Author: Aidan Joly

By Aidan Joly

There are probably few teams in the country who were more disappointed with the end of the 2019-20 season than Rutgers.

The Scarlet Knights had been a walking punchline since joining the Big Ten in the 2014-15 season, a doormat in the league. That changed last season, year four of the Steve Pikiell era in Piscataway. They went 20-11 and 11-9 in Big Ten play as part of the first time the program went above .500 overall since 2005-06, well on its way to the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1991. However, COVID-19 forced that drought to continue and now they must prove that last year wasn’t a fluke.

One challenge of that could be the fact that they are unlikely to have their full home-court advantage after going 18-1 at home last season. The RAC became one of the best places in the country to see a game last year, perhaps the loudest arena in the Big Ten.

Despite the uncertainty of that, Rutgers fans have every reason to be optimistic. Except starting forward Akwasi Yeboah and role player Shaq Carter, they have every important player back. With all of this, they could find themselves in the preseason top 25, unthinkable given how awful they were in their first five years in the Big Ten, where it went 16-76 in league play before last year.

A pair of guards, Ron Harper Jr. and Geo Baker, will be leading the charge once again. Harper Jr., a 6-6 guard/forward combo, led the team in scoring at 12.1 PPG last season and made a team-high 38 three-pointers on a respectable 34.9% clip. He also averaged 5.8 rebounds per game, second on the team. He is also a good defensive player, who averaged nearly a steal and a block per game. He might not be an NBA player like his father was, but he’s a guy who makes the Scarlet Knights better on both sides of the ball.

As for Baker, he averaged 10.9 PPG despite dropping from 34.1% from three his sophomore season to 28.2% his junior year. Part of that can be attributed due to a nagging thumb injury all season, which forced him to miss three conference games during the year. He also averaged 3.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game last season. He is someone that Pikiell can rely on to make a big shot at the end of the game.

Sixth man Jacob Young provides some scoring off the bench, but struggles with efficiency and should improve that. Sophomore Paul Mulcahy, a solid shooter and junior Montez Mathis, a tough guard who is good at defense, provide depth. Junior Caleb McConnell is redshirting this season for injury concerns.

As for the frontcourt, it will again by anchored by 6-11 junior Myles Johnson. He averaged 7.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per game last season in just 23.5 minutes and is going to have a bigger role this year.

Freshman Cliff Omoyuri, a big recruit picked up by Pikiell, will get some minutes immediately as well. He is the #48 player in the class according to 247 Sports and chose Rutgers over Arizona State and Auburn. He is seen as a strong player in the post with a good ability to block shots and rebound. Him and Johnson probably won’t play together too much but they won’t have to worry about a big drop-off in production while rotating.

Another freshman that could see minutes is Mawot Mag, a 6-7 forward out of South Sudan. He is reported to be a physical defender, which can very much help off the bench. He will be one player to pay attention to once the season begins.

This team should be largely the similar to, if not better, than last year. They won games because of their defense on top of one of the best backcourt duos in the league. As long as there isn’t significant regress in either the offense or defense, expect the tournament drought in Piscataway to come to an end this spring.

By Aidan Joly

Please fasten and tighten your seatbelts, keep your arms and legs inside of the train and feet flat on the floor at all times, and brace yourself for a wild ride.

That should be the announcement played inside Desert Financial Arena before Arizona State home games as they look to take next step in the 2020-21 season, year six of the roller coaster Bobby Hurley era.

After back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2018 and 2019, the Sun Devils are looking to make a big run in the PAC-12, and this year’s group has all the tools to do so.

The three-man backcourt will be the centerpiece of it all. After initially declaring for the NBA Draft this past spring, seniors Remy Martin and Alonzo Verge Jr. are both back in the fold after averaging 19.1 and 14.6 PPG last season respectively. Both of them are bonafide stars in the PAC-12 and will be the two with the biggest roles for the upcoming year. Joining them is blue-chip prospect Josh Christopher, one of two this year, providing one of ASU’s biggest recruiting classes in recent memory. We’ll get into that second one in a little bit. Hurley definitely has a guard-first mentality when it comes to his teams and the roster construction and style of play reflect that.

Christopher is a great player, ranked seventh overall in the 247 Sports rankings for this season. He is the highest-ranking signee in program history, which says something considering some guy named James Harden went there just over a decade ago. Christopher averaged nearly 30 PPG in his senior year of high school in Lakewood, Calif. and averaged 21.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game on the Nike EYBL circuit two summers ago.

The other top prospect coming in is Marcus Bagley, a four-star forward ranked 29^th in the 247 rankings. The brother of former Duke star Marvin Bagley, he is a versatile wing and pure shooter that can play either the three or four, which is a huge help considering that can put them both on the floor at the same time (Christopher is more of a three). He gives good length at the four at 6-7, which might put him behind Taeshon Cherry on the depth chart to start the season after Cherry averaged 4.6 PPG last season and will probably be getting the starting nod off the bat despite a big dip in three-point shooting last year. However, Bagley will see minutes off the bench. Expect him, Kimani Lawrence and Jaelen House to get most of the minutes off the bench.

The last piece of the puzzle for forwards is Jalen Graham, who was great at the beginning of his freshman season last year, especially on defense, but had his minutes dwindle when Romello White came back. Now White, Andre Allen, Khalid Thomas and Elias Valtonen are all gone via transfer. White’s was an initial surprise considering how well he did but it was later found out he wanted to be closer to his family in Georgia, but the other three were also rotational pieces who will have to be replaced.

Another reinforcement up front will be JUCO transfer Chris Osten, who had few alternative D1 options. He will see minutes off the bench, but not as many as the others. Another incoming bench piece is Portland State transfer Holland Woods, who received a waiver and is eligible this year. Expect him to be a key reserve in the backcourt.

