That time of the year is finally here - the college basketball season, which officially begins this Friday November 9. And to whet your whistle a little bit we have endeavoured to give you who we think will be news worthy this year. As we do about this time every season we comb the Canadian players playing in Division 1 and we give our predictions as to who could be making some noise. Well, we have that list for you right now. Some names you may know and some you may not populate the list so without any further adieu, here is the Can Ball Report NC-Double-Eh preview ...
Most Outstanding Player – Kevin Pangos, Gonzaga
Last season, there was no question that Robert Sacre was the
heart of the Gonzaga team. Now, it’s
Kevin Pangos. He has used his freshman
season as a coming out party and you can expect that a lot more will be
expected of Mr. Pangos. He may not be
the most dynamic player on the team (that could likely go to Gary Bell) nor
will he be the best player (that would likely go to Elias Harris) but make no
mistake about it, the team will rise and fall with the heady PG. Pangos will likely be among the first to help
offset the loss of scoring due to Sacre’s graduation but he’ll also will be
needed to be the be the vocal leader as well.
He averaged 13.6 points, 3.4 assists and 1.2 steals which were all team
highs and with him being a vet, so to speak, he could improve upon those
averages greatly. Now if he runs the
team in the way that we expect he can, the Bulldogs could be going deep into
March for the first tie mina a long time and he could almost assure himself a
spot on the mock NBA Draft boards come June.
Top Newcomer – Anthony Bennett, UNLV
Anthony Bennett has been among the elite high school players
in North America for the last few years and he’s taking his resume and pedigree
to the desert at UNLV. Teaming with
likely NBA Lottery pick Mike Moser, Bennett will be given every opportunity to
shine this season and it’s very possible he could be as bright as the Vegas
strip. The Rebels are a pre-season Top
25 team in most polls and with Moser being the number target of most opposing
defenses, look for Bennett to display his overall game both inside and
out. I’m sure by mid season that teams
will be looking to hone in on him more but if he can adjust to that he should
be among the best new faces on the NCAA landscape by Tournament time.
Top Transfer – Nick Wiggins, Wichita State
Nick Wiggins was a Second Team Junior College All American
last year for one of the top juco programs, Hutchinson. Now he’s at Wichita State where four for the
departing seniors were guards. This
should make him excited. There is a good
chance he’ll get to play lots and when he does play he can fill it up from just
about anywhere. I’m not saying that he’s
All Missouri Valley Conference yet but I think he’ll get a pretty good shot at
it if he gets consistent burn.
Best Situation – Brady Heslip, Baylor/Kyle Wiltjer, Kentucky
This is a toss up between two very good players on teams
that are for the most part retooling.
Kentucky lost five players to the NBA this past spring and
only one was a senior. This makes
Wiltjer among the most experienced players on a very young but talented
Kentucky team, which is saying something since he’s only a sophomore. He’ll likely be the slowest and least
exciting of the many thoroughbreds on the Wildcats but he’s also the most
polished offensively. I’d think that
he’s not only getting more minutes but he’ll also be one of the team’s
playmakers all year. Expect to see his
numbers of 5 points and 1.8 rebounds to increase significantly.
Heslip is also in a similar situation at Baylor. Losing four players from last season, three
to the NBA, will force him to be one of the main guns this season. As one of the top shooters in college
basketball, he’ll be the perfect compliment to both the slashing Pierre Jackson
and the fresh frontcourt studs of Ricardo Gathers, Isaiah Austin and J’mison
Morgan. He already showed he can play at
the high major level last year and this year he’ll prove he can be a focal
point.
Worst Situation – Jordan Bachynski, Arizona State
Last season Jordan Bachynski played lots and towards the end
of the season he looked like he was finally rounding into form averaging 13.1
points, 5 rebounds and 3 blocks over his last three against USC, Arizona and
Stanford. Pretty impressive I’d say
especially when you include a 19-point, 9 board, 2 block performance against
the Trojans. Now he has to continue that
play into this year under tough coach Herb Sendek. This is a guy that can be notoriously tough
on players and with the frontcourt being a little thin on size and experience,
the pressure will be on for Bachynski to really step up for this team to
compete in the Pac-12.
Most Important to Team – Myck Kabongo, Texas
Myck Kabongo is a very good player and a likely future NBA
player but for this season, at least, he’s the lead player on a team that only
gives him one teammate that is not a sophomore or freshman. Unlike in Kentucky, the Longhorns don’t have
the same level of incoming talent and as the lead guard he’ll have to play the
role of upperclassman on the court. The
incoming players are an even mix of frontcourt and backcourt players which will
put immense responsibility on the heady PG to reign in the energy and steer
them to wins in what became an improved conference overall. I’m sure that there
will be a lot of scoring done by the young ‘Horns but it will be Myck who
initiates the offense and directs the traffic and with there being a very good
chance of coach Rick Barnes implementing a type of three guard offense Kabongo
will be the heartbeat that keeps this Texas team breathing.
Due for a Breakout – Daniel Mullings, New Mexico State
New Mexico State had a really good season last year. The Aggies went 26-10 and made it to the NCAA
Tournament. This year’s edition will be
minus Wendell McKines and Canadian Hernst Laroche but Daniel Mullings will be
the one to watch. Last season, he posted
a triple-double and looked like he could be on the cusp of being among the
elite in the Western Athletic Conference.
And I’m not the only one that thinks so with Mullings making both the
conference coaches and media polls as a pre season All Conference
selection. As the Aggies’ returning
leading scorer (9.3), rebounder (4.1) and thief (1.6) look for his role to not
expand but explode.
Redemption Time – Khem Birch, UNLV
Two years ago, Khem Birch was a high school All American
that was headed to a celebrated Pitt program that was looking to make a deep
run in the NCAA Tournament. Well, after
a few games Birch didn’t feel that it was a place for him and bolted for the
Vegas desert amidst the chatter that he was not ready to work for his
spot. All this situation did, whatever
was true or not, was cast him as another malcontent in a world of overly
indulged child stars. Now it’s time for
Birch to show out and prove to everyone that had something to say about his transfer
that he is that player that could be a major part of a successful team.
Don’t Call It a Comeback – Marc Trasolini, Santa Clara
After suffering a season ending knee injury in a pre-season game
in his home province of British Columbia, Marc Trasolini’s senior season went
from looking great to abysmal. His
injury also deep sixed Broncos season.
Without the team’s best inside player and on court leader, they
sputtered to an 8-22 record. Well, Traz
is back and looking to make this season the best he’d had. He’ll be looked on again to anchor the middle
and with a returning core of experienced players his presence should be enough
to improve from last season’s finish. Traz will be looking to regain some of
the form that he had as a pre-season WCC All Conference selection to close out
his career. He may not be the focus in the middle this time around but he’ll
definitely be the difference maker in more games than not.
Remember Me – Mangisto Arop, Indiana State
Mangisto Arop was among the best of the Canada’s young
players and was headed to Gonzaga to be among the best in the NCAA. Well, that didn’t happen. After two seasons that saw his time and
possibly his welcome diminish, he transferred to … Indiana State. Maybe not the
glamour school that we Canucks envisioned he’d be finishing his college career
at but it’s a fresh start for him. Most
importantly, he’ll be able to show what he was considered among the best
players heading into the NCAA immediately.
With the Sycamores returning only one starter from last year’s 18-15 team,
Manny will be needed to step in and make contributions from the first tip. He showed flashes of what he can do in his
limited time as a Zag so we should all be excited to see what he can do with
substantially more court burn.
The Sleeper Cell – Dejan Kravic, Texas Tech
Being from my alma mater (he is a York University transfer
in case you didn’t know), I have a particular soft spot for Kravic to
succeed. But I don’t think he’ll a whole
lot of my prayers heading into his first season in the NCAA. Texas Tech was the worst team in the Big 12
Conference, as their 1-17 record would indicate. They team was very perimeter oriented largely
due to there being few options in the middle.
Kravic is an answer for this.
He’s big, strong and after a redshirt year learning the system and the
high major college game, he should be able to make an immediate contribution
down low. Now I’m, not saying that he’s
going to dominate because he won’t. But
what he will do is play well enough to turn some heads this year.
Fab Five
Marc Trasolini, Santa Clara
Myck Kabongo, Texas
Brady Heslip, Baylor
Melvin Ejim, Iowa State
Kevin Pangos, Gonzaga
Next Five
Daniel Mullings, New Mexico State
Justin Edwards, Maine
Kelly Olynyk, Gonzaga
Anthony Bennett, UNLV
Kyle Wiltjer, Kentucky
Top Five Newcomers
Dyshawn Pierre, Dayton
Anthony Bennett, UNLV
Dejan Kravic, Texas Tech
Naz Long, Iowa State
Nick Wiggins, Wichita State
What no Dwight Powell or Sim "the Mountain" Bhullar mention? You darn well mentioned evey other Canadian in the NCAA. ;)
ReplyDeleteSeriously though - Dwight is gonna be very important to Standford. Yes, he regressed last year but is still on of the few with NBA potential (Bennett, Birch, Kabongo being the others & maybe Sim).
Good reports for Sim in his first game. Monter man defense and great passing and bball IQ will make him important to NMSU.
Thanks man but I couldn't put everyone on here. It's always tough weighing in players' overall impact on their teams. I know some guys have monster talent but their team situations limit them a little, production-wise thus impact-wise also.
DeleteI had Dwight on my list last season but after he got hurt early after looking really good, he didn't seem to make it into the lineup like before he was hurt until late in the season. Going by what Stanford has been known to do with their lineups, I'm not gonna be surprised if Dwight plays heavy in spurts only to lose time in others stretches. I know he's had some nagging injuries too so we'll see.
As for Sim, he looked good in the exhibition game Monday. We'll see how that works out for him this year. I know he's big but the question is can he defend the quicker big men at his position at this level though.
Nik Stauskas is going to be a major impact player on Michigan. Could start as a Freshman on a top 5 team in the country!
ReplyDeleteI think so too and I think he may even start this week with Trey Burke out on a suspension. Nik