Wake Forest (Nov. 29, 7:15 p.m.)

Starting to get into the more interesting matchups. Florida has had a great off-season in the portal with Todd Golden and could finish towards the top of the SEC if things go right. Wake Forest could be sneaky good this season, so this would be a huge opportunity for the Demon Deacons to pick up what could end up being a Quad 1 win. An excellent test for both teams.

6. Missouri at Pittsburgh (Nov. 28, 7 p.m.)

Cool game here. Two teams that made the tournament and are on the upswing will meet up here. The Oakland Zoo is a tough place to play and will probably be even tougher now that the Panthers are good. A great early test for both teams to pick up what might end up being a Quad 1 win either way.

5. NC State at Ole Miss (Nov. 28, 9 p.m.)

The Jarkel Joiner Bowl! Both teams have some solid tools and should be decent, and the energy is up in Oxford with Chris Beard taking over the program. It’s a pretty decent and intriguing matchup and a win for either team would go a long way.

4. Texas A&M at Virginia (Nov. 29, 7:15 p.m.)

Buzz Williams and Tony Bennett will re-ignite their rivalry for a night in this one. Bennett has won seven of the 10 matchups between the two. Texas A&M tends to play a weaker non-conference schedule, but plays a strong one this year and this matchup adds to it.

3. Miami at Kentucky (Nov. 28, 7:30 p.m.)

Miami did go the Final Four, but lost just about every major contributor, so the Canes are sure to take a step back this season. Kentucky just took a big step in fortifying its roster with the addition of West Virginia transfer Tre Mitchell, so the Wildcats look much better than they did a week ago. Still wanted Duke-Kentucky, though.

2. Tennessee at North Carolina (Nov. 29, 7:15 p.m.)

This is a big game for sure. Both of these teams are playing a very tough non-conference schedule and this just adds fuel to the fire. Lots of individual matchups will be fun to watch. Armando Bacot vs Jonas Aidoo, as will the point guard matchup between Zakai Zeigler and Elliot Cadeau. One of the better games in the first month of the year.

1. Duke at Arkansas (Nov. 29, 9:15 p.m.)

Bud Walton Arena might need a new roof after this game. This will be one of the most highly anticipated games across the country in the first month of the season. On top of that, this is probably the toughest true road non-conference game that Duke has played since going to play at Michigan State in 2019. The stars will be out for this high-level game and it’s a real must-watch.

By Aidan Joly

The 2023 NBA Draft is in the books. Between the wheeling and dealing in the days leading up to the draft, the talk of lottery picks on the move on draft night, this year’s draft seemingly had it all.

All in all, this was one of the chalkiest drafts I can remember. Sure, there were a couple reaches and slides, but most guys went within a few picks of where they were projected to go.

That being said, let’s get into some takeaways from the night.

Houston has a good night

The Rockets added one of each in the backcourt and the frontcourt in Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore (which brings me to my next point in a minute). They will be added to a roster that already features Jalen Green, Jabari Smith, Kevin Porter Jr., Alperen Sengun and Tari Eason, making it one of the most exciting and athletic young rosters in the league.

Pair that up with new head coach Ime Udoka to develop this group over the next few years. He can use these raw materials to create an athletic team through a system and structure, something his successor, Stephen Silas, wasn’t able to do. That’s a must if hope is to be created in Houston.

Anatomy of a slide

The aforementioned Whitmore was once in the top five conversation, even in the last days leading up to the draft. Instead, he fell to the 20th pick and Houston swooped in and grabbed him. Whitmore is still just 18 years old and there’s still development to be done, but he will surely come into the league with a big chip on his shoulder and something to prove.

Sacramento opens up cap room

A trade that kind of flew under the radar was the Kings sending Richaun Holmes and his $25 million contract to the Dallas Mavericks, along with the 24th pick in the draft, which Dallas used on Olivier-Maxence Prosper.

This move will allow the Kings to be a major player in free agency, with around $34 million in cap space, if certain moves are made with the players they have now.

Now, you can connect the dots here. Sacramento is in glaring need of a power forward, need to improve their defense, have a Warriors-obsessed owner and a head coach who was the Warriors’ lead assistant up until a year ago.

See where I’m going here?

Portland’s post-Lillard future

After Charlotte hemmed and hawed over who it would pick at No. 2, the brass ultimately went with Alabama’s Brandon Miller, opening the door for Portland to take Scoot Henderson at three.

Now, between Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe, the Trail Blazers seemingly have the backcourt of the future in place and will absolutely increase the already-exhausting will-he-or-won’t-he discussion about Damian Lillard’s future. Lillard’s value has never been higher. Portland doesn’t need to live in fear of him demanding a trade anymore. Now is the time to be proactive and move him before it’s too late.

Dallas has best night?

The aforementioned Mavs also had a great night, somehow figuring out a way to dump the contract of Davis Bertans while only moving down two picks to do it.

With that 12th overall pick, Dallas picked up Dereck Lively II, a guy who is a perfect fit in Dallas. A guy seems to be a near-clone of Tyson Chandler and be the guy to catch those alley-oops and share the frontcourt with Luka Doncic, as well as play with Kyrie Irving (if he’s around). On top of that, Prosper is a solid add as a depth piece off the bench.

Doing all of that, while helping your team out financially? Brilliant. That final week tank might have worked, as tough as it is to admit it.

Cason Wallace is a great add for OKC

With the 10th pick, Oklahoma City was able to pick up Cason Wallace, another great example of an athletic, hard-charging, long, and uber-competitive player. He’s another add for a Thunder group that has a lot of young studs like him.

