There wasn’t a matchup of top-25 teams Thursday, but there were competitive games across the country, starting in Lincoln with Michigan State and Nebraska and ending in Tempe with Oregon State and Arizona State. Pl, there was a dunk that may have qualified as national emergency. Here’s what you need to know:
NO. 6 MICHIGAN STATE STAYS PERFECT IN THE B1G WITH WIN AT NEBRASKA
Nebraska looked like it had the sixth-ranked Spartans on the ropes in Lincoln with the score knotted at 44 just inside the midpoint of the second half. Then, though, Michigan State ripped off a 7-0 run and never looked back – despite an ugly final minute – to claim a 70-64 win over the Huskers to move to 16-2 on the year and 7-0 in the Big Ten.
The win is most notable for the Spartans as it once again came without the services of Joshua Langford or Nick Ahrens, both of whom continue to be sidelined with injuries. With both on the shelf, Cassius Winston put together a game to bolster his player of the year candidacy, scoring a career-best 29 points on 9 of 15 shooting while dishing out six assists and grabbing three rebounds. Winston doesn’t have the game that always pops off the TV screen, but he’s the type of veteran point guard that can help propel a team to a national title, especially if Langford comes back healthy and productive.
For the Huskers, it’s certainly not a bad loss given Michigan State’s profile, but the opportunity cost has to sting. Last year Tim Miles’ team racked up wins, but missed out on the tournament because not enough of them were of the quality variety. Here, they had a top-10 team staggered with less than 10 minutes to play at home but couldn’t close the deal. The good news for them is they’ve already got a couple of nice wins on the resume, but most importantly the B1G isn’t the wasteland it was last year, leaving them with bountiful opportunities to pick up meaningful victories before March. To do that, though, they can’t have James Palmer, Jr. going 6 of 21 from the floor like he did against the Spartans. To Palmer’s credit, though, he got to the line 11 times and made every attempt to finish with 24 points while grabbing eight rebounds and recording three assists. Shooting 5 of 26 (19.6 percent) from 3-point range won’t win you too many games, either.
On top of that, the future lottery pick had 27 points and nine assists while shooting 11 of 16 from the floor and 4 of 5 from 3-point range. He’s an unsolvable problem for the OVC.
WASHINGTON IS ALONE IN FIRST IN THE PAC-12
Congratulations to the Washington Huskies, the last remaining undefeated in Pac-12 play. It may not be an honor, but it’s something, at least.
Mike Hopkins’ team blasted Stanford (80-64) while Arizona lost at home to Oregon (59-54) and Oregon State was behind big before making things tight in Tempe and eventually losing to Arizona State (70-67), which has now won three of four. There’s been plenty written about the Pac-12, but the league continues to do itself damage, most notable with the Wildcats taking a loss in Tuscon to a depleted Ducks team. That’s not going to do much for the conference’s reputation or their own NCAA tournament resume.
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2019 NBA Mock Draft 2.0: Zion Williamson remains No. 1, Duke goes 1-2-3
Periodically, over the course of the rest of the season, we will be posting an updated mock draft here on College Basketball Talk.
This will be different than other mocks, mind you. We’re not as much projecting who is going to be picked where — that is impossible to do right now, as the NBA season is just past the halfway point and the NBA changed their lottery rules to flatten out the odds of who gets the first pick — as much as take a look at where, in a vacuum, a player should be picked.
With that in mind, one of the objectives of this mock will be to take a deeper dive into a handful of the most intriguing prospects in the mock each and every time we update. This isn’t meant to be just a place to rank prospects, the goal is to open up the floor for some discussion about the players that need the most discussing.
Oh, and one other note: We’re only talking about the college kids here. I could sit here and pretend like I know something about Sekou Doumbouya beyond what I Googled and found on YouTube, but the truth is I don’t know a damn thing about him.
I’ll stick to what I know for now.
And that is these prospects:
1. ZION WILLIAMSON, Duke
Zion is going to end up being the No. 1 pick, and he’s probably going to end up being the National Player of the Year as well. Because of that, the conversation around has gotten somewhat stale. We know what he is. I’m just going to enjoy the final three months of his college career.
2. CAM REDDISH, Duke
For my money, Reddish is the most interesting and, arguably, the most difficult evaluation that NBA teams are going to have on their hands at the top of this year’s draft.
On paper, he is everything that NBA teams want out of a wing. He’s 6-foot-8 with a 7-foot-1 wingspan and plus athleticism. He’s proven to be, at the very least, a capable catch-and-shoot floor-spacer. He can be a positive force on the defensive end of the floor when he is locked in. He’s can guard wings, he has the size to play some small-ball four and he spent his entire career before he got to Duke playing as a lead guard — he’s more than capable of making plays with the ball in his hand, can attack close-outs and should have success playing in isolation:
The problem is that Reddish — who committed to Duke before R.J. Barrett and Zion Williamson announced where they would be playing their college ball — has been forced into playing a role as the fourth-most important player on the floor. He committed to Duke with visions of being the next Jayson Tatum, or Jabari Parker, or Brandon Ingram, or Justise Winslow, and he’s spent the year being asked to essentially be Duke’s 3-and-D wing.
And to his credit, he hasn’t complained. We haven’t heard from “sources close to Reddish” how unhappy he is, or that he is upset with his playing time, but what we have seen is Reddish struggling to really make a major impact in this role. Some of this is understandable — he’s being asked to do something that he’s never done before — and some of it plays into the previous narratives that surrounded him: That he is not a player that impacts winning.
This is why you see him getting compared to players like Rudy Gay and Andrew Wiggins, athletic marvels that put up big (scoring) numbers but that in a total of 17 seasons have played 17 playoff games combined. Neither has ever won a playoff series.
That’s where two factors come into play:
The interview process and any intel that teams can dig up on what motivates Reddish.
