Looking Forward: Who will be the Breakout Stars of the 2016-17 season?

By Rob DausterMay 10, 2016, 1:00 PM EDT

(AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

The NBA Draft’s Early Entry Deadline has come and gone. Just about every elite recruit has decided where they will be playing their college ball next season. The coaching carousel, which ended up spinning a bit faster than initially expected, has come to a close for all of the major programs.

In other words, by now, we have a pretty good feel for what college basketball is going to look like during the 2016-17 season. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the players headed for a breakout year.

Donovan Mitchell, Louisville: Mitchell is a guy that I loved coming out of high school and that showed some serious promise late in his freshman season, including a 17 point outburst at Duke. He averaged just a relatively inefficiency 7.4 points last season, but he is a strong, athletic combo-guard that is an ideal fit for the system that Rick Pitino runs on both ends of the floor. We have Louisville as a preseason top ten team, and one of the biggest reasons for that is that we expect Mitchell to become a borderline first-team All-ACC caliber player.

Tyler Lydon, Syracuse: I think Lydon, who averaged 10.1 points as a freshman, is one of the most enticing prospects in college basketball this season. He’s a 6-foot-9 forward with a 7-foot wingspan and the ability to both protect the rim (1.8 bpg) and hit threes (40.1% 3PT), which makes him a pretty snug fit in Jim Boeheim’s 2-3 zone. The issue with Lydon is that he’s still a bit of a tweener: He’s not quick enough or skilled enough to be a three but he weighs 200 pounds soaking wet and can’t handle the physicality of the paint in the ACC just yet. As he gets stronger, he’ll only become more intriguing as a prospect, as bigs with the ability to protect the rim and stretch the floor become more and more in demand.

JaQuan Newton, Miami: Newtown spent his first two seasons in Coral Gables playing behind Angel Rodriguez and Shelden McClellan, which is part of the reason that his numbers weren’t really all that impressive (10.5 ppg, 2.8 apg). That doesn’t change the fact that his skill-set as a point guard is exactly what Jim Larrañaga looks for. He’s a scorer and a playmaker that thrives in high-ball screen actions, and while he’s more of a slasher than either Rodriguez or Shane Larkin, he will get plenty of chances for the ‘Canes next season.

Ethan Happ, Wisconsin: Nigel Hayes was Wisconsin’s leading scorer and Bronson Koenig was the guy that hit the biggest shots in the biggest moments, but there were many times last season where Happ was actually Wisconsin’s best player. Throw in the fact that he’s the kind of skilled big man that the Badgers have had so much success with over the years, and you shouldn’t be surprised to see him build on the 12.4 points and 7.9 boards he averaged as a redshirt freshman last season.

Indiana's OG Anunoby (3) dunks in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against the Michigan in the quarterfinals at the Big Ten Conference tournament, Friday, March 11, 2016, in Indianapolis. Michigan won 72-69. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy) — Indiana’s OG Anunoby (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Thomas Bryant and O.G. Anunoby, Indiana: Bryant is the obvious pick here. He’s a star freshman and potential lottery pick that played well down the stretch and is returning to school. Anunoby, however, is the guy that could end up being the best all-around player on the Hoosiers next season. He averaged just 5.8 points this past season, but there are reasons for that: he got limited minutes before James Blackmon’s injury and his role is similar to that of Troy Williams. He is a versatile, athletic forward that can guard multiple positions and isn’t as much of a liability offensively as he’s been made out to be. If he can build of the strong finish he had to the 2015-16 season, Anunoby could follow a similar career-arc to that of Victor Oladipo: Unheralded recruit-turned-first round pick.

Markis McDuffie, Wichita State: With the Shockers losing Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker to graduation after what felt like a 17-year career in Wichita, Gregg Marshall is going to have to find someone to replace that production. McDuffie should end up being that guy. He averaged 7.4 points in 18 minutes as a freshman, but as a 6-foot-8 wing with three-point range, he was still more of a prospect than a player last year. The Shockers are going to inevitably take a step back this season — which says more about how good they were with VanVleet and Baker than anything else — but don’t be surprised when McDuffie keeps them atop the Missouri Valley and within range of an NCAA Tournament at-large bid.