Overall, this Sun Devil squad bears a striking resemblance to the 2017-18 team. The blueprint for the success, a high-octane offense that values speed and shooting with above-average length at the three and four, remains similar. This team is probably better than that 17-18 team, and being in the top tier of the PAC-12 should be the goal.

By Aidan Joly

The 2019-20 season was supposed to end in another deep tournament run and potentially a national championship game appearance for Gonzaga. Their season, along with everyone else’s ended due to COVID-19 before they got that chance.

However, what’s good for the Bulldogs is that their 2020-21 roster is arguably better than last’s year edition, despite losing a pair of stars in Killian Tillie and Filip Petrusev.

Taking their place, enter Drew Timme and Anton Watson in the frontcourt.

Timme is expected to be the go-to guy in Mark Few’s offense this season after having a great campaign as Petrusev’s backup center last season, averaging 9.8 PPG and 5.4 RPG in just 20 minutes per contest as a freshman. There’s no reason not to believe that he is poised to become the next great Gonzaga center with his size and strength, as well as his natural shooting ability in the post.

Watson should be a fun player to watch. He was limited to just 15 games last season due to a shoulder injury. He wasn’t the best player on the floor but he played a role, averaging 5 points and 3 rebounds per game in about 15 minutes. The key part to his game though is on the other side of the ball. He is a fantastic defender and is for sure capable of winning a WCC defensive player of the year sometime down the line if he can stay healthy.

The third part of the frontcourt is Corey Kispert, who is a future NBA player and the definition of a glue guy. He can do it all, averaging 13.9 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game last year while shooting 43.8% from behind the three-point line making him one of the best sharpshooters in the country, and 81.8% from the free throw line. He also has a great defensive ability. All of that, along with his senior experience and leadership, make him an especially important player for this team.

As reserves, Oumar Ballo should be a solid backup center as he slides into the role that Timme had last season. Freshman Julian Strawther is versatile and may get some minutes as they get into WCC play, despite Kispert probably playing around 35 minutes per game this season.

In the backcourt, you are looking at Joel Ayayi and Jalen Suggs in the starting lineup.

Suggs, the 11^th ranked recruit in the country according to 247 Sports, is the best recruit that Gonzaga has had in their reign of terror over the WCC. He can shoot from the outside, score in transition, throw down monster dunks and play good defense. He’s a near-lock to be one-and-done, but there’s every reason to think he’ll be one of the most exciting players in the country this season.

Ayayi, a combo guard was a surprise for the Zags last season, averaging 10.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game this past year. He is a fantastic rebounder and is the guy that can take the last shot in a game if they need one. He has NBA potential, but this season should look to improve on being a bit better from behind the three-point line, where he shot 34.5% as well as being a better ball handler to really get a look from teams.

Freshman Dominick Harris, a combo guard, and Southern Illinois grad transfer Aaron Cook will be the guys off the bench here. Harris is a guy who does well in getting to the rim, but it’s tough to see him getting a ton of meaningful minutes right off the bat. Cook only played in six games last season in his senior year with Southern Illinois, but in those games he averaged 15 points per game. He won’t have those big numbers at Gonzaga, but he should be a solid role player. A pair of international recruits, Martynas Arlauskus and Pavel Zakharov, may see time occasionally.

High expectations in Spokane have become the norm over the past decade or so. They will be battle-tested early in the year with a great non-conference schedule, including a monster game against Baylor, but they should run into little problems in the conference slate, despite the usual competitors in BYU and St. Mary’s. They are all but a lock to win the WCC, and at least a Final Four run should be the expectation here.

By Aidan Joly

Kentucky always has one of the top recruiting class in the country, and 2020-21 will be no different in Lexington.

Last season, they went 15-3 in SEC play under the guidance of freshmen Immanuel Quickley and Tyrese Maxey, as well as underclassmen Ashton Hagans, Nick Richardson and EJ Montgomery. They all left for the NBA Draft, but there is no fret for John Calipari and co. as they get the new crop of freshmen coming in for this season.

That group is being led by backcourt duo BJ Boston and Devin Askew. Boston is the bigger name of the two, the No. 5 prospect in the nation according to 247 Sports. Plenty of eyes have already seen him as he was the teammate of Bronny James at Sierra Canyon High School, but he obviously garnered less attention than James did.

Boston is probably better fitted to play small forward, but with the sheer number of forwards that Kentucky has, which will be discussed later, he’s likely to slide in at shooting guard.

On the other side of the backcourt is Askew, who ranks at #32 in the 247 rankings for the Class of 2021 before reclassifying and joining the Wildcats a year early. He will be trying to join in a long list of successful Kentucky point guards who were one-and-done, most notably John Wall. He should be the starter and see a big role day one.

Really, the only bench piece at the guard position is Davion Mintz, a grad transfer from Creighton. Mintz, a former three-star prospect, is a great fit for Kentucky with how he plays his game. He missed all of the 2019-20 season due to a high ankle sprain but averaged 9.7 points and 3.0 rebounds per contest with the Blue Jays in 2018-19, starting 34 games.

The glut in the frontcourt starts here. Terrence Clarke, the No. 8 prospect in the class, will be starting at the three. Clarke was initially the top recruit in Kentucky’s class before Boston passed him. He is known as a great defender and can switch to shooting guard, so expect Calipari to experiment with him and Boston during the season.

At the other guard position, you have Keion Brooks, one of the few returners on the roster. He averaged 4.5 PPG as a freshman last year in 15.1 minutes per contest and is expected to have a larger role this year.

The depth at the forward position is great, with Rhode Island Jacob Toppin having received a waiver and will be eligible for this season. Redshirt freshman Dontaie Allen will see minutes off the bench as a three-point threat, as will Isaiah Jackson. Another pair of freshmen, Cam’Ron Fletcher and Lance Ware, will probably not see minutes at the beginning of the season, but may at some point during the season depending on how things fall and how other players develop.