The games that Duke plays without one of their other star freshmen available.
The latter point is going to be the most fascinating part in all of this. In the six games prior to Saturday’s win at Florida State, Reddish was averaging 7.7 points and shooting just 28.8 percent from the field and 18.4 percent from three. He had seven points in the first half, but with Williamson going out for the second half, Reddish scored 16 and hit the game-winning three at the buzzer.
Now Tre Jones appears to be out for an extended period of time. Will this mean that more of the offense flows through Reddish? Will this give him a chance to play on the ball as a lead guard to keep Barrett off the ball? Will he step up and embrace the larger role, keeping Duke at or near the top of the ACC standings without the guy that is, arguably, their most irreplaceable piece?
We shall see.
In a month’s time, maybe I will be convinced that Barrett should actually be the No. 2 overall pick. Or maybe Reddish will shine and the rest of the world will join me in saying that betting on Reddish reaching his ceiling is the optimal move at No. 2.
3. R.J. BARRETT, Duke
Much has been made of Barrett’s 8-for-30 performance against Syracuse and the fact that he was 4-for-17 from three in a game where Zion Williamson had 35 points and couldn’t get a touch in overtime. He’s been called selfish because he took 30 shots, but that is missing the forest for the trees. Barrett had to take those shots. The Orange packed in their zone, did not even pretend to care if Jack White shot threes and sold out to stop Williamson by daring Duke to shoot.
The concern with Barrett as a prospect wasn’t that he took 30 shots and 17 threes, it’s that he missed 22 shots and 13 threes. If he wants to be a primary ball-handler in the NBA, it is not a good sign that the way to beat Duke is to dare Barrett to make jumpers.
4. JA MORANT, Murray State
He’s the best point guard prospect in this draft. He has the positional size, he’s an explosive athlete, he has the vision to be an excellent passer and playmaker at the NBA level and his handle is tight enough that he should be able to create off the bounce at the next level. He’s turnover prone and is up-and-down defensively, but this can be chalked up to the load he’s carrying for the Racers this season. The real concern is his jumper, but his stroke isn’t terrible and there is some hope he can become a threat from three with some work.
I may be higher on Hunter than anyone else. He checks all the boxes for what NBA teams are looking for these days — he’s a well-built, athletic, 6-foot-7 wing that can guard up and guard down while being an uber-efficient offensive weapon that makes threes (44.4 percent) and can attack closeouts and get to the rim. He’s already 21 years old (a redshirt sophomore), but I do think he’s better than his numbers indicate. He’s the third option for Virginia offensively right now with Ty Jerome and Kyle Guy on the roster, which is also a sign that he’ll be willing to accept a role on a team where he’s not the No. 1 option. My guess is that he’ll fall to the back end of the top ten, if not the back end of the lottery, and whoever ends up with him will be getting a steal.
6. JARRETT CULVER, Texas Tech
Culver is one of the highest floor prospects in this draft. I believe that any team taking him is more or less locked into getting a starting-caliber NBA wing. He’s listed at 6-foot-5 (and might be closer to 6-foot-7) and has added some strength to his frame. He’s been terrific as a pick-and-roll option this year and he can really shooting the ball from the perimeter. I’m not sure he’s great shooting off the dribble, and I think he’s ceiling defensively is lower than some will realize, which limits his upside. I don’t think he’s an all-star, but I do think he’s one of the safest picks in the draft. In a year with so much uncertainty, that has value.
If Reddish isn’t the most difficult evaluation in this draft, Little is.
Here is a player that entered college basketball as, according to some rankings, the No. 2 prospect in the class and has yet to break into the starting lineup for a UNC team that has yet to hit their stride more than halfway into the season. On the season, Little is averaging 9.8 points and 4.4 boards, which is not as bad as it looks when you consider that he is only playing 19.8 minutes per game. His per-40 numbers are not all that bad when compared to other prospects in this range.
The bigger issue is that in nine games against Tier A or B competition, according to KenPom, Little is averaging just 6.8 points while shooting just 33.3 percent from the floor as his three-point shooting drops from 20.7 percent to 12.5 percent.
The question that NBA teams are going to have to ask themselves is whether or not this is because of the player and prospect that Little is, or if this is a direct result of the situation in which Little finds himself in Chapel Hill.
Let’s start with the reason he’s not seeing the floor, because that part is easy: He’s stuck behind Cam Johnson (who is having an all-american season) and Luke Maye (who was a preseason all-american) on North Carolina’s forward depth chart. The way that Roy Williams wants to play is to have two bigs on the floor, two wings on the floor and a point guard, and since that essentially locks one of Sterling Manley, Garrison Brooks or Brandon Huffman into the five-spot, Little has to fight with Maye and Johnson for minutes.
And since he hasn’t been great, that’s been a losing battle, especially in league play.
But this is where the questions about fit come into play.
For starters, while I am wholly unqualified to question the coaching methods of someone as successful as Roy Williams, I do think there is some room for criticism here in the way that he has used this roster. Their best five features a front line of Maye, Johnson and Little, and he has not gone to that lineup nearly enough. It’s becoming a problem.
The bigger picture issue, at least when it comes to projecting Little to the NBA, is that he really doesn’t fit anywhere in UNC’s system. In an ideal world, Williams has a frontcourt that looks like the one he rode to the 2017 national title — with Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks — and Little certainly is not that kind of a player. But he isn’t an ideal fit on a wing, either. He’s not a jump-shooter, he’s not a playmaker on the perimeter, he’s not Marcus Paige or Justin Jackson or Theo Pinson. He is a prototype NBA small-ball four — or big wing, or whatever terms you want to use to define it — and that player doesn’t really fit with what the Tar Heels want to do.
So are Little’s struggles a result of what he is as a prospect, or is it because he joined the roster of a wildly successful 68-year old Hall of Famer who wants to do things his way?
