More College Hoops

Kentucky’s Tyrese Maxey declares for the NBA draft 2020 NBA Mock Draft 2.0: Where will Obi Toppin get picked? College Basketball Preseason Top 25

1. Frank Mason III, Kansas: The latest impressive performance from Mason came against Stanford, as he finished with 20 points, five assists and four boards in a 15-point win over the Cardinal. He’s the engine that makes that team go, averaging 19.6 points, 5.4 assists and 4.5 boards while shooting 56.1 percent from the floor and 48.4 percent from three, and he’s still the proud owner of the biggest shot of the season. Is anyone else fired up for when the Jayhawks head to Rupp Arena to take on Kentucky in January?

2. Josh Hart, Villanova: Last Tuesday, we talked about how Hart has improved his three-point shooting and has added the ability to operate in ball-screens to his offensive repertoire this season. Then he went out posted a triple-double in a win over Saint Joseph’s while averaging 9.5 assists in two games. Prior to last week, Hart had never averaged more than 1.9 assists in any season in college.

3. Lonzo Ball, UCLA: The value that Ball brings to this UCLA team goes well-beyond the numbers that he’s putting up, and his numbers are already quite impressive. He’s averaging 14.3 points, 5.0 boards, 1.3 blocks and 1.0 steals on the season, but it’s the nation’s-best 9.3 assists that he’s averaging that makes the difference. He, quite simply, makes everyone on the court around him better. It’s a cliché that’s used with point guards too often, but no one fits that mold better than Ball.

We saw it on Saturday against Kentucky. Ball struggled early in that game, committing five turnovers in the first 10 minutes as the Bruins dug themselves a 23-14 hole. When he finally turned it on, UCLA torched Kentucky’s defense, which is one of the best in all of college basketball. His unselfishness has permeated that roster. Watching the Bruins move the ball against a set defense is a thing of beauty. Draft Express posted a terrific breakdown of just what makes Ball’s passing so difficult to deal with last week.

4. De’Aaron Fox, Kentucky: The Wildcats ended up losing to UCLA on Saturday afternoon, but it was no fault of Fox, who finished with 20 points and nine assists while doing the heavy-lifting in keeping Lonzo Ball more-or-less in check. Fox is a terror in transition, nearly impossible to keep out of the paint, unselfish when he draws extra defenders and an elite on-ball defender. If he can find a way to become a consistently jump-shooter, he’s going to be very, very good.

5. Luke Kennard, Duke: Kennard has been Duke’s best player this season, and that did not change in the last seven days, with the return of Jayson Tatum and Marques Bolden. He had 20 points in a win over Michigan State and followed that up with a career-high 35 points as the Blue Devils knocked off Maine. If Tatum turns out to be as good as advertised and Grayson Allen eventually returns to health, think about how scary a Duke back court is when Kennard is the third-best weapon offensively?

6. Markelle Fultz, Washington: Let’s put the numbers that Fultz is averaging this season – 22.7 points, 6.7 boards, 6.6 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.4 blocks – into perspective. No college basketball player since 1993 has averaged 22 points, six boards and six assists in a season before. Only 14 times in that time-frame has a player averaged 20 points, five boards and five assists, and only one of those 14 played at the high-major level – Evan Turner in 2009-10, when he averaged 20.4 points, 9.2 boards and 6.0 assists and won National Player of the Year.

Making those numbers even more impressive is that none of the 14 players on that list have A) averaged more than one block per game or B) come close to shooting 48.4 percent from three. It’s early, yes, and Fultz still hasn’t played any elite competition, but what he’s done this season is remarkable.

Washington, who is just 4-3 on the season, will get their first real test of the year when they square off with Gonzaga in Spokane on Wednesday.

7. Mo Watson, Creighton: For all the love that UCLA’s Lonzo Ball is getting this season, it’s worth noting that Watson is doing something similar for the Bluejays. He’s averaging 12.0 points and 9.0 assists, second nationally to Ball, for a Creighton team that is in the top ten and running one of the nation’s most high-powered offenses. He’s been terrific.

8. Joel Berry II, North Carolina: We saw Berry’s value last week when he struggled against Indiana in Assembly Hall and the Tar Heels played their worst game of the season to date. He’s now dealing with an ankle injury that could keep him out for the next two games. With freshman point guard Seventh Woods stepping into the starting lineup against Davidson on Wednesday, we should really get a feel for just how imporant he is to this team.

9. Jawun Evans, Oklahoma State: Evans was held in check for the most part in Oklahoma State’s loss at Maryland on Saturday and he still managed to finish with 16 points, five boards and five assists.

10. Caleb Swanigan, Purdue: Swanigan had a rough outing against Louisville last week. His finished with 14 points and 13 boards, but he also committed six turnovers and was one of the reasons that the Boilermakers had so much trouble on the offensive end of the floor in the first half.

JUST MISSED THE CUT

Melo Trimble, Maryland
Malik Monk, Kentucky
Alec Peters, Valparaiso
James Blackmon Jr., Indiana
Marcus Foster, Creighton
Bonzie Colson, Notre Dame
Yante Maten, Georgia
Johnathan Motley, Baylor
Jock Landale, Saint Mary’s

More College Hoops

Kentucky’s Tyrese Maxey declares for the NBA draft 2020 NBA Mock Draft 2.0: Where will Obi Toppin get picked? College Basketball Preseason Top 25

1. Frank Mason III, Kansas: Mason had a relatively quiet week, as the Jayhawks were able to cruise past Georgia in the CBE Classic title game and pick up a win over UNC Asheville over the weekend. On the season, the Kansas point guard is averaging 21.5 points, 5.0 assists and 4.3 boards while shooting 54.9 percent from the floor and 48.0 percent from three.