In the middle is Wake Forest transfer Olivier Sarr, who also recently received a waiver and is eligible to play this season. This was a huge addition for Kentucky as they lacked a seven-footer in the middle. He will probably play about 30 minutes per game this season after he averaged 13.7 points and 9.0 rebounds per contest last year with the Demon Deacons, and blocked 1.2 shots per game, despite only playing in half of their games.

Like how it is every year, the Wildcats are filled to the brim with freshmen. It’s expected to be another great season in Lexington while getting their stars ready for the NBA.

By Aidan Joly

It’s tough to play fourth-fiddle in a conference that has Gonzaga, St. Mary’s and BYU. But San Francisco and Todd Golden and the San Francisco Dons have every reason to be poised for a breakthrough season in 2020-21.

When Kyle Smith left for Washington State after the 2018-19 season, Golden, his top assistant before taking over the top job, immediately continued on the path of what the staff calls NerdBall. This continued the goal of making San Francisco one of the most analytically-inclined programs in the country as they attempt to make their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1998.

Last season, they gained national attention for the fact that they foul at the end of the first half in order to extend any sort of lead going into the break. It worked in a handful of games, most notably the team’s biggest win of the year against BYU on January 25, fouling up two at the end of the first half, with BYU missing the front end of a one-and-one, and that allowed the Dons to win by one on that day.

They gave Gonzaga two scares with their in-game analytics, including nearly beating the Bulldogs in the conference semifinals.

All of that being said, Dons are coming off a fourth straight 20+ win season, and return many key players. Charles Minlend, their high scorer from this past season, is not one of them. He left as a grad transfer and will be playing for Louisville this year. This edition of the backcourt will be manned by the duo of Jamaree Bouyea, who was a tad inconsistent at times last year but can really turn it on when he needs to. In addition, for someone who is barely six feet tall, he can get rebounds with the best of them. The other half is Khalil Shabazz, who has a similar profile but is a little bit more consistent when it comes to a scoring output.

In the backcourt they add Grand Canyon transfer Damari Milstead, who was a double-digit scorer with the Antelopes two years ago.

Another incoming transfer is Julian Rishwain, in from Boston College after receiving a waiver from the NCAA. Rishwain shot 33% from three-point range last season and made great strides as the year went on. In a conference where the competition isn’t as high as it is in the ACC, he should be able to find his footing in the WCC. JUCO transfer Samba Kane will also most likely see meaningful minutes towards the beginning of the season.

The Dons are also going to need some breakouts. Big men Dzmitry Ryuny and John Kunen are prime candidates for that. Neither of them played a ton last season, but don’t be surprised to see them get more minutes and with that, an increase in production. This comes especially important with the loss of seven-footer Jimbo Lull. Last season, Ryuny averaged 4.5 PPG in limited minutes, and Kunen 4.4 PPG in 20.5 minutes.

Like stated before, San Francisco is in a really tough spot with what conference they play in and are forced to get creative. Smith, and now Golden, have done that to a tee. It will depend on the quality of the West Coast Conference from top to bottom, but if they get some key wins and do well in conference play, the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth of this century might just be on the horizon.

By Aidan Joly

The Illinois Fighting Illini squad from the 2018-19 season and the 2019-20 version were like night and day. Now, they look to make another step to become one of the nation’s premier teams.

In head coach Brad Underwood’s second season at the helm in 2018-19, he stuck with a goal of building the program to a script. It didn’t go well, especially on the defensive end of the floor, where he preached a press defense to be aggressive and create turnovers. The team ranked 108^th in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency and became one of the most foul-prone teams in the country, ranking 338^th in the nation in defensive foul rate en route to a 12-21 campaign.

The program knew that change was necessary. They picked up Jamaican big man Kofi Cockburn, with the ability to block shots and fix defensive mistakes. They also got rid of the principles of the aggressive defense, going more for a man-to-man pack line defense.

The result? They shot all the way up to 35^th in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency and became one of the cleanest teams in the nation, 20^th in defensive foul rate. That ended in a 21-10 season, 13-7 in Big Ten play, and a likely NCAA Tournament bid.

That transformation will continue as Cockburn became one of the premier centers in the nation in his freshman season. After a fantastic year, he decided to come back to school and forego the NBA Draft. Couple that with the emergence of Ayo Dosunmu as an offensive superstar averaging 16.6 PPG last season and someone who has the clutch gene, the trajectory of the Illinois program has completely changed.

As for the rest of the group, Trent Frazier and Da’Monte Williams will both be back for one final season, providing a solid veteran presence in the backcourt. In the frontcourt, Giorgi Bezhanishvili remains a solid option to get some valuable minutes, despite a dip in production from his freshman to sophomore seasons that saw his average points drop from 12.5 to 6.8 and rebounds from 5.2 to 4.8 in a similar number of minutes.

Combo guard Jacob Grandison sat out last season after transferring in from Holy Cross and he’s a bit of a question mark in seeing what he can do for a power conference team, but he has potential to provide another option in the backcourt. Another one is Austin Hutcherson, who came in from Division III Wesleyan. He was a star two years ago as a sophomore there, averaging 20 PPG

As for freshmen, the team sees two four-star recruits coming in, guards Adam Miller and Andre Curbelo. Most likely, neither of them will become superstars right off the bat, but they can be a pair of guys who can provide depth to the team.

The bottom line with this group is this: Dosunmu and Cockburn are arguably the best 1-2 punch in the Big Ten, and maybe even the country. The defensive numbers can remain similar and still have the reputation of being a fantastic defensive team, but the offense will be the thing that decides this team’s fate. In conference play last season, they were 13^th in the league in effective field goal percentage and ninth in offensive efficiency.

Underwood had one of the most efficient offensive teams in the nation in his lone season at Oklahoma State in 2016-17. If he can do that again, it’s easy to decide that a deep tournament run, and maybe even a national title, is in the cards for the Illini.