8. ROMEO LANGFORD, Indiana
I’m torn on what to think of Romeo Langford as a prospect. The physical tools are there. He has the prototype frame for an NBA wing, and more than anything throughout the season, I’ve been impressed with the toughness he displays on the defensive end of the floor. Archie Miller has used him as a stopper, putting him on an opponent’s best scorer, whether they are a big wing or a point guard. At 6-foot-6 with a sturdy frame, there’s even some potential for Langford to play the four in small lineups.
Offensively, he’s terrific at getting to the foul line and is an unbelievable finisher around the rim, but the concern for me is his shooting ability, which is pretty surprising when discussing one of the greatest scorers to ever come out of the state of Indiana. He’s shooting 23.8 percent from three this season and he has some weird wrist action on his release that leads me to believe that he will one day need to retool his shooting stroke. But with everything else that he brings to the table, it might be the smart move to bet on him figuring that out in time.
9. KELDON JOHNSON, Kentucky
Johnson is a tough, competitive wing that is a plus athlete with the physical tools he needs to play the wing in the league. He’s a capable three-point shooter, although he tends to be streaky on that end. He can really defend and he’s shown flashes of being a good scorer as a slasher. He profiles as a high-floor, relatively low ceiling prospect in that regard, something of a Miles Bridges without as many windmills.
10. KEVIN PORTER JR., USC
Red flags are starting to pop up for Porter. It took him six weeks to return from a mysterious thigh bruise, long enough that it had people speculating that an agent had gotten in his ear and told him to shut it down for the rest of the season. He returned to play 25 minutes against Oregon State, but managed to get himself suspended indefinitely three days later. Add all of that to concerns that NBA teams already had about him, and it makes the pick risky.
Personally, I think his ceiling is enormous. If he gets his jumper worked out, there is a very real chance that he could end up being the best scorer to come out of this draft class. But if he doesn’t get drafted into an organization that can provide him with structure and veteran leadership, this could end up going the wrong way.
11. DARIUS GARLAND, Vanderbilt
I really feel for Garland. After a promising start to his freshman campaign, he saw any hope of trying to play his way into the being the first point guard drafted go up in smoke after tearing the meniscus in his left knee and undergoing season-ending surgery. That’s tough. But Garland was impressive in flashes — particularly in the first half of Vandy’s win at USC — and not only should he be healthy by the time NBA teams can start bringing players in for workouts, meniscus tears are not considered to be career-altering injuries.
12. NICKEIL ALEXANDER-WALKER, Virginia Tech
Alexander-Walker’s development has been fun to watch. After entering last season with some one-and-done buzz, it took him a year to acclimate to the college level. This year, he’s been asked to play much more of a lead guard role, teaming with Justin Robinson to form arguably the best backcourt in the ACC. His assists are up, he’s running ball-screens more than he ever has before and he’s still a knockdown three-point shooter. With positional size and plus-length, he’s a guy that profiles as a defensively versatile wing that can be a creator in the NBA. He’s a perfect fit for the way the league is heading.
Gafford has all the tools you want out of a rim-running, rim-protecting, vertical-spacing five in the modern NBA. He’s 6-foot-10, he has a ridiculous wingspan, he’s super-athletic. Put all that together, and what you get is a player averaging 17.0 points, 9.3 boards and 2.1 blocks for Arkansas this season. His production is way up from last season, but the concern is that he does not look fully engaged. His motor doesn’t always run, he’s gets pushed around on duck-ins and battling for position and despite his athleticism, he’s not as good as you would hope defending on the perimeter — he’s stiff, not limber. Playing armchair psychologist, he looks like he regrets the decision he made to return to Arkansas for another season.
I’m still buying on the potential Gafford provides in the same way that I bought on the potential Robert Williams had last season.
14. TRE JONES, Duke
Let’s just get this out of the way now: Tre Jones needs to become a better shooter for this pick to payoff value. I think he will. He’s a worker, he has NBA bloodlines and he’ll put in the time in the gym to get it done. And while he’s not shooting it great right now — 28.6 percent from three, 58.3 percent from the foul line — he has shown nice touch on floaters and pull-ups in the lane.
The rest of his game is what intrigues me so much. It starts with his on-ball defense, which is a game-changer for Duke this year. I’m not sure there is a better defender in all of college basketball, and Jones has the strength and athleticism to be able to do the same at the next level. His leadership qualities are exactly what you would expect from Tyus Jones’ brother — all the point guard cliches, he has them — and he’s proven that he doesn’t need the spotlight; if he can fit alongside the Big Three at Duke, he can fit in an NBA locker room.
15. ERIC PASCHALL, Villanova
I’m still in on Paschall becoming a capable role player in the NBA, but that’s because I’m buying that he can extend his shooting stroke out to the NBA three-point line. Everything else makes sense: He’s a chiseled 6-foot-8, he’s an explosive athlete, he can defend on the perimeter and, playing in that Villanova offense, he’s proven he can accept a role and be a guy that attacks closeouts. I’m not sure he’s an NBA starter, but Jay Wright has a significant track record of sending players to the NBA ready to contribute immediately. His ceiling is nowhere near some of the players I have ranked behind him, but I do believe there is real value for a team drafting late in the first round knowing they can get a 22-year old that will be able to contribute right away.
16. JAXSON HAYES, Texas
There is no player in the country that has improved their draft stock more than Hayes, who did not even start a high school basketball game until his senior season. He’s very, very raw, but he has the size, the build, the length and the athleticism that you want out of an NBA five — his dad was an NFL tight end, and Hayes is built like someone that would have followed that path, but he didn’t stop growing until he hit 6-foot-11. He’s mobile, he had sensational hands and he’s been unstoppable at times as a roller in ball-screen actions.
And he’s raw, which means that he has a long way to go but that he can be developed however an NBA team sees fit. Sometimes a blank canvas is better than a player that already has bad habits ingrained.
