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X-Hoosier

Looking to next season

By X-Hoosier, in Indiana Men's Basketball

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OliviaPope40    6,474

OliviaPope40
Posted
2 hours ago, Andowen1990IU said:

Back to basketball. ESPN's top college players for next season came out and named our boy TB at number 8 and is the highest B1G player.

Here it is:

  1. Grayson Allen, Duke Blue Devils You can make a pretty good case that, in purely performance terms, Allen's sophomore campaign was, if anything, underrated. Now, I realize that a Duke leading scorer will hardly be lacking for fame or even, should the occasion arise, infamy. Nevertheless, look at what Allen was able to accomplish. Playing as both the featured scorer and the de facto point guard for Mike Krzyzewski's team, the 6-foot-5 combo guard made his shots from everywhere on the floor (including and especially the line) while taking excellent care of the ball and posting the team's highest assist rate. This season, if freshman Frank Jackson does indeed prove to be capable at point guard and Allen is as good as he was in 2015-16 (no mean feat), you'll automatically hear talk about how the junior is better "off the ball" and "more comfortable playing his natural position." Maybe, but let the record show that he was pretty amazing with the ball and out of position as well. Allen's cross-position excellence along with the impressive track record posted last season by veterans such as him convinced me to elevate the guard as my new No. 1 player.

  2. Harry Giles, Duke Blue Devils This might be a propitious moment to walk back, ever so slightly, my "let's all walk back our collective freshman obsession" intro. After all, freshmen do, on occasion, live up to their insane expectations. Take, for instance, a freshman big man at Duke who arrives having posted amazingly good numbers in the invaluable performance X-ray known as FIBA competition. Actually, I'm talking about Jahlil Okafor in 2014-15, but that same shoe seems to fit pretty well for Giles in 2016-17. Playing for Team USA at the FIBA U19 championships in 2015, Giles rebounded a rather astonishing 17 percent of his team's misses during his minutes. He did that just two months past his 17th birthday and alongside (now) proven college performers such as Caleb Swanigan and Chinanu Onuaku. I like Giles' chances to live up to the hype. In April, he was No. 1 on my list.

  3. Kris Jenkins, Villanova Wildcats Perceptually speaking, Jenkins suffers from what hoops analysts in white lab coats term "Laettner Syndrome." When it is your good fortune to hit an iconic and era-defining game-winning shot, people tend to forget how good you were for the entire season before that event. Jenkins was indeed really, really good at basketball before that event. Now the 6-foot-6 senior is poised to extend his multiseason streak of pitiless accuracy from both sides of the arc. It's entirely fitting that Division I's 2015-16 season ended with a Kris Jenkins make. His shots just go in.

  4. Josh Jackson, Kansas Jayhawks Perhaps it was inevitable that Jackson, a freakishly athletic, 6-foot-7 Kansas wing on a one-and-done trajectory, would be compared to Andrew Wiggins, a freakishly athletic, 6-foot-8 Jayhawk wing who went one-and-done after the 2013-14 season. Well, that's a pretty good role model for any current freshman: Wiggins was an efficient featured scorer more or less from day one, and for his part, Jackson has been termed "ridiculously bright" by Bill Self. There's some discussion over whether the freshman is more of a wing or a 2-guard, and his 3-pointer is reportedly a work in progress. Still, Self says Jackson can be "the best freshman in the country." It could happen.

  5. Josh Hart, Villanova Wildcats During the Wildcats' summer swing through Spain, Hart put together a 27-point, 13-rebound performance in the team's closest game of the tour. That kind of outing is par for the course from Jay Wright's senior, a 6-foot-5 wing whose career shooting marks (60 percent on 2s, 38 on 3s) attest both to his own abilities and to a veritable golden age of Villanova made shots. Wright churns out accuracy the way Jamaica mints sprinters.

  6. London Perrantes, Virginia Cavaliers This might be a case of famous last words, but on paper, Perrantes is a forecaster's dream. Over the course of three seasons, his "point guard stats" (assist and turnover rates) have stayed notably steady, though it's true that his workload on offense has increased. Although his accuracy from beyond the arc dipped as a sophomore in 2014-15, we are still speaking of a career 43 percent 3-point shooter. Lastly, all of the above has been accomplished, of course, while playing Tony Bennett-level defense. Perrantes' calm demeanor belies the stress he inflicts upon opponents.

  7. Jayson Tatum, Duke Blue Devils Tatum is a 6-foot-8 wing who will likely be a featured performer on a Duke roster that includes Allen, Giles, Frank Jackson, Amile Jefferson, Matt Jones, Luke Kennard and Chase Jeter. That alone is impressive enough, but the freshman is also said to be a versatile scorer who can get to the rim, hit a jumper or draw a foul, not to mention harass opponents with his length on defense. Tatum might be a tad slender (he's listed, perhaps generously, at 205 pounds), but then again, Brandon Ingram was no Dwight Howard, and he turned out pretty well. Coach K, even by Coach K standards, has a ton of talent on hand for 2016-17.

  8. Thomas Bryant, Indiana Hoosiers Look in the hoops dictionary under "breakout sophomore potential," and you'll see a picture of Bryant. As a freshman, the 6-foot-10 post player converted a ridiculous 70.4 percent of his 2-point attempts. True, that rather astonishing number was recorded by a role player supporting the likes of Yogi Ferrell and Troy Williams. Now that both of those Hoosiers are gone, the expectation is that Bryant will become a featured scorer. Then again, maybe we've already seen that version of IU's star. Against Kentucky in the round of 32, Bryant scored 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor.

  9. Frank Mason III, Kansas Jayhawks Mason has now made 74 consecutive starts at point guard for Self, and the senior is an excellent distributor who defends, makes 3s and even -- at 5-foot-11 -- snags the occasional rebound. This summer, Mason was invited to participate in the Adidas Nations showcase, the latest indication that he'll have every opportunity to pull an Isaiah Thomas and prove he has what's required to stick with an NBA roster come 2017. That's a good thing, too, because as far as Mason is concerned, baseball is out of the question.

  10. Nigel Hayes, Wisconsin Badgers In the span of two seasons, Wisconsin went from having one of the best offenses anyone has ever seen (2014-15) to having one that was fairly normal (in terms of the 2015-16 Big Ten). No single player epitomized that change more than Hayes. His shooting percentages from both sides of the arc tumbled as a junior, and while it's true he was carrying a heavier load on offense in the post-Kaminsky-Dekker era, there are plenty of players nationally who make shots at a higher rate while using a similar number of possessions. I expect Hayes to return to form as a senior, and if that's correct, the same might be said of the Badgers offense as a whole.

  11. Markelle Fultz, Washington Huskies In leading Team USA to a gold medal at the FIBA U18 Americas championships this summer, Fultz dished 26 assists in just 439 personal possessions while displaying his chops as an active defender (to the tune of 16 steals). That's notable right there, and I haven't even mentioned the point guard's 66 percent 2-point shooting. No, the competition wasn't particularly daunting. (The USA won its five games by an average score of 93-63.) Nevertheless, there's a reason the 6-foot-5 freshman is being projected as a top-five pick in the 2017 draft.

  12. Monte Morris, Iowa State Cyclones The most recent time you saw Morris, he was recording eight assists and just one turnover in a losing cause against Virginia in the Sweet 16, and since then, you have to give him points for candor. When discussing his decision to forgo the NBA draft and return to Ames for his senior season, the point guard said simply, "I wanted to leave." In the end, however, a shoulder injury prevented the Cyclone from participating in workouts and, as he said, "stuff happens for a reason." Now Steve Prohm gets a 6-foot-3 floor general who has been consistently efficient on offense throughout his career while increasing his workload each season.

  13. Devonte' Graham, Kansas Jayhawks Occasionally, at a blue-chip program, you'll come across a player with some eye-popping stats (such as, oh, I don't know, a career 3-point percentage of 43.4) who has never really been perceived as "the man." In the case of Graham, that perception might be about to change, particularly now that Perry Ellis is no longer available. The 6-foot-2 combo guard carries a formidable reputation as a defender and has already proven himself capable of dropping 27-point games against the likes of Oklahoma and West Virginia.

  14. Jaron Blossomgame, Clemson Tigers Blossomgame took a very long look at entering the 2016 draft before opting to return to school for his senior season, and that made him the only returning member of the 2015-16 All-ACC first team, other than Duke's Allen. The senior's heroics have been somewhat obscured by the Tigers' middling 28-26 record in ACC play the past three seasons, but Blossomgame has developed to the point that he's a prime candidate for conference POY honors. In ACC play last season, the 6-foot-7 wing-slash-power-forward hit 46 percent of his 3s and shot 83 percent at the line.

  15. Ivan Rabb, California Golden Bears Last season, the Cal offense went through the not uniformly efficient likes of Jaylen Brown and Tyrone Wallace. Both players are gone, however, and now we'll see what the hitherto highly efficient Rabb can do with a larger role. The 6-foot-11 sophomore is a solid rebounder at both ends of the floor and a decent shot-blocker. Better still, Rabb is that rare big man who can both draw fouls (five per 40 minutes) and stay on the floor. In March, the freshman averaged better than 35 minutes per contest.

  16. Dennis Smith Jr., NC State Wolfpack Smith missed his senior season in high school because of a torn ACL, but the fact that the freshman is currently being projected as a top-five 2017 draft pick indicates that executives at the next level are sold on the point guard's vast potential. The 6-foot-2 freshman is billed as a natural floor general blessed with prodigious athletic abilities. Smith enrolled early in Raleigh and has been on campus since January.

  17. Edmond Sumner, Xavier Musketeers Sumner was not particularly successful at shooting the ball from the field as a freshman (44 percent on 2s and 30 on 3s), but the 6-foot-6 point guard connected on 80 percent of his free throws in Big East play. Not only did that boost the Musketeer offense (Sumner drew six fouls per 40 minutes against conference opponents), but it also suggests that his accuracy from beyond the arc might yet come around.

  18. Tyler Lydon, Syracuse Orange The NCAA tournament that Lydon recorded suggests that his very good but by no means spectacular season-long numbers for shot-blocking might be misleading. In just 95 minutes against Middle Tennessee, Gonzaga and Virginia, the 6-foot-8 reserve blocked no fewer than 17 shots. If Lydon keeps that up -- and assuming he can continue to hit 40 percent of his 3s while converting at a high rate inside the arc -- he'll give Syracuse a huge lift at both ends of the floor.

  19. De'Aaron Fox, Kentucky Wildcats Kentucky has hardly lacked for stellar point guards under John Calipari, and It's a credit to Fox that he is already being compared to the likes of Tyler Ulis and, yes, John Wall. That's some pretty heady company, and the 6-foot-3 freshman will have to prove that he belongs with such accomplished Wildcats. Still, if the hype with regard to Fox's speed is to be believed, UK's latest point guard is going to make quite an impression nationally.

  20. Justin Jackson, North Carolina Tar Heels If you look at Jackson's career stats and note that over two seasons he has made just 30 percent of his 3s, it might seem plain that he's better off inside the arc. Then again, the 6-foot-8 wing drained three of his four attempts from beyond the arc against Villanova in the national championship game. Maybe that was a fluke -- or perhaps it was the start of a promising, new trend for UNC fans. We'll find out: Brice Johnson and Marcus Paige are gone, and the Tar Heels have many more shot attempts available for Jackson.

  21. Dillon Brooks, Oregon Ducks The only question regarding Brooks is health. He underwent surgery at the end of July for some sort of foot malady and is out indefinitely. He might miss the start of the season. If -- and when -- he's healthy, the 6-foot-7 Brooks is a high-usage scorer who converts at a reliably high rate inside the arc and draws fouls. With Brooks, Tyler Dorsey and Chris Boucher all returning, Dana Altman has the ingredients on hand for another deep NCAA tournament run.

  22. Melo Trimble, Maryland Terrapins We've seen two seasons' worth of Trimble now, and as a sophomore, his assist rate charted a big jump as he assumed sole responsibility for his team's point guard duties (which effectively shared with Dez Wells as a freshman). Yes, Trimble's 3-point accuracy fell from 41 percent to 31, and his number of fouls drawn also decreased slightly. Perhaps Trimble puts it all together as a junior, or maybe "all together" is pretty much what we're already seeing (better 2-point shooting last season partially offset the perimeter struggles) from Mark Turgeon's veteran floor general.

  23. T.J. Cline, Richmond Spiders Cline functions, in effect, as a 6-foot-9 featured scorer and distributor. Make that an incredibly good, 6-foot-9 featured scorer and distributor. In the offseason, the senior has reportedly shed some weight, but if last season is any indication, there was nothing wrong with his 2015-16 physique. As a junior, Cline converted 63 percent of his 2s while posting easily the Spiders' highest assist rate.

  24. Allonzo Trier, Arizona Wildcats As a freshman, Trier missed seven games in the middle of the season because of a broken hand, yet his season totals were quite impressive. The 6-foot-6 wing did his part as one of three preferred options on offense, alongside Ryan Anderson and Gabe York, and in that role, Trier hit his shots from both sides of the arc and took commendably good care of the ball. He is more than ready for the scoring responsibilities that will come his way, now that Anderson and York have both departed.

  25. Mike Daum, South Dakota State Jackrabbits Last season, coach Scott Nagy preferred to bring Daum in off the bench, even though the 6-foot-9 freshman led the Jackrabbits in both scoring and rebounds. Whether or not he starts as a sophomore, the SDSU star is on track to terrorize the rest of the Summit League yet again. Daum has excellent 3-point range, converts 57 percent of his 2s, draws nearly eight (yes, eight) fouls per 40 minutes and shoots 83 percent at the line.

Here is my very honest opinion I believe that #1 will win it but it is his to lose. 

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The Baby Bull    280

The Baby Bull
Posted
On August 24, 2016 at 10:20 AM, Brass Cannon said:

Green and Cujo are why I am ok with Tremont Waters.  Having Taller guards that we can use when the need comes.  This was a luxury we didn't have Yogis freshmen year against Syracuse. 

Yep and it got us beat !

HoosierAloha reacted to this

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Uspshoosier    45,335

Uspshoosier
Posted

6-4 IU freshman, Curtis Jones, came to Bloomington w/great shooting stroke & athleticism. After summer of work, could be key for Hoosiers.
@franfraschilla


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6-4 IU freshman, Curtis Jones, came to Bloomington w/great shooting stroke & athleticism. After summer of work, could be key for Hoosiers
Josh, WayneFleekHoosier and Brass Cannon reacted to this

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HoosierAloha    30,032

HoosierAloha
Posted
16 minutes ago, Uspshoosier said:

6-4 IU freshman, Curtis Jones, came to Bloomington w/great shooting stroke & athleticism. After summer of work, could be key for Hoosiers.
@franfraschilla


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Nice, CuJo could be that scoring threat off the bench that some want JBJ to be.  It's a good problem to have but if CuJo is a scoring threat RoJo might continue to take a backseat at guard.  I see RoJo as the player that does the small things to win while JBJ seems focused on scoring.

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WayneFleekHoosier    48,067

WayneFleekHoosier
Posted
Nice, CuJo could be that scoring threat off the bench that some want JBJ to be.  It's a good problem to have but if CuJo is a scoring threat RoJo might continue to take a backseat at guard.  I see RoJo as the player that does the small things to win while JBJ seems focused on scoring.


RoJo------Marshall Strickland
Blackmon------Bracey Wright

I'm being facetious, kinda.


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HoosierAloha and BtownBanner6 reacted to this

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