By Aidan Joly

Heading into year three of the Dan Hurley era at UConn, the Huskies have the highest expectations there have been in years.

After Hurley’s first time going over .500 in Big East play since his arrival, the team returns to the Big East to renew rivalries with Villanova and Georgetown and a rematch of the 2011 national title game against Butler. That as well as returning multiple key players and bringing in new talent, brings unmatched hype to Storrs for this year.

This squad’s backcourt will be the most interesting aspect in the first handful of games. The team’s leading scorer from last year, Christian Vital, is gone. However, replacing him is sophomore James Bouknight. If you haven’t heard that name yet, you will soon. He averaged 13 PPG in 25.8 minutes per game as a freshman this past year. Bouknight, a legit NBA prospect down the line, is more of a scorer than a playmaker but has the ability to be a go-to guy for the Huskies.

A big question mark in the backcourt is RJ Cole. Cole sat out last year after transferring in from Howard, averaged over 20 points per game in his two seasons with the Bison and won the MEAC player of the year in 2018-19. Of course, you can’t compare the level of competition of the MEAC to the Big East, but it will be interesting to see what he can do in his first year with a high-major program.

Off the bench, junior Brendan Adams (brother of Jaylen) should see key minutes and provide some scoring after averaging 7.4 PPG in 22 minutes per contest last year, as well as potentially Jalen Gaffney.

As for the frontcourt, Josh Carlton returns for one final season as the only one Sharpied in as healthy at the start of the year. He started every game last season and averaged 7.8 PPG in just over 21 minutes and will probably have a similar role this year.

Akok Akok was fantastic in his freshman season, but a torn Achilles ended his season prematurely and he is unlikely to be back until at least December. Until he’s back, Isaiah Whaley is likely to start after averaging 6 PPG and 5 RPG last season. In addition, Tyler Polley recently became available after missing some time due to a knee injury. Polley’s outside shot will be critical, shooting 40.5% from three-point range last year to go along with 9.5 PPG.

That means two freshmen, Adama Sanogo and Andre Jackson, are likely to see minutes day one. Sanogo is seen as a fantastic rebounder, which is good since defensive rebounding was a major issue last season (221^st in the country). Jackson is a slasher who can drive to the rim and is has a similar skill set to Akok. Jackson will likely see meaningful minutes right out of the gate.

Overall, in the frontcourt you have five guys, including Akok, in the mix. The big question here is how Hurley will divide up playing time among them.

UConn is a national brand, and the fanbase expects a lot. Four national championships since 1999 and firing Kevin Ollie after back-to-back tournament misses four years after winning a national title (that was mainly some other stuff though) will do that.

For this group, the ceiling is finishing top three or four in the Big East, and the floor is bottom half and making the NIT. Personally, I think it’s going to be closer to ceiling and the Huskies will be back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016.

By Aidan Joly

On Tuesday night, the MLB officially announced that there will be a 60-game 2020 season beginning in late July. Today, I’ll do a power ranking of each of the 30 big league managers with a quick thought on each of them.

There are four managers heading in that have never managed a big-league game, so I think it would be unfair to give them an actual ranking, so I’ll put them all tied for 27th for now.

T27: David Ross, Chicago Cubs
Ross retired as a Cub at the end of the 2016 season and has been in the broadcast booth for ESPN since then. He replaces Joe Maddon, and with this being his first coaching job there will most likely be a learning curve. However, the Cubs are hopeful he can learn quickly, similar to Aaron Boone with the Yankees.

T27: Luis Rojas, New York Mets
Rojas wouldn’t even be in this situation if the Mets hadn’t hired Carlos Beltran in November, who left in January following Beltran being the only player called out by name in the document of the Astros sign-stealing investigation. Rojas has some managerial experience in the lower levels of the minor leagues, and is the son of legendary manager Felipe Alou.

T27: Derek Shelton, Pittsburgh Pirates
Shelton replaces Clint Hurdle in Pittsburgh, who was fired after nine years with the team and just 69 wins in 2019. Shelton has been a coach at the MLB level since 2005, most recently the bench coach for the Minnesota Twins the past two seasons.

T27: Jayce Tingler, San Diego Padres
Tingler has never been in an MLB dugout but has a player development background, serving as a player development field coordinator and assistant GM for the Texas Rangers, and some managerial experience in the Dominican Winter League. His background will be good for the Padres, who have several top prospects just entering the MLB or in their minor league system.

26: Brandon Hyde, Baltimore Orioles
It’s hard to accurately judge Hyde after just one season in Baltimore where he had arguably the worst roster in the MLB and finished accordingly in 2019, at 54-108.

25: David Bell, Cincinnati Reds
Bell’s first year in Cincinnati did not go as well as expected, with a 75-87 record. He sticks up for his players, tying for the league lead with eight ejections in 2019, albeit resulting in being suspended twice during the season. The Reds have a new philosophy with pitching and have higher expectations for this coming season.

24: Charlie Montoyo, Toronto Blue Jays
Another manager with just one season under his belt, going 67-95 with a squad that had blue chip young talent on offense but major issues on the pitching staff. The jury will still be out on Montoyo until they get more reinforcements as Toronto rebuilds.

23: Gabe Kapler, San Francisco Giants
Not many thought Kapler’s second managerial job would come so quickly after his first one ended. He was fired by the Phillies this past October after going .500 in back-to-back seasons, despite the additions of Bryce Harper, Jean Segura and JT Realmuto after year one. He makes questionable in-game decisions that results in warranted criticism. He inherits a rebuilding Giants team with his outside-the-box approach.

22: Chris Woodward, Texas Rangers
Texas went 78-84 in Woodward’s first year, greatly exceeding expectations. Woodward has an old-school approach, particularly in being willing to ride starting pitching in a bullpen-oriented league, especially with Lance Lynn and Mike Minor. Texas will look to improve as they continue to develop their young talent.