17. RUI HACHIMURA, Gonzaga
The ideal for Hachimura is to be what O.G. Anunoby is — a versatile defender with three-point range that can finish above the rim and guard anyone from wings to centers. The problem is that Hachimura has the physical tools to be a really good defender but that it hasn’t all come together for him on that end just yet, and while he’s proven to be a good midrange shooter, he was an awkward release and is shooting just 28.7 percent from three in his career.
18. BRUNO FERNANDO, Maryland
Fernando has been a force through the early portion of Big Ten play. He’s physically dominant and has taken over games with his ability to crash the glass and finish in the paint. He’s a good post scorer and can pass out of double-teams. He’s not the most mobile or dextrous perimeter defender, but he’s not the worst, either.
19. BOL BOL, Oregon
There are myriad red flags with Bol Bol — Is his tough enough to handle the NBA game? What position is he guarding at the next level? Does he actually love basketball? — and that was before he became the latest in a long line of seven-footers with foot problems. His ceiling is massive. Players with his shooting and shot-blocking ability don’t come along that often. But if I’m an NBA general manager, I let someone else take the risk.
20. ASHTON HAGANS, Kentucky
In the five games since Hagans burst onto the scene with eight steals in a win over North Carolina, he’s averaged 15.8 points, 4.4 assists and 3.6 steals while shooting 55.6 percent from the floor. Like Jones, he’s far more advanced defensively than he is offensively, but he’s a total game-changer on the defensive end and, frankly, I think that his shooting touch is closer than people might think.
Ashton Hagans up to 17 points at Georgia after this filth. I think he hears those Georgia fans getting on him. Hes going to mess around and play his way into the first round. pic.twitter.com/2GtL5P0eKn
There’s an added layer here — Hagans is uber-competitive. He’s jawing with someone every game. He put up a career-high 23 points at Georgia, his home-state school where he was previously committed, after the fans in the arena spent the day all over him. You have to love that in a player.
21. TY JEROME, Virginia
Jerome is a 6-foot-5 guard that has the shooting ability to play off the ball — he thrives running off of screens in Virginia’s blocker-mover offense the same way that Malcolm Brogdon did — but can handle the ball and has the leadership qualities of a point guard. He’s not an elite athlete, but he’s stronger than he gets credit for and has a crafty way of creating separation and getting into the lane. Plus, playing in Virginia’s system likely means that there’s little chance he’ll be a liability defensively against NBA backups, which is the role he projects to play. Like Jalen Brunson, or Fred VanVleet, or T.J. McConnell before him, Jerome has ten-year NBA backup written all over him.
22. KZ OKPALA, Stanford
Okpala fits the mold. He’s a 6-foot-8 wing with a 7-foot-2 wingspan and a solid frame that can shoot from the perimeter and operate ball-screens. He’s shooting 47.9 percent from three this year, up from 23.8 percent last season, although he’s only taken 48 threes this year. He’ll be a rotation player, possibly a starter, in the NBA for a long time.
23. GRANT WILLIAMS, Tennessee
This stat from Sam Vecenie of The Athletic says it all: Since 1992, there are just six high major players that have averaged at least 18 points, eight boards and three assists while shooting better than 50 percent from the floor, and all six (Tim Duncan, David West, Jared Dudley, Evan Turner, Ben Simmons and Caleb Swanigan) ended up being first round picks. Five of the six have, or will have, long and successful NBA careers. He’s smart, he’s tough, his length allows him to play bigger than he is and he’s a better shooter than his numbers indicate. He’s a pro.
24. BRANDON CLARKE, Gonzaga
Is Clarke the best athlete in this draft? Is he the best frontcourt defender in all of college basketball? He might be both. He’s a rim-protector and a vertical spacer that is switchable enough to guard on the perimeter. He isn’t much of a threat offensively beyond finishing around the rim, but neither is Jordan Bell.
25. ADMIRAL SCHOFIELD, Tennessee
You know what you’re getting with Schofield if you are an NBA team. He’s a 6-foot-5 wing that’s built like a wrestler, that has a 7-foot wingspan, that is shooting 41.2 percent from three the last three seasons (294 attempts) and that is a virtual lock to be a plus defender in the NBA. He’s a perfect 3-and-D role player with defensive versatility that will be adored in an NBA locker room for the way that he plays the game and carries himself professionally. He will make a playoff team better in the late first round.
26. JORDAN POOLE, Michigan
Poole is a streaky shooter, but this year, the nights where he gots 5-for-6 from three have far outweighed the 1-for-8 nights. He’s shooting 44.8 percent from beyond the arc while shooting more than five per game, and perhaps most impressive is that many of those threes come off the dribble. His jab series is lethal, as is his step-back jumper going left:
He’s averaging 2.2 assists per game this season, and at 6-foot-5, he has the size to play the two in the NBA. The question with Poole is going to be whether or not he can guard in the NBA, and after spending two years playing with this Michigan program, I tend to believe that he’ll be fine, not quite an average defender but not a full-blown liability, either. That should be enough for him to become the next Nick Young.
27. SHAMORIE PONDS, St. John’s
Ponds is among the biggest risers for me in this draft class. The 6-foot-2 junior is averaging 20.6 points, 6.0 assists, 4.7 boards and 2.7 steals while shooting 40 percent from three this season. His efficiency is through the roof this year, but more impressive has been the fact that he’s made it a point to get his teammates involved.
“He is passing a lot more than he ever has, especially early, to get his teammates going,” one Big East coach told me. That said, Ponds has absolutely taken over games, but it tends to be when his team needs him to the most. St. John’s has played six games this season that were single-digit games. They are 5-1 in those games, and Ponds scored at least 32 points in four of those five wins — 37 points and six assists at Georgetown, 37 points vs. Georgia Tech, 35 points and seven assists vs. VCU, 32 points and five assists vs. Cal. That doesn’t include the 26 points and five dimes he had in the win over Marquette, their biggest win of the season.