2. Josh Hart, Villanova: Like Mason, Hart has had a quiet week, with his only game since the last time we checked in coming against Charleston. He’s still the leading scorer for the Wildcats and he’s still the most important player in Jay Wright’s ‘positionless’ attack. There was some talk during the offseason that Hart would be this year’s Buddy Hield or Denzel Valentine, the senior that made massive strides heading into his final season, and while Hart’s numbers aren’t all that much improved from where they were a year ago, he’s turned into a more well-rounded player.

He’s hitting 44.4 percent of his threes while shooting a career-high 4.5 threes per game while, according to Synergy, 29.5 percent of his offensive possessions come through ball-screen actions, where he’s scoring at a 1.185 PPP clip. Last season, just 12.5 percent of his offensive possessions were in ball-screens, and he scored just 0.875 PPP. His raw numbers haven’t made the same leap that Hield’s or Valentine’s did, but rest assured, Hart is a much-improved basketball player.

3. Lonzo Ball, UCLA: The Bruins passed their first real test of the season, as they took home the title in the Wooden Legacy with wins over Nebraska and Texas A&M. Lonzo Ball was the star of the show for the Bruins, as he’s been all season long. He’s averaging 16.0 points, 9.1 assists, 5.3 boards and 1.3 steals while shooting 57.4 percent from the floor and 48.6 percent from three. He’s been nothing short of phenomenal this season, and it’s going to be a thrill to see him square off with Kentucky and their star guards on Saturday afternoon in Rupp Arena.

https://youtu.be/pY1p5oZ6u58?t=11s

4. De’Aaron Fox, Kentucky: Last week, Isaiah Briscoe was the Kentucky guard that we had on this list. This week, it’s Fox, and while it’s hard to differentiate who in that group is the most important and the most valuable, I’m leaning Fox here because I think he’s the engine to Kentucky’s attack.

According to Synergy’s logs, 27.1 percent of Kentucky’s offensive possession come in transition. Better than 37 percent of the possessions that Fox uses are in transition. This is a team that’s built around perimeter pressure defensively creating those opportunities in transition, and Fox could be the best perimeter defender in all of college basketball. More than anyone, he is the player that makes this team go.

And for good measure, he’s averaging 15.3 points, 7.6 assists, 5.7 boards and 2.0 steals.

5. Luke Kennard, Duke: Kennard was just OK in Duke’s wins over William & Mary and Appalachian State this week, but that doesn’t change the fact that he has been Duke’s best player this season and the star of the two biggest games the Blue Devils have played this season. Their head is still above water this year with Jayson Tatum, Harry Giles III and Marques Bolden still out – and Grayson Allen dealing with a toe injury – because of how good Kennard has been.

6. Joel Berry II, North Carolina: Roy Williams’ best teams are when he has a star point guard on the roster, and Berry looks like he is very much filling that role this season. He’s averaging 17.1 points, 4.3 boards and 4.3 assists with shooting splits of 55.1/47/1/93.3, and if the Tar Heels can win at Indiana on Wednesday night, I think it’s fair to say that Berry will be the best player on the team with the most impressive résumé in the country this season.

7. Markelle Fultz, Washington: Fultz has been magnificent through the first three weeks of the season – 23.0 points, 6.7 assists, 5.5 boards, 2.2 steals, 1.5 blocks, 55.3% FG, 43.5% 3PT. But there’s valid concern to the idea that Fultz will be the second straight No. 1 pick to miss out on the NCAA tournament. The Huskies have already lost to Yale at home and to TCU in Las Vegas.

8. Jawun Evans, Oklahoma State: The same thing can be said about Evans, who entered the season with no where near the same amount of hype as Fultz. He’s averaging 24.3 points, 5.3 assists and 2.8 steals right now, but the Cowboys one game against elite competition resulted in a 35-point loss at the hands of Oklahoma State.

9. Caleb Swanigan, Purdue: We knew that Swanigan was going to be a monster on the block and on the glass, but what’s made him such a dangerous weapon this season – and what’s made Purdue so ruthless offensively – is his ability to space the floor. He’s making threes (5-of-8 on the year, but the threat of his jumper keeps defenses honest) and he’s become a terrific passer in high-low actions, which is part of the reason Isaac Haas has looked like Shaquille O’Neal at times this year.

10. Mo Watson, Creighton: Like Kentucky, there are a couple of players from Creighton that deserve consideration for this list, but we’ll got with Watson for now, who is the floor general for one of the nation’s most potent offensive attacks. He’s averaging 11.2 points and 8.5 assists, although his turnovers have been a bit higher than Greg McDermott would like.

JUST MISSED THE CUT

Melo Trimble, Maryland
Malik Monk, Kentucky
Isaiah Briscoe, Kentucky
James Blackmon Jr., Indiana
Deandre Burnett, Ole Miss
Monte’ Morris, Iowa State
Yante Maten, Georgia
Johnathan Motley, Baylor
Jock Landale, Saint Mary’s