21: Ron Roenicke, Boston Red Sox
Roenicke is most likely nothing more than an interim manager for the 2020 season after the Red Sox had to cut ties with Alex Cora for his involvement in the Astros’ sign stealing. Roenicke managed the Brewers from 2011-2015 is pushing a decade since his best season, 2011, when they won 96 games and the NL Central, but were mediocre outside of that despite talent. Although Boston is starting a small-scale rebuild, it’s tough to see Roenicke staying past 2020.

20: Mike Matheny, Kansas City Royals
This will be the second time Matheny takes over for a World Series-winning skipper following their retirement, Tony La Russa in 2012 and now Ned Yost in 2020. Matheny got the Cardinals to the World Series in 2013 but he ran his course in St. Louis and became stale, resulting in his midseason firing in 2018.

19: Scott Servais, Seattle Mariners
Servais has been in Seattle since 2016, but has not made the postseason despite competitive teams. With the AL West being as good as it is, they entered a rebuild following the 2018 season. It will probably be a while before the Mariners are competitive again, and Servais may not even be the guy in the dugout when that happens.

18: Rick Renteria, Chicago White Sox
Renteria has been lauded for his approach with young players, both during his one-year stint with the Cubs in 2014 and now the past three seasons on the South Side. He hasn’t won more than 73 games in a season with the White Sox, but they now have higher expectations as prospects arrive and offseason additions.

17: Don Mattingly, Miami Marlins
It’s hard to believe that this is already Mattingly’s fifth year with Miami, but it is. He was fired by the Dodgers at the end of 2015 for not succeeding in the playoffs after three division titles in five years. Miami has not been as easy with a lack of talent on the roster and that has resulted in 98+ losses the past two seasons, but the blame can’t really be put on Mattingly for that.

16: Ron Gardenhire, Detroit Tigers
Gardenhire had a 13-year stint with the Twins from 2002-2014 and won six division titles, but struggled in his final years there. Gardenhire doesn’t have much to work with right now in Detroit, but even with that, a 114-loss season in 2019 is a really ugly blip on his resume.

15: Dave Martinez, Washington Nationals
Martinez was disappointing in his first year as manager in 2018 with an 82-80 record and many were calling for him to be fired as the Nationals were 24-33 at the end of May last year. However, he turned that team around in a big way, getting a spot in the Wild Card game eventually winning the World Series for the first time in franchise history. Martinez isn’t at fault for the inconsistent bullpen but he deserves credit for what he did with it in the postseason. A starting rotation led by Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg helps too.

14: Bud Black, Colorado Rockies
Black has only been to the playoffs twice in 12 years as the manager of both San Diego and Colorado, but his teams regularly exceed expectations. As a former pitching coach, he has done wonders with pitching staffs. He guided the Rockies to the playoffs in back-to-back years in 2017 and 2018, which the franchise had never done before.

13: Dusty Baker, Houston Astros
When the Astros were in disarray this past offseason with the fallout of the sign-stealing scandal that resulted in AJ Hinch being fired in the wake of it, they turned to the most experienced available guy. Baker has managed 22 seasons with four different teams, most recently the Nationals from 2016-2017. He is held in high regard by players, but has been criticized for failing to adapt to new-school tactics, something the Astros have been at the forefront of, as well as a lack of success in the postseason.

12: Torey Lovullo, Arizona Diamondbacks
Arizona made a surprise appearance in the playoffs after a 93-win campaign in Lovullo’s first year in 2017, they finished just over .500 in 2018 and despite losing Paul Goldschmidt, AJ Pollock and Zack Greinke by the end of the 2019 season they finished with 85 wins. He’s a good player development guy that has allowed Ketel Marte, Robbie Ray and many others to become strong players.

11: Dave Roberts, Los Angeles Dodgers
Roberts has won four straight division titles and has made a pair of World Series appearances with the Dodgers, but hasn’t been able to win a title yet. He’s had a reputation of making questionable moves in the postseason, but he is popular among his players, and the Dodgers’ window for a title is still wide open.

10: Brian Snitker, Atlanta Braves
Snitker is the epitome of a players’ manager with his old-school style and has found a lot of success since he was promoted to his current position in 2016, and the Braves developed faster than expected. They have now won two straight division titles and definitely have a title window.

9: Mike Shildt, St. Louis Cardinals
Shildt took over midseason in 2018 after the firing of Mike Matheny and immediately made waves. The Cardinals made a playoff push after his hiring, going 41-28 after he took over, and came out on top of a three-team race in the NL Central this past season and advancing to the NLCS despite glaring holes on both sides of the ball.

8: Bob Melvin, Oakland Athletics
Melvin is the longest-tenured manager in the bigs, having been with the team since 2011, having made five playoff appearances in that time, despite being a low-budget team. His on-field tactics leave a bit to be desired, considering how analytically-driven and Oakland front office is but he exceeds expectations on the regular.

7: Rocco Baldelli, Minnesota Twins
A Kevin Cash disciple, Baldelli improved Minnesota from 78 wins in Paul Molitor’s last year in 2018 to 101 wins and an AL Central crown in 2019. Baldelli’s on-field tactics mirror Cash’s, but the question remains if he can continue that success into the 2020 season and years following.

6: Aaron Boone, New York Yankees
Boone is off to a fantastic start to his managerial career, with 100+ wins in each of his first two seasons in New York. His 2019 season was most impressive, battling injuries to multiple star players to still win 103 games. He also has a reputation as a players’ manager due to being willing to give young players time on the field, which he was hired to do.

5: Craig Counsell, Milwaukee Brewers
An aggressive and pesky player during his playing career, that style has mirrored his managerial career. Having taken over midseason in 2015, the Brewers have won 86+ games in three straight seasons and have made two straight playoff appearances despite not having one of the top rosters in the league. His tactic of removing Wade Miley after one batter in Game 5 of the NLCS in 2018 to trick the Dodgers was a move for the ages.