It’s that willingness to be a passer — A newfound trust in his teammates? — that has changed things for the Johnnies this season. “We were more concerned with his paint touches, [keeping] the floor tight,” said another coach that scouted St. John’s last season.
You can’t play that way against them this season, and the result hasn’t just been a more efficient season for Ponds, it has meant that the Johnnies now look like the best team in the Big East. I’m in on him at the next level.
28. MARKUS HOWARD, Marquette
I’m also in on Howard in the NBA because he is such an incredible shooter. Prior to playing just three minutes on Tuesday night do to back issues, he was averaging 25.8 points and shooting 44.4 percent from three on 9.4 attempts per game. He’s only 5-foot-11, which is a concern defensively, and his limited wingspan makes me wonder if he’ll be able to get his shot off against NBA defenders. That said, he’s an unbelievable tough-shot maker that has proven the ability to create space with step-backs and dribble moves. He’ll probably get picked in the second round, but that will be good value for whoever hoovers him up.
29. LUGUENTZ DORT, Arizona State
Dort is a powerful, athletic combo-guard that shot up draft boards early in the year before coming back down to earth in recent weeks. His inefficiency is the concern, and while he’s a star defender, he’s nowhere near the creator that his best comparison — Marcus Smart — is now or was in college. The question that NBA teams are going to have to ask when deciding about drafting Dort is whether his inefficiency stems from who he is as a player, or if it is simply the result of playing on a team that doesn’t have many other offensive options.
30. P.J. WASHINGTON, Kentucky
When Reid Travis committed to Kentucky, P.J. Washington liked a tweet of mine where I said Travis is a better player than Washington. I wonder if he’ll like this mock draft, where I’ll admit I got that wrong. Washington looks to be much-improved this year. He’s stream-lined his body, he’s moving better on the perimeter, his rebounding numbers are up and he’s shooting 37 percent from three and 68.7 percent from the line. We all miss sometimes.
SEVEN PLAYERS I WISH I COULD HAVE INCLUDED IN THE TOP 30
CHARLES MATTHEWS, Michigan: Matthews might be the best wing defender in this draft. The way he moves on the floor it looks like he’s gliding. Effortless. If he shot 40 percent from three and/or 75 percent from the line instead of 32.7 percent and 62.7 percent, respectively, he’d probably be a top 20 pick.
JONTAY PORTER, Missouri: The talent is there, the health, at this point, is not. At 6-foot-11, he’s much more skilled offensively than people realize, but this is a pick that needs to be made by doctors.
QUENTIN GRIMES, Kansas: I’m still in on the potential of Grimes in the longterm, but I’m starting to think he’s more of a two or three year college player than one-and-done. What does he do at an NBA level right now? He shoots 30.3 percent from three, he has fewer assists than he does turnovers and he hasn’t been anything special defensively.
IGGY BRAZDEIKIS, Michigan: I’m not quite sure where Brazdeikis plays in the NBA. He’s not quite a wing and he’s not quite a four, but he does shoot 38.5 percent from three, he’s tough as nails and he’s more athletic than you think. It is worth noting that he’s older than a typical freshman — he’s eight months older than Jaren Jackson.
COBY WHITE, North Carolina: White might have played his way into being a one-and-done freshman. He’s proven to be a microwave scorer, he’s got good positional size and he doesn’t turn 19 until February 16th. I get it, but there are a handful of point guards that I rate over him, personally.
CARSEN EDWARDS, Purdue: Edwards was a monster in a win at Wisconsin, scoring 36 points in overtime, but that came just days after an abysmal, 3-for-16 performance against Michigan State. We know what Edwards is at this point: A backup point guard that will put up points against NBA backups. Can you say microwave?
JALEN MCDANIELS, San Diego State: The intrigue with McDaniels is that he’s 6-foot-10 with perimeter skills. The problem with McDaniels is that his jumper is still inconsistent at best (28.1 percent from three this season) and he weighs just 195 points. If he can make threes and he can’t defend fives, then where will he make an impact in an NBA game?
With Duke’s home loss to Syracuse, and with the status of Blue Devils’ point guard Tre Jones uncertain following a shoulder injury, Michigan climbs the final rung on the latest Seed List ladder.
The Wolverines hold the No. 1 overall position in today’s bracket, followed closely by Virginia and Tennessee.
The real debate involved the fourth No. 1 seed position.
One could make a compelling case for Duke, Kansas, or Michigan State.
The Blue Devils were without two of their primary players for much of the loss to Syracuse.
In the end, however, the Jayhawks’ eight Group 1 wins, plus victories over both Tennessee and Michigan State, proved to be the difference.