He’ll play alongside budding superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, along with Jalen Williams, Josh Giddey and Lu Dort, in what is set to be one of the most ferocious and versatile groups in the league.

Denver gets some steals

The defending NBA champs didn’t need to do too much in the draft, but picked up two guys who have potential to be the biggest steals in the draft, taking Gonzaga guard Julian Strawther with the 29th pick and Penn State’s Jalen Pickett with the 32nd pick. Denver also grabbed Clemson forward Hunter Tyson at 37.

It remains to be seen what type of role each of these three will have off the bat, but Denver picks up three NBA-ready players who don’t need much development as they arrive at the next level.

Heat culture shines again

The Heat have one of the best cultures and environments in the NBA and found a perfect player to add to that, taking UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez with the 18th pick.

Jaquez is a straight-up winner who played for Mick Cronin at UCLA. He’s one of those guys who knows how to play and contribute on both sides of the ball, a high basketball IQ, something that will really fit in Erik Spoelstra’s system.

Don’t be surprised if he comes in right away and contributes.

College production doesn’t matter

This was one of the bigger realizations throughout the night. Five of the first seven picks didn’t play college basketball. Older college ball stars like Keyontae Johnson (50th overall), Jalen Wilson (51st overall), Isaiah Wong (55th overall) and Trayce Jackson-Davis (57th overall), were picked very late, while guys like Drew Timme, Adama Sanogo, Adam Flagler and Oscar Tschiebwe weren’t picked at all.

Yes, teams don’t want to pick 22-and 23 year old players where there’s a lot of similar types of players in the league, but it was somewhat surprising. In years past, they would have been picked.

By Aidan Joly

The NBA Draft is Thursday night, and today we’re looking into some of the underrated names that might not hear their name called early on, but have a great chance to have impact NBA careers.

Gradey Dick, Kansas

Dick is an intriguing NBA prospect. He’s a high-level small forward who can shoot the ball at a high level, while also is a good athlete with elite NBA skill. He certainly has high upside in the league. He’s not an elite runner or jumper, but he can get up and play above the rim. Standing at 6-8, he has solid height for the wing position, not the longest player at the position but nonetheless.

At Kansas, he averaged 14 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, but more importantly always seemed to be in the right place at the right time.

Pick projection: 10-15th overall range

Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana

Jackson-Davis certainly showed this season that he is NBA ready, putting up 18 double-doubles in Indiana’s 35 games on his way to averaging 21.1 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. More importantly, he was a menace all over the floor as well as a defensive standout. He does most of his work in the paint, so he might have to expand his range a little bit to really succeed, but has some Draymond Green-like abilities.

His game doesn’t fit perfectly into the NBA, but he should be able to carve out a role as a solid role player.

Pick projection: late first round/early second round

Julian Strawther, Gonzaga

Strawther is a well-built and athletic forward who can make plays off the bounce and light it up scoring the ball. He showed the ability to be a go-to scorer, but it feels like we didn’t see all of his ability with Gonzaga, since he was the second option there behind Drew Timme.

On top of that, he’s active on defense and has good vision as a passer. He still has some development to be made, but he can be solid at the next level.

Pick projection: second round

Adam Flagler, Baylor

Flagler might be undersized for a 2 guard, standing at 6-foot-3, but is a solid three-point shooter and is also good from the free throw line. Overall, he’s very efficient.

His knock is on defense. Going back to him being undersized, he might struggle to guard bigger 2 guards at the next level. Still, there is room for development after he had an up-and-down junior season with the Bears.

Pick projection: second round

Colin Castleton, Florida

Castleton suffered a season-ending injury towards the end of Florida’s season, so we didn’t see a ton of him. The fact that Florida missed the NCAA tournament didn’t help either. But, he’s a great rim-protector, averaging three blocks per game and 7.7 rebounds per game. The best part of his game might be the ability to defend the hell out of you without drawing fouls, so he’s smart.

A knock is that his jump shot isn’t close to NBA ready. He only hit two three-pointers his entire college career. It will be interesting to see if his injury hurts his draft stock, or even if he is drafted at all.

Pick projection: second round/undrafted

Bobi Klintman, Wake Forest

Klintman isn’t getting nearly enough attention as he deserves, but people might be finally starting to see the light here. He’s a legit 6-foot-10, but moves like a guard and is a capable three-point shooter. He made 36.8% as a freshman for the Demon Deacons this past season and it’s easy to see those numbers going up if he is put into the right system.

He is one of the higher-upside prospects in this draft. That as well as his physical gifts could make for a great addition for a team that is willing to develop him.

Pick projection: late first round/early second round

Brandin Podziemski, Santa Clara

For most of the winter and spring, Podziemski was not much more than a second round pick for a team to take a flyer on, but he has flown up draft boards after an impressive showing in workouts and the combine. He’s an underrated passer and facilitator and plays at both ends, while projecting as a three-point marksman at the next level. He’s also an excellent rebounder.

He could fit in well with a team of young shooters. He earned himself a green room invite, so the NBA probably thinks he’ll go in the first round.

Pick projection:mid-late first round

Jordan Hawkins, UConn

Hawkins is probably the best shooter off movement in this entire draft and one of the better three-point shooters. Being assigned to him on defense will make anyone exhausted with how much he is in motion. He’s also good at drawing fouls and makes his free throws at above a 90% clip.

His size is good but not great and that might lead to him struggling on defense. Still, he’ll be able to hold his own.

Pick projection: mid first round