4: Joe Girardi, Philadelphia Phillies
This is Girardi’s third different manager job. He spent 10 years with the Yankees and made the playoffs six times and won a World Series in 2009 with a star-studded team. However, he has a reputation of struggling to develop young talent which led him to struggle in his final years in New York. Now, after two years out, he takes over a Phillies team that has playoff aspirations.

3: Terry Francona, Cleveland Indians
Francona has been in Cleveland since 2013 and two World Series with the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007. He has made the playoffs four times in Cleveland, including a World Series appearance in 2016. He’s won over 1600 games in his career and continues to be one of the top guys in the league for his approach that is a mix of both old-school and new-school.

2: Joe Maddon, Los Angeles Angels
Maddon’s resume is one to behold. He turned around the Rays from 2006-2014, with four playoff appearances and five 90+ win seasons while having a style that allowed for innovation on the field in all facets of the game. He carried that over to the Cubs in 2015, winning 92+ games in four seasons and snapped the team’s 108-year World Series drought in 2016. The Cubs declined in 2019, going 84-78 and resulted in the team moving on from Maddon. Now, he has a new challenge with Los Angeles, a team that has the tools to compete in the AL West.

1: Kevin Cash, Tampa Bay Rays
Cash has established himself as the best young mind in baseball. He took over the Rays in 2015 after the departure of Maddon and has now won 90+ games in back-to-back seasons, resulting in his first playoff appearance last fall, despite having a tiny budget and playing in one of the toughest divisions in the league. He has been extremely innovative in his own right, with new defensive shifts, platoons and inventing the opener strategy in 2018, which several clubs have adopted that strategy. Cash has a chance at being one of the great managers in the history of the game.

By Aidan Joly

The first round of the 2020 MLB Draft took place on Wednesday night, and the two big winners of the night were the Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays, who both helped their farm systems in a huge way and made them even more frightening for their American League foes.

The Tigers, after going 47-114 in 2019, had the first overall pick and shocked nobody by going with Arizona State 1B/3B Spencer Torkelson with that selection.

Torkelson is easily the most established power hitter in this year’s class, hitting .337 with 54 home runs in just 129 career games. He hit a school-record 25 home runs as a freshman in 2018. The previous record holder? Just some guy named Barry Bonds. He hit 23 home runs last season, and had already hit six before the coronavirus pandemic shut down the season after they played just 17 games. Torkelson is just 20 years old and figures to go into the middle of Detroit’s lineup. He makes the Detroit farm system much better and helps in a massive way when Detroit is ready to contend again.

The biggest part of the Detroit farm system is the pitching. Casey Mize, Matt Manning and Tarik Skubal are all expected to hit the big leagues in the next two years or so and will make a lethal 1-2-3 starter combo, all of them in the top 41 prospects in the league according to mlb.com. All three finished the year with Double-A Erie. We already knew that Mize and Manning were great and Skubal was the lowest guy in that group, but Skubal has increased his velocity and now can throw close to 100 MPH after topping out at about 97 MPH before this  (extended) offseason. Joey Wentz and Alex Faedo can complement them at the back of the rotation if both of them go into Detroit and perform as expected.

Having their three pitchers they had to focus on offense, which they have done in the past few years. They snatched up outfielder Riley Greene in last year’s draft who is also projected to be a middle-of-the-lineup guy. Infielder Isaac Paredas can also hit for average and power, and Willi Castro, who can play both middle infield positions, can either be the leadoff hitter or someone who extends the bottom of the lineup. It can go either way. Daz Cameron has potential to be an everyday center fielder as well.

The Blue Jays, who had the fifth selection after a 67-95 season, struck gold. After Baltimore surprised and took Arkansas outfielder Heston Kjerstad with the second pick after he was projected to go in the 7-11 range, and Miami and Kansas City took pitchers Max Meyer and Asa Lacy, the consensus second-best player in the draft, Vanderbilt’s Austin Martin, fell right into their laps. They decided to go with him.

Martin is the best pure hitter and most well-rounded player in the draft. He can hit for power and average and on top of that rarely strikes out — only 12% of the time among all plate appearances over his college career, and just twice in 69 plate appearances in the shortened 2020 season. In 16 games this season before the pandemic shut down the season, he slashed .377/.507/.660.

He’s also an excellent defender who can play any outfield position as well as shortstop, third base and second base. With Toronto’s young talent in the infield, he will probably end up in the outfield or being a super-utility type of player.

He joins a Toronto organization that already has a plethora of young talent at the major league level in Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Cavan Biggio and Bo Bichette on offense. In addition, Jordan Groshans, a shortstop who spent 2019 with Single-A Lansing can add value on both sides of the ball.

They also have high-level starter at the top level of the minor leagues in Nate Pearson, who finished the year with Triple-A Buffalo and will most likely make his debut at some point in 2020 or 2021, depending on how long the season is. Simeon Woods Richardson, who ended 2019 with High-A Dunedin, figures to be a middle-of-the-rotation starter. They already have established big league pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu heading into the first year of a four-year deal, too.

All being said, you still have the top teams in the American League right now will probably stay up there for at least a few more years. However, the Tigers and Blue Jays are two teams that those squads should be scared of, because both of them are going to be very, very good.

The NBA Draft may not be until October now, but that doesn’t change the fact that we can still put out mock drafts. Here’s my first of the summer, with some comments about the top players and some others that I like coming in.

Quick note, the draft order is based off of the records, not a lottery projection.

1. Golden State: James Wiseman, C, Memphis
Bob Myers has said that he may trade the Warriors’ lottery pick but if they get the first pick, I doubt they will, and they go with Wiseman. He’s an athletic freak with a massive wingspan that can get up and down the floor and finish at the rim. He also fills their need for a big man. However, with this being a weaker class, don’t think of him as the next Giannis, but he can be a very competitive center in the NBA.