UPDATED: January 17, 2019
FIRST FOUR – DAYTON
EAST REGION
VCU vs. Pittsburgh
WEST REGION
Texas vs. Arizona State
SOUTH REGION
Norfolk State vs. Prairie View
EAST REGION
Sam Houston vs. UMKC
SOUTH – Louisville
EAST – Washington, DC
Columbus
Columbia
1) MICHIGAN
1) VIRGINIA
16) PR VIEW / NORFOLK ST
16) SAM HOUSTON / UMKC
8)NC State
8) Kansas State
9) Mississippi State
9) Minnesota
Salt Lake City
Des Moines
5) Florida State
5) VILLANOVA
12) LIPSCOMB
12) VCU / Pittsburgh
4) Marquette
4) Maryland
13) GEORGIA STATE
13) YALE
Des Moines
Jacksonville
6) Nebraska
6) Indiana
11) SAINT LOUIS
11) Arizona
3) HOUSTON
3) Kentucky
14)LOYOLA-CHICAGO
14) VERMONT
Jacksonville
Tulsa
7) LSU
7) Auburn
10) TCU
10) Syracuse
2) Duke
2) Texas Tech
15) RIDER
15) UTSA
WEST – Anaheim
MIDWEST – Kansas City
Tulsa
Columbia
1) KANSAS
1) TENNESSEE
16) WEBER STATE
16) WAGNER
8) Purdue
8) Ohio State
9) St. John’s
9) Seton Hall
Hartford
San Jose
5) Iowa
5) Louisville
12) Texas / Arizona State
12) MURRAY STATE
4) North Carolina
4) Oklahoma
13) HOFSTRA
13) UC-IRVINE
San Jose
Hartford
6) Iowa State
6) BUFFALO
11) WOFFORD
11) Temple
3) NEVADA
3) Virginia Tech
14) NORTHERN KENTUCKY
14) SOUTH DAKOTA ST
Salt Lake City
Columbus
7) Wisconsin
7) Ole Miss
10) Cincinnati
10) WASHINGTON
2) GONZAGA
2) Michigan State
15) RIDER
15) LEHIGH
BUBBLE NOTES
Last 4 Byes
Last 4 IN
First 4 OUT
Next 4 OUT
TCU
Texas
Butler
Clemson
Cincinnati
Arizona State
UCF
San Francisco
Temple
VCU
Florida
Fresno State
Arizona
Pittsburgh
Alabama
Dayton
TOP SEED LINE: Michigan is the No. 1 overall seed, followed by Virginia, Tennessee, and Kansas
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College basketball’s non-conference season is finally coming to a close.
To help you shake off post-holiday haze and the hangover of losing in your fantasy football playoffs, we’ll be providing you with some midseason recaps to get you caught up on all the nation’s most important conferences.
Who has been the best player in the biggest leagues?
Who is on track to get an NCAA tournament bid?
What have we learned about the conference hierarchy?
What is still left for us to figure out?
We break it all down here.
Today, we’ll be taking a look at the Pac-12.
MIDSEASON PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Tres Tinkle, Oregon State
The Pac-12 doesn’t have a ton of great teams and star power this season. But the 6-foot-8 Tinkle has been the league’s best and most consistent player to this point.
Averaging 19.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game, Tinkle rates in the top seven among Pac-12 players in all of those categories. While Tinkle is a noted scorer and double-double threat, his passing has improved over the course of his college career as he’s smart enough to find the open man when opposing defenses collapse.
Consistency has also been a huge part of Tinkle’s year. Only once has Tinkle played less than 33 minutes in a game this season while 12 points is his season low.
(Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
THE ALL PAC 12 FIRST TEAM
Tres Tinkle, Oregon State
Luguentz Dort, ArizonaState: Surprising many with his play as a true freshman, Dort narrowly missed mid season Player of the Year honors. Dort is putting up 18.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, but he’s struggled over the past few weeks to find his offense.
Robert Franks, Washington State: The Pac-12’s leading scorer is putting together a solid senior season. Franks is averaging 22.1 points, 7.9 rebounds per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor. Clearly Washington State’s best player, the Cougars recently lost multiple games while Franks dealt with a hip issue.
Bol Bol, Oregon: Much like Dort, this freshman big man would in the thick of the league’s POY race if he was healthy. Bol is averaging 21.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game, but he’s been sidelined with a foot injury since mid-December.
Jaylen Nowell, Washington: The sophomore has blossomed into one of the league’s best all-around guards. Nowell is putting up solid numbers as he’s at 17.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game for the season while shooting 52 percent from the floor and 38 percent from three.
POSTSEASON PREDICTIONS
NCAA: Arizona State, Oregon
NIT: Arizona, Washington, Colorado, Oregon State
OTHER/NO POSTSEASON: UCLA, USC, Stanford, Washington State, Utah, Cal
THREE THINGS WE’VE LEARNED
1. The Pac-12 is dreadful
It’s a new year, so I’ll try to be as nice as possible while describing the atrocity that is Pac-12 basketball. But this league is horrendous, so that is going to be tough.
At this point, the Pac-12 currently has no top-25 teams in the AP or Coaches Poll. There is no Pac-12 player even listed as honorable mention for Rob Dauster’s freshly-released Player of the Year Power Rankings. And the conference just finished a December that went down as the worst a major conference had in the last 20 years.
There are numerous other metrics that point to the Pac-12’s overall awfulness. The eye test is probably all you need. Every Pac-12 team has at least three losses, with a sizable chunk of those losses coming in buy games. They are, as a league, 4-31 in Quadrant 1 games. They are 7-10 against the WCC. Nine teams have beaten two Pac-12 teams already this season. Among them: San Francisco (Stanford, Cal), Santa Clara (USC, Washington State), San Diego (Colorado, Washington State), Seattle (Washington State, Cal) and Hawaii (Colorado, Utah).
No team in the Pac-12 currently has more than a two-game winning streak. While I don’t believe the Pac-12 will end up a one-bid league this season (more on that below), it’s definitely a conversation we might still be having in March.
2. Arizona State has a chance to be pretty good thanks to freshman Luguentz Dort’s breakout start
Arizona State freshman guard Luguentz Dort has been perhaps the Pac-12’s most positive surprise through the first part of the season. Although Dort was regarded as a consensus four-star prospect and top-50 type of talent, not many envisioned that Dort would immediately be this good.
Over the last several weeks, however, Dort has seen his blistering start slow down. The past four games, Dort is only shooting 9-for-45 from the field as his high point total is 13 over that span. Arizona State is still talented enough to knock off Kansas while Dort was in the midst of his funk. The Sun Devils were also bad enough to drop a home game to Princeton during Dort’s worst outing of the season.
So what happened to Dort these last few weeks and how will it impact Arizona State going forward? Was it merely a hot start? Are opposing defenses catching on to Dort’s tendencies and slowing him down? If Dort plays at the level he displayed to start the season, then the Sun Devils should have no issues making the NCAA tournament. But it remains to be seen how Dort will handle conference play and how he breaks out of this slump.