London Perrantes, Virginia: The rest of the guys that write for this site disagreed with me on Perrantes. They said he’s already too good to be considered for this list; he averaged 11.0 points and 4.4 assists while shooting 48.8 percent from three on a team that’s been top five in the country the last two seasons. But here’s my thinking: Perrantes has never been the stars of the Wahoos. He’ll be a four-year starter, but Joe Harris, Malcolm Brogdon and Anthony Gill have been the big names. Perrantes, however, has a proven track record of hitting big shots and he can do many of the things on the offensive end that Brogdon did this past season, which is why this is the year that Perrantes goes from a name we know to a star on an Final Four contender.

RELATED: Looking Forward in the Big 12 | ACC | Atlantic 10

Edmund Sumner and Kaiser Gates, Xavier: Sumner was one of the most tantalizing freshmen in the country last season, a 6-foot-6 point guard that flashed serious ability in-between freshman mistakes. He could end up being a first round pick in 2017. Gates may be the more important player here, however. With Jalen Reynolds and James Farr gone and Trevon Bluiett still weighing his professional options, Gates becomes a valuable front court piece. His improvement will correlate with how good Xavier ends up being next season.

Jalen Adams, UConn: It took some time, but Adams eventually started to resemble the kind of ball-dominant lead guards — Kemba Walker, Shabazz Napier — that the Huskies have won big with in recent years. With Sterling Gibbs and Daniel Hamilton out of the picture, Adams is going to be the guy running the show for the Huskies. My only concern here: This may end up being a year premature.

Tyler Davis, Texas A&M: Davis is a throwback big man — a physical low-post presence that has no qualms with doing his damage three-feet from the rim. He showed flashes as a freshman, but with Danuel House and Alex Caruso graduating, expect to see Billy Kennedy run more of his offense through Davis this season.

Eric Davis Jr. and Kerwin Roach Jr., Texas: As freshman, Davis and Roach both showed flashes of being the kind of super-athletic, three-point marksmen that had success playing the wing for Shaka Smart at VCU. With Isaiah Taylor off to the professional ranks and UT’s dearth of bigs graduating, these two will be asked to play a major role for the Longhorns.

Purdue center Isaac Haas (44) goes after a rebound against North Carolina A&T during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Friday, Nov. 13, 2015, in West Lafayette, Ind. Purdue won 81-40. (AP Photo/Doug McSchooler) — Purdue center Isaac Haas (AP Photo/Doug McSchooler)

Isaac Haas, Purdue: Haas was super-productive and efficient while splitting time with A.J. Hammons at the center spot last season. With Hammons gone, don’t be surprised to see Haas become the guy that Purdue’s offense runs through next season. At 7-foot-2 with good feet, a soft touch and an understanding for post-positioning, he’s a nightmare to deal with.

George King, Colorado: In reality, we’re a year too late with King. He averaged 13.6 points and shot 45.6 percent from the floor last season. But with Josh Scott gone, King will play an even bigger role offensively. He may end up being a first-team All-Pac-12 player.

Chimezie Metu, USC: At 6-foot-11, Metu is the kind of athlete that should thrive in Andy Enfield’s uptempo system. He averaged 6.4 points and 3.6 boards in 18 minutes as a freshman, but with a year’s worth of time spent in a college weight room, Metu should be able to handle the rigors of the post in the Pac-12 better this year.

Shake Milton, SMU: Milton averaged 10.5 points and shot 42.6 percent from three as a freshman last season for the Mustangs. With Nic Moore and a slew of talented bigs departing the program, Milton is going to be one of the guys that Larry Brown asks to carry the water for his team.

Jacob Evans, Cincinnati: Evans averaged 8.4 points as a freshman and played his best game — 26 points, nine boards — in their NCAA tournament loss to Saint Joseph’s. With Cincy losing some pieces up front, Evans will have an even bigger role next season.

North Texas reaches NIT finals, shuts down Wisconsin 56-54

Associated PressMar 28, 2023, 11:53 PM EDT

Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports

LAS VEGAS – Tylor Perry scored 14 of his 16 points in the first half, Rubin Jones scored all 12 of his after halftime and North Texas closed on a 10-0 run to beat Wisconsin 56-54 on Tuesday night in the semifinals of the NIT.

North Texas (30-7) advances to the program’s first NIT championship game on Thursday. Conference USA is now 16-1 this postseason.

North Texas, which trailed 41-29 at halftime, took its first lead of the game at 56-54 with 2:08 remaining on Moulaye Sissoko’s shot in the lane to cap a 10-0 run.

Wisconsin forward Tyler Wahl missed two free throws with 49.1 seconds left and North Texas worked the clock down before Perry had it poked away. Wahl had a shot blocked at the rim, but Wisconsin secured the loose ball and called a timeout with 5.8 left. Wisconsin got it inside to Wahl but Sissoko knocked it away and dove on the ball to end it.

The Mean Green, the nation’s leader in scoring defense at 55.7 points per game, held Wisconsin without a point for the final 9:07 of the game. The Badgers made just one of their last 16 shots – with 10 straight misses.

Kai Huntsberry scored four of his 12 points in the game-closing run for North Texas, which extended its program record for wins this season.

Chucky Hepburn scored all 15 of his points in the first half for Wisconsin (20-15), which was making its first appearance in the NIT semifinals.

Wisconsin dropped to 13-8 this season in games decided by five points or fewer.

NEW VENUE

The semifinals and final are being played at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas after Madison Square Garden in New York hosted every year but two since 1938, with the 2020 tournament canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2021 event held in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The 2024 semifinals and final will be played at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

LSU’s Mulkey senses reunion in trip to Texas for Final Four

Associated PressMar 28, 2023, 9:35 PM EDT

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DALLAS – Kim Mulkey is returning to Texas for another Final Four, keenly aware that her LSU Tigers will play a short road trip from the school she made synonymous with women’s basketball.

Mulkey is the third coach to take multiple schools to the Final Four, doing so in her second season back in her home state of Louisiana after leading Baylor to the national semifinals four times in 21 seasons.

The Bears won three national championships under Mulkey, combined for 23 regular-season and tournament titles in the Big 12 Conference and made the NCAA Tournament in all but one of her seasons.

“You never spend 21 years of your life building a dynasty, and that’s what we did at Baylor. I think we can all agree with that,” Mulkey said Tuesday. “I still have a home there. My grandchildren are there. So my heart will always be there.”

Mulkey and the Tigers (33-2) will face first-time Final Four qualifier Virginia Tech (31-4) in the opener Friday night in Dallas, about 100 miles (160 km) north of Mulkey’s former college home in Waco. Defending champion South Carolina (36-0) plays Iowa (30-6) in the late game.

Hall of Fame coach C. Vivian Stringer took three teams to the Final Four, and Gary Blair made it that far with two.

Blair’s second was Texas A&M in 2011, when he won an Elite Eight showdown with Mulkey at American Airlines Center. Five years later in Dallas, the Bears again fell one win short of the Final Four.

Mulkey is back in Dallas with a new team after a 54-42 Elite Eight victory over Miami.

“There will be Baylor people sitting in my section that are heartbroken that I left,” Mulkey said. “I get it. Someday when I’m retired, maybe I’ll write another book and have more details, but I love Baylor University, the fans there, the Lady Bear fans there. But it was time. Timing is everything in life.”

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley has fonder memories of the home of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks. The Gamecocks won their first national title there five years ago, beating Mississippi State after the Bulldogs ended Connecticut’s 111-game winning streak in the semifinals.

“Dallas, it will be etched in my memory forever,” said Staley, whose team – the No. 1 overall seed – earned a return trip with an 86-75 victory over Maryland. “I remember vividly the police escorts. I remember our fans. I remember UConn losing. That was a huge moment in college women’s basketball.”

Virginia Tech coach Kenny Brooks is a Dallas Cowboys fan, so he remembers seeing star quarterback Dak Prescott in the stands five years ago rooting for his alma mater, Mississippi State.

Prescott remembers the “huge moment” to which Staley referred. His reaction to Morgan William’s buzzer-beating game-winner in overtime made the rounds on social media five years ago.

“That was a surreal moment,” Brooks said. “But my surreal moment was last night.”

That’s when the No. 1 seed Hokies beat Ohio State 84-74 to reach their first Final Four in Brooks’ seventh season. Iowa, which beat Louisville 97-83 in the Elite Eight, has advanced this far for the first time since 1993, when Stringer became the first coach to lead multiple teams to the Final Four.

Stringer had done it with Cheyney in the inaugural tournament season of 1982, and after the Iowa trip, she went twice more with Rutgers in 2000 and 2007.

“She called me immediately after we beat Louisville,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “In fact, she was my first voice message I got that night. I know coach Stringer is behind us. I haven’t been able to get back to her yet, but I will soon.”

Mulkey’s Bears were one of the top seeds in 2017, hoping to chase a title just up the road from their Waco campus. Mississippi State beat Baylor in overtime in the Elite Eight before the OT thriller against UConn.

The Tigers are this deep in the tournament for the first time since the last of five consecutive Final Four appearances in 2008, all of which ended in the semifinals.

Mulkey was asked if she felt the burden of living up to those glory years.

“We’ve already done that,” said Mulkey, who has now reached the NCAA Tournament in 19 consecutive seasons as a coach. “Winning a national championship will only put an exclamation mark on it. We have exceeded probably what anybody could just realistically say was possible this quickly.”

Black female athletes: Having Black female coach is crucial

Associated PressMar 28, 2023, 9:32 PM EDT

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South Carolina senior guard Brea Beal knew she could trust Dawn Staley before she even suited up for the Gamecocks.

It wasn’t just Staley’s coaching accolades, which include fueling South Carolina’s meteoric rise in women’s basketball, that sold Beal. Beal knew that Staley – a Black woman like her – would best understand how to guide her as she navigated both life and playing basketball on a big stage.

“People that were telling me what this community was about, I know it’s somewhere I wanted to be,” Beal said. “As soon as I got here, she definitely led me down a journey so I could find out who I am.”

Black female representation in the coaching and sports administrative ranks has existed on a minute scale – even in a sport like basketball, which along with track and field has the highest concentration of Black female college athletes. Black female players who have been coached by a Black woman told The Associated Press that it was crucial to their development.

“There are some coaches who will just have all guys with no understanding that there are sometimes things that a young woman may need to talk to another woman about,” said Kiki Barnes, a former basketball player and jumper at New Orleans and current Gulf Coast Athletic Conference commissioner.

While the number of women coaching women’s sports has increased in the past decade, Black women continue to lag behind most other groups. During the 2021-22 school year, 399 Black women coached women’s NCAA sports teams in Divisions I, II and III, compared with 3,760 white women and 5,236 white men.

In women’s NCAA basketball, a sport made up of 30% Black athletes, Black women made up 12% of head coaches across all divisions during the 2021-22 season, according to the NCAA’s demographics database.

Fourteen Black women led women’s basketball teams across 65 Power Five programs this past season – up one from 2021. That’s less than 22% of the total in a sport that was played by more Black athletes (40.7%) than any other race in Division I, according to a report with data from the 2020-21 season.

For the first time in a decade, four Black coaches advanced to the Sweet 16 of the women’s basketball tournament, including Staley, who said she believes it’s more popular to hire a woman at “this stage of the game.”

“And it’s not to say that I’m going to sit here and male bash, because we have a lot of male coaches who have been in our game for decades upon decades,” said Staley, who will lead her team into the Final Four this weekend. “But I will say that giving women an opportunity to coach women and helping women navigate through life like they have navigated through life will allow your student-athletes a different experience than having a male coach.”

For years Staley has been an advocate for hiring more female coaches – especially minorities – in college basketball, but WNBA player Angel McCoughtry said Black female coaches as successful as Staley are still too few and far between in the sport.

“When I was getting recruited in high school, I don’t remember having a Dawn Staley to look up to,” said McCoughtry, who played at Louisville from 2005-09.

McCoughtry also named Carolyn Peck, the first African American woman to coach her team to an NCAA women’s basketball title in 1999 with Purdue, as another example of representation in the sport.

“So there’s one or two every decade,” McCoughtry said. “Why can’t we have 10? There’s 10 Caucasian coaches every decade.”

McCoughtry, a former No. 1 overall pick by the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream, got used to being around people who didn’t look like or understand her. She is Black. Her AAU and high school coaches were Black men. Her college coaches were white men. Marynell Meadors, a white woman, was her first coach in Atlanta.

She has fielded frustrating questions from white peers, coaches and owners – like how often she washes her hair, or whether her passionate play was because she was from Baltimore.

“There’s just a disconnect in understanding things,” the 36-year-old said, adding: “We need more coaches to protect us.”

McCoughtry has never had a Black female head coach but did have the impactful guidance of Michelle Clark-Heard, a Black woman whom Jeff Walz brought on as an assistant when he took over at Louisville in 2008.

She also leaned on Tim Eaton, a Black assistant coach who she said advocated for her in her freshman year, when then-coach Tom Collen wanted to send her back to Baltimore because she was late to one of her first practices. Similarly, McCoughtry said, she felt she had less room to make mistakes than white teammates. When she questioned a coach, she was labeled a troublemaker; when she got fired up about a play, she was told she had a bad attitude.

“We just never had any inch to be human, like our Caucasian counterparts,” she said, adding: “But who understands that? Our Black coaches. Because they went through everything we went through. They have a story, too.”

Part of the reason for the lack of Black female coaches is because of who ultimately holds the power to hire, Barnes said. That’s often athletic directors, a level where there is an even greater lack of diversity – 224 of 350 in Division I are white men. Plus, she added, there are changing requirements for what it takes to get leadership opportunities.

“And now the system has changed to where now you’ve got to know search firms because now search firms are the ones that are managing and determining who gets these opportunities,” she said. “Every time we understand how to get in the room and what it takes to be prepared, it’s like the rules change.”

Barnes played high school basketball in her hometown of Minden, Louisiana, where she had an assistant coach who was a Black woman; Barnes still refers to her as “Coach Smith.”

“For her, it wasn’t just about basketball. It was about who I was as a young lady,” Barnes recalled, adding, “I would say it’s similar with a young woman wanting to talk to a mom about womanly things. It’s not that a man couldn’t do it, but I wouldn’t feel as comfortable talking to either my dad or any other man about woman things.”

Priscilla Loomis, a 2016 Olympic high jumper who is Black, said she became a coach to provide kids that look like her the representation the sport has lacked. NCAA track and field numbers mirrored women’s basketball numbers in 2021-22: 5% of head coaches were Black women, while 19% of women’s NCAA track and field athletes are Black.

“They want so badly to feel seen and to feel loved and to be given guidance,” Loomis said. “And so that’s why I always say it’s important to get women of color, men of color to the starting line, because a lot of times we’re so many steps behind.”

Auburn’s top ’22 hoops signee, Traore, plans to transfer

Associated PressMar 28, 2023, 9:30 PM EDT

Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn’s top signee from last year, center Yohan Traore, plans to transfer.

The five-star recruit from France, who played a limited role as a freshman, announced his plans in an Instagram post on Tuesday.

The 6-foot-10 Traore initially committed to LSU but landed at Auburn after the firing of coach Will Wade a little more than a year ago. He was rated the No. 24 overall recruit and No. 5 center according to the 247Sports composite rankings.

Traore averaged 2.1 points and 1.4 rebounds after arriving from Dream City Christian School in Arizona.

Traore was a member of the U15 and U16 French National Team.

He played nine minutes in Auburn’s opening NCAA Tournament game against Iowa. Traore failed to score and didn’t play in the second-round loss to Houston.

Unbeaten Gamecocks, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark star in women’s Final Four

Associated PressMar 27, 2023, 11:48 PM EDT

SEATTLE ⁠— An undefeated South Carolina team led by star Aliyah Boston and guided by vaunted Dawn Staley, an Iowa squad that features high-scoring Caitlin Clark and the return of LSU and flashy coach Kim Mulkey headline the women’s Final Four this weekend.

Virginia Tech is the newcomer to the group as the Hokies are making their first appearance in the national semifinals. Hokies coach Kenny Brooks became the third Black male coach to take a team to the Final Four in women’s basketball history.

All of the women’s basketball world will descend on Dallas this week as the Division I, II and III championships will be held there. It’s only the second time that all three divisions will have their title games in the same place.

Staley and the Gamecocks are looking to become the 10th team to go through a season unbeaten and the first to repeat as champions since UConn won four in a row from 2013-16. South Carolina advanced to its third consecutive national semifinals and fifth since 2015 thanks to another superb effort by Boston, the reigning AP Player of the Year. The three-time All-American had 22 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Maryland on Monday night.

Next up for the Gamecocks is Iowa and the sensational Clark. She helped the Hawkeyes reach their first Final Four in 30 years with a game for the ages in the regional semifinals on Sunday night. The junior guard had the first 40-point triple-double in NCAA history in the win over Louisville.

The Gamecocks have the experience edge having reached the Final Four so often with this group. No one on Iowa’s roster was alive the last time the team advanced to the game’s biggest stage. C. Vivian Stringer was the coach of that team in 1993 that reached the Final Four before losing to Ohio State in overtime.

“It is like a storybook, but it’s kind of been like that for us all year long,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “I mean, we have had — honestly, we keep talking about destiny and how it’s supposed to happen and it is happening. But I’m so happy for Caitlin. I can remember sitting in her living room and her saying, I want to go to a Final Four. And I’m saying, We can do it together. And she believed me. And so I’m very thankful for that.”

The other game will pit LSU against Virginia Tech. The Tigers are making their first trip to the national semifinals since 2008 when Sylvia Fowles dominated the paint. Now LSU is led by another stellar post player in Angel Reese.

She broke Fowles’ record for double-doubles in a season earlier this year and was key in the Tigers’ win over Miami in the Elite Eight.

Reese, who transferred in this season from Maryland, has made Mulkey’s second season at the school a special one. She came to LSU with a resume headlined by three NCAA titles from her time at Baylor along with some flamboyant sideline looks such as her silver-shimmering jacket with white pants that she wore in the Elite Eight game Sunday.

“What really makes me smile is not cutting that net down,” Mulkey said. “It’s looking around out there at all those LSU people, looking at that team I get to coach experience it for the first time.”

LSU’s opponent is also making its first appearance at the Final Four. The Hokies have had the best season in school history, winning the ACC crown as well under Brooks. He joined former Syracuse Quentin Hillsman and Cheyney State’s Winthrop “Windy” McGriff.

The significance has not been lost on Brooks, who hopes he can inspire other Black male coaches to get more opportunities.

The Hokies run to the national semifinals has been led by star post Elizabeth Kitley and sharpshooter Georgia Amoore. The pair combined for 49 points in the win over Ohio State in the Elite Eight.