2. Cleveland: Anthony Edwards, PG, Georgia
Edwards is the best scorer in the draft. He can score from all places on the floor and can look great when he gets into a rhythm, which he does still need to work on his consistency, especially from behind the arc. He shot 29% from three this year at Georgia, so the ability is there. He can also defend multiple positions, which is needed in today’s NBA.

3. Minnesota: Obi Toppin, PF, Dayton
My favorite player in the draft. He was unreal at Dayton and he came out of nowhere to be a sure-fire top five pick. I have him at #3 here. He’s one of the few players in this draft that can make a significant impact as a rookie. Anthony Grant’s offense is as close as you are going to get for an NBA offense in the college game, so that gives a great idea of what his floor is going to be and you can see everything he can do. A lot of players at the top of the boards are being picked on potential, but so far, Toppin is the opposite of that.

4. Atlanta: LaMelo Ball, PG, Australia
Yeah, yeah. I know what you’re thinking. You see him as the 5-10 high school kid with braces and a blonde mohawk that hangs out at half court to cherry-pick and launch shot after shot to try to get 100 points a game on inferior competition. Oh, and Lavar. Now, it’s a different LaMelo. He’s a 6-7 guard who has the tools to be a star point guard. He’s a great passer who has terrific ball-handling skills, and has a great IQ. He’s also still growing. However, he’s an inconsistent shooter, but that can be turned around just by an NBA coach having him take higher-percentage shots. Another drawback is his reputation of being lazy on defense, having a bad work ethic, and a big ego. He’ll still go towards the top, but a team has to really do their due diligence before they pick him.

5. Detroit: Killian Hayes, PG, Germany
Hayes is kind of a high-risk pick. The best part of his game is his passing ability, which is elite. A stat I found on him is that he played 25 minutes per game for his German team, Ratiopharm Ulm, this past season and averaged 13 ball screens against him per game. That’s insanity. He had success against it too, which is what you want in today’s NBA. His jumper is above-average, but he’s still a project. If he develops, this will be a great pick. But I’m skeptical.

6. New York: Cole Anthony, PG, North Carolina
This pick is probably a bit of a reach, but so be it. Anthony is a workhorse who spends hours upon hours in the gym, which is what any NBA GM would want. He had a knee injury midyear at North Carolina and came back and played, even when the Tar Heels were way out of contention. In an era where college players quit if they get hurt, there’s something to be said for that. Anthony is a bit streaky and inconsistent, similar to Russell Westbrook, but if he can develop his talents, he can be a well above-average guard.

7. Chicago: Onyeka Okongwu, PF, USC
I’m really interested in Okongwu. He’s an explosive athlete who can produce on both sides of the ball as a scorer, rebounder and rim protector. He has a nice soft touch at the rim and can switch around on defense. His floor is pretty known, at worst he’s an off-the-bench guy who can grab rebounds and play defense. Best-case scenario, he can be much, much more than that.

8. Charlotte: Isaac Okoro, SF, Auburn
The best part of Okoro’s game is his defense. He may have been the best perimeter defender in the country this season. He can be a guy who is an absolute stalwart on defense, an Andre Igoudala or Kawhi Leonard-type defender. His offense needs a little work, but he’s been working on it and will surely improve come his time in the NBA.

9. Washington: Deni Avidija, F, Israel
Avidija’s shooting and playmaking ability is what makes him a top-10 pick. He’s drawn comparisons to a poor man’s Luka Doncic, but he will be a very useful player down the road. He has good size and a good passing ability. If his defense ability continues to improve and he can be taught to shoot more effectively, he can be a very solid player down the road.

10. Phoenix: Tyrese Haliburton, PG, Iowa State
Another elite passer and fantastic three-point shooter, a Trae Young-type of player. He needs to bulk up a bit, only 175 pounds, and probably quicken up his shot release to have more success. If he can do that, you’re looking at a starting point guard for the long haul somewhere.

11. San Antonio: Tyrese Maxey, SG, Kentucky
Risky pick. He’s a big-time scorer but is a little inconsistent shooting the ball, and takes a high number of shots. Solid defender, too. Probably never a starter but projects as a very serviceable role player.

12. Sacramento: RJ Hampton, SG, New Zealand
Hampton has some great potential but needs some more development. He can play on and off the ball well, and is quick and athletic. The concern with him is his jump shot, which is probably a bit below average for this class. He needs a lot of development to figure out an elite skill, which he doesn’t really seem to have yet.

13. New Orleans: Kira Lewis, PG, Alabama
Lewis is young – won’t turn 20 until next April. He put up big numbers for Alabama on a team whose entire offense was based on getting into the paint, and threes. He shot almost 40% from three this past season, proving he’s a great shooter. However, he’s prone to turnovers and is another guy who probably has to bulk up a little bit. Considering that he still just turned 19, he’s okay for a first round pick.

14. Portland: Precious Achiuwa, PF, Memphis
I’m still not 100% sure who Achiuwa is going to be yet. Right now, a lot of people see him as a poor man’s Bam Adebayo, can play both the four and five. He’s a good rebounder and showed flashes of being a solid perimeter shooter, which there’s a market in the NBA for bigs who can shoot. He’ll be 21 when he plays his first NBA game, and if can embrace being the type of player like I said he can be, he’ll have a successful career.

15. Orlando: Aaron Nesmith, PG, Vanderbilt
I think Nesmith is a real sleeper. He shot 52%(!) from three before he went down with a foot injury at Vanderbilt, up from 33% his freshman season. He was one of the most improved players in the country before getting hurt. If he continues on his track of improving every year, he can be an explosive talent in the NBA.