3. Younger players will determine the outcome of this league
College basketball has increasingly become an underclass game at the high-major level as the years have rolled along.
But this year’s Pac-12 is particularly young. Many of the league’s best players thus far have been freshmen and sophomores. And most of the teams hoping to make the NCAA tournament will have to rely on those same players to come through and take them to March.
Given the shaky start of the league this season, that’s not guaranteed to happen. Some talented young teams like UCLA have already fizzled out. Others like Oregon need to get healthy. Many of these teams are going to depend on freshmen for the rest of the season and it’s going to come with mixed results.
(David Becker/Getty Images)
THREE STORYLINES TO FOLLOW
1. Can the Pac-12 rebound and get multiple teams in the NCAA tournament?
So, we already know the Pac-12 is really bad. Can the league still rebound and salvage the season?
It will likely take a few of the top teams like Arizona State, Oregon, Arizona and Washington pooling together and beating up on the other teams in the conference to create a lead pack. As things currently stand, those are the only four programs rated in the top 75 on KenPom with any sort of chance at making an at-large bid.
As long as those four teams don’t suffer horrible losses to teams like Cal, while winning some games against each other, the Pac-12 will have plenty of chances to improve its at-large status before March.
2. Can Arizona get over the hump and make it back to the tournament?
This season was always going to be a difficult one for Sean Miller and Arizona. The FBI’s college basketball corruption scandal hit the Wildcats hard.
It led to many of Arizona’s top recruiting targets going elsewhere. Yet Arizona still finds itself at 9-4 and in good position to make at least some kind of postseason. Whether that’s the NCAA tournament or not remains to be seen.
Arizona finally had its seven-year non-conference home winning streak snapped this season. They haven’t defeated anyone of note besides for Iowa State and UConn. But there’s just something about this team that’s intriguing for some reason. The Wildcats usually defend at a high level. Miller is still one of the best coaches in the country. The three-point shooting has been dreadful at times, but Arizona has still managed. If the Wildcats can figure out some things on offense, then they could be a dangerous team in a down conference.
3. The health of Oregon
Oregon has a chance to figure things out and be pretty good. It all starts with getting healthy.
Freshman Bol Bol has been sidelined with a left foot injury since mid-December as he’s missed the past four games for the Ducks. Head coach Dana Altman has been pretty vague about Bol’s injury, so there’s some uncertainty as to when he might return to the team.
Big man Kenny Wooten will also be sidelined four-to-six months after suffering a broken jaw. And another highly-touted freshman, Louis King, is still working himself back into proper game shape after missing the first several weeks of the season.
If Oregon is able to get fully healthy, they have the weapons to be the best team in the Pac-12. But for right now, that’s a major question mark
(Elsa/Getty Images)
THREE PREDICTIONS
1. The Pac-12 goes winless in the NCAA tournament after getting two teams in
The Pac-12 went 0-3 in the 2018 NCAA tournament. And two of those teams were featured in First Four games.
While I don’t think the Pac-12 is so bad that it’s only a one-bid league this season, things are certainly trending in a negative direction once again. Even if the Pac-12 gets multiple teams into the Field of 68, none of its teams are going to have a desirable enough profile to merit a great seed. The entire process is going to be an uphill battle.
And while Arizona State knocked off Kansas, there haven’t been a lot of marquee wins against quality competition for the Pac-12 this season. Even if the Pac-12 is fortunate enough to get multiple teams into the tournament, I don’t have confidence that they’ll win any games once they get there.
2. Arizona State wins the Pac-12
To this point in the season, Arizona State has defeated two top-25 teams. The rest of the Pac-12 combined has one top-25 win.
And while Arizona State has shown plenty of flaws in some recent losses — particularly some woeful stretches of poor shooting — they have the talent to compete with any team in the country. Dort has looked like a go-to player at times this season and he’s flanked by three more double-figure scorers in Remy Martin, Kimani Lawrence and Zylan Cheatham. The Sun Devils currently have a top-50 defense.
In a league that doesn’t have any truly goodteams it says something when Arizona State knocks off a national title contender like the Jayhawks. Unless Oregon gets healthy and figures it all out, the Sun Devils look like the favorite in the league at this point.
3. The UCLA coaching search becomes more interesting than the on-court action
Let’s be honest, with the Pac-12 being as bad as it is on the court this year, the off-court movement of the UCLA coaching search is going to be more fun to watch (or hear about).
The Bruins likely won’t be able to start conducting serious interviews until the end of the season — since most of their presumed targets are currently coaching. But if UCLA decides to make some early moves on an out-of-work coach like Fred Hoiberg or Earl Watson then things could get really interesting.
To be clear, UCLA is not making a change for this current season. But the framework will be put in place for the coaching search, as we’ll start to hear names trickle out of the Westwood over the next several months. The UCLA job isn’t what it used to be. It’s still an elite program with an unmatched history conducting a coaching search with big names being thrown around in the middle of the season. That sort of thing rarely, if ever, happens in college hoops.
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College basketball’s biggest storylines heading into 2019
We saw what might have been the best team in college basketball history win a title as Villanova landed their second ring in the last three years. We saw the sport get turned on its head as an FBI investigation into corruption in college basketball led to trials, convictions and some of the secrets as to how the sausage is made in recruiting. That investigation also led to the NCAA changing a number of rules that don’t really make all that much sense.
With 2019 now just around the corner, here are the biggest storylines to follow for the rest of the season and the upcoming year.
DUKE’S FRESHMEN
This is the biggest, most exciting story in college basketball this season. Zion Williamson is an absolute sensation, and rightfully so. We have never seen anything like him before in college hoops — there’s a reason that we are looking at him as the clear-cut favorite to be the No. 1 pick in June — and he is far from alone on this Duke roster. R.J. Barrett could be the No. 2 pick. Cam Reddish could be the No. 3 pick. Tre Jones could be a lottery pick. We’ve never seen anything like that.
But there is certainly some question as to whether or not this is a team that can win a national title. For starters, the other six teams that are currently sitting at the top of the college hoops hierarchy are loaded with veterans; there’s a reason that only two teams built around freshmen have won the title in the one-and-done era. It’s hard to do, and that’s before you consider some of the issues that Duke has had. For example: Reddish has struggled to figure out what, exactly, his role is and how, exactly, he fits as a guy wired to play on the ball while being asked to play off it. Another example: Can Barrett figure out how to be a playmaker while defenses get tailored to his tendency to barrel into defenders in the paint?
This is the most entertaining team in the country and loaded with talent. Seeing whether or not they can finish it off with a ring is the biggest story in the sport.
IS THE PAC-12 A ONE-BID LEAGUE?
If the season ended today, it probably would be. Outside of Arizona State, no one in the conference has done anything that would earn them consideration as an at-large bid. UCLA is such a dumpster fire that Steve Alford has already lost his job — more on that in a second. USC isn’t much better, as the Trojans have a matching 7-6 record while their star player, Kevin Porter Jr., may have disappeared. Oregon is losing buy games to Texas Southern. Washington is 8-4 on the season. No one in the league has less than three losses. As a league, they are just 7-9 against the WCC, and if you look at the conference ratings on KenPom, the conference belongs in the same tier as the American and the WCC, not the Big East or the SEC or the rest of the big boys.
This reminds me of the 2011-12 season, the year that Washington went 7-6 in league play, won the Pac-12 regular season title and missed the NCAA tournament as Colorado — a No. 11 seed — and Cal — a No. 12 seed — were the only two programs from the conference to get into the tournament.
That leads me into the next question …
HOW MUCH COACHING TURNOVER WILL THERE BE IF IT IS?
We already have an answer on one program in the Pac-12 — UCLA will be hiring in March, and who fills that job could be the kind of thing that launches the coaching carousel. For example, what if it is Notre Dame’s Mike Brey that gets the job? Or TCU’s Jamie Dixon? Or N.C. State’s Kevin Keatts?
(Also, what if it is Rick Pitino, although that is an entirely different — and much more interesting — can of worms.)
And that could end up being far from the only job that opens up in the league. Cal’s hire of Wyking Jones has been an abject disaster. Ernie Kent is in his fifth season at Washington State and has yet to win more than 13 games in a season. Andy Enfield has USC at 7-6 on the season after his program spent the last year in the FBI’s crosshairs. Wayne Tinkle is in year five at Oregon State and has as many NCAA tournaments to his name as he has five-win seasons. Even Washington is something to keep an eye on, as Mike Hopkins will be the obvious name to keep an eye on if this is finally the year that Jim Boeheim retires.
As one Pac-12 coach put it, the Pac-12 has only “two established, highly successful coaches.”
NEVADA’S UNDEFEATED RUN
I don’t know if the Wolf Pack is actually good enough to go undefeated heading into the NCAA tournament, but I do know they have the best chance of anyone in college basketball to get it done this season. The Mountain West is actually deeper than anyone initially thought — both Utah State and Fresno State should give Nevada a fight when they play, and both have a shot at getting an at-large bid should they upset Eric Musselman’s program — but Nevada is going to be the heavy favorite every night they take the court the rest of the season.
Personally, I want them to make a run at an undefeated record in the regular season. It would be great for the sport the same way that Wichita State, Kentucky and Gonzaga going on prolonged undefeated runs in the last five seasons was.
(Sam Wasson/Getty Images)
CAN VIRGINIA GET TO THE FINAL FOUR?
They are coming off what may be the most embarrassing loss in college basketball history, becoming the first No. 1 seed to lose in the first round of the NCAA tournament. This season, they may actually be better than they were last year, as Ty Jerome and De’Andre Hunter both look like first round picks while the rest of that program is as solid as you would expect a Virginia team to be. Three years ago, we all thought Villanova were choke artists. You can’t win the big one until you win the big one.
TEXAS TECH TO MAKE ANOTHER RUN AT KANSAS?
The Red Raiders would have won the Big 12 last season if Keenan Evans hadn’t broken his toe. This year, with Jarrett Culver running the offense, can Chris Beard’s team make another run at knocking off Kansas? I’ll say this: Tech is the best team in the Big 12 that is not named Kansas, and while the Jayhawks have struggled through the start of the season, I do think their upside is immense. Udoka Azubuike is back and Quentin Grimes illl, eventually, get right. (Right?) Either way, I’m hoping that Texas Tech at least makes it interesting.
OFF-THE-COURT
There are still two more trials scheduled to happen stemming from the FBI’s investigation into corruption in college basketball, although at least one of those defendants — former USC assistant coach Tony Bland — is on the verge of taking a plea. Will either of those trials take place? If they do, what kind of dirt is going to arise from the evidence that the FBI has collected? Will any of this impact coaches that are currently employed at powerhouse programs (looking at you, Bill Self)? When will the NCAA investigations begin in full, and what is the timetable for those investigations to be completed?
RULE CHANGES
The FBI investigation changed the way that a lot of things happen in college basketball. For starters, if high school kids are allowed to take $125,000 to go play in the G League, is this something that the elite of the elite are truly going to consider? If they don’t, will the extra scrutiny on recruiting as a result of this investigation change where some of these kids end up? No rule change the NCAA has implemented has been ripped more consistently than their changes to the recruiting calendar, which goes into effect in the coming months. Will the NCAA backtrack on those changes?
Oh, and what about the NET rankings? They looked like an abject failure a month ago, but not so much today. How will they turn out come March, and will it change the way that teams are determined for the NCAA tournament?