16. Minnesota: Saddiq Bey, SF, Villanova
Bey has potential to be one of the top players in this draft. He might not be done growing yet, and he’s 6-8 right now. He’s a great shooter and has a playmaking ability. The biggest standout in his game, like a lot of other players in this draft, is his defense. He was put on point guards like Devon Dotson of Kansas and Kamar Baldwin of Butler, and did well with nearly every assignment. He’s the next Villanova player who can have a very productive NBA career.

17. Boston: Daniel Oturu, C, Minnesota

18. Dallas: Patrick Williams, PF, Florida State

19. Milwaukee: Theo Maledon, PG, France

20. Brooklyn: Jaden McDaniels, PF, Washington
McDaniels has great length and does things that players his size, at 6-10, shouldn’t be doing. He’s had a ton of highlight-reel plays. He’ll make you say ‘wow’ at least once or twice game when you see him, which I actually did in person back in November. However, he’s really skinny for his size and doesn’t handle contact well and turns the ball over as a result. Also, he had more red flags with far too many outbursts during games that led to technical fouls. He lost his starting spot, coming off the bench in Washington’s final 10 games. Easy to say that he’s the biggest wild card of the draft.

21. Denver: Devin Vassell, SG, Florida State

22. Philadelphia: Josh Green, SG, Arizona

23. Miami: Nico Mannion, PG, Arizona

24. Utah: Vernon Carey, PF, Duke

25. Oklahoma City: Jalen Smith, PF, Maryland

26. Boston: Jahmi’us Ramsey, SG, Texas Tech

27. New York: Xavier Tillman, PF, Michigan State

28. Toronto: Elijah Hughes, PG, Syracuse
Hughes is a talented prospect, quick with two-way abilities. He led the ACC in scoring this past season and is an overall consistent shooter. He took a high volume of shots at Syracuse this season and shoots over 80% from the free throw line. He’ll need some development though as his skills are not yet completely polished.

29. LA Lakers: Zeke Nnaji, PF, Arizona

30. Boston: Isaiah Stewart, PF, Washington
Stewart is ready to compete with NBA bigs today. What you see is what you get, 250 pounds and an elite rebounder. He’s a bit undersized at 6-9, but should be able to defend multiple positions, but that’s a bit of a question mark as he didn’t have the chance to this season with Mike Hopkins’ zone defense. He was probably hurt stock-wise due to the lack of official workouts, but can still prove himself once games get going.

Second Round:

31. Dallas: Devon Dotson, PG, Kansas

32. Charlotte: Reggie Perry, PF, Mississippi State

33. Minnesota: Tyler Bey, SF, Colorado
Bey is really underrated. He’s a good athlete, a great rebounder and has ability to playmake on defense. His shot needs a little work, but he’s really versatile, and NBA teams will appreciate that.

34. Philadelphia: Aleksej Pokusevski, C, Serbia

35. Sacramento: Cassius Winston, PG, Michigan State
Winston didn’t have a senior season that a lot of people expected him to have, which is understandable, given the sudden passing of his brother in November. However, he still put up All-American-type numbers. He was playing his best basketball when the season got cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic, but his talents should translate. He has the best basketball IQ of anyone in the draft, without a doubt. The defense is a concern, but he can be someone who has a very solid career as a second round role player.

36. Philadelphia: Leandro Bolmaro, SG, Argentina

37. Washington: Paul Reed, PF, DePaul

38. New York: Jordan Nwora, SF, Louisville

39. New Orleans: Chris Smith, SF, Stanford

40. Memphis: Immanuel Quickley, PG, Kentucky

41. San Antonio: Malachi Flynn, PG, San Diego State

42. Sacramento: Cassius Stanley, SG, Duke

43. New Orleans: Robert Woodard, SF, Mississippi State

44. Portland: Grant Riller, PG, Charleston

45. Orlando: Tre Jones, PG, Duke
Jones is a great player. He stuffs the stat sheet, is a great shooter and was a good leader on Duke this year. He has a lot of intangibles and will probably have a solid professional career.

46. Boston: Yves Pons, SF, Tennessee

47. Chicago: Payton Pritchard, PG, Oregon

48. Indiana: Isaiah Joe, SG, Arkansas

49. Philadelphia: Omer Yurtseven, C, Georgetown

50. Oklahoma City: Mamadi Diakite, PF, Virginia

51. Golden State: Killian Tillie, SF, Gonzaga

52. Golden State: Ashton Hagans, PG, Kentucky

53. Atlanta: Markus Howard, PG, Marquette
Now I’m starting to sneak some of college basketball’s best scorers in towards the end. Howard is an elite scorer, we all know that, and his ability to shoot from three was unstoppable at Marquette. He doesn’t have to be someone who gets a ton of minutes, but he can probably turn himself into a three-point specialist of sorts in the NBA.

54. Sacramento: Jay Scrubb, SG, John Logan
JUCO!!! Scrubb had initially committed to Louisville for next season but decided to head to the draft now. If picked, he’ll be the first JUCO player selected since Donta Smith was selected in the second round out of Southeastern Illinois College by Atlanta in 2004.

55. LA Clippers: Oscar Tshiebwe, PF, West Virginia

56. Charlotte: Udoka Azubuike, C, Kansas

57. Brooklyn: Myles Powell, PG, Seton Hall
I did it again. Here we have another high-level Big East scorer in Powell. Similar to Howard, developing more skills will be the key as he tries to make an NBA roster as one of the final picks in the draft.

58. Toronto: Luka Garza, C, Iowa
There’s a real chance that Garza goes back to Iowa for his senior season, but I’ll say in this scenario he does not. He was arguably the best center in the country this season, averaging over 23 PPG and almost 10 RPG. Again, I would bet that he goes back to school to try to improve his draft stock, but if he stays in the draft, he’s going to get picked late, if at all.

59. Philadelphia: Nate Hinton, SG, Houston

60. New Orleans: Skylar Mays, PG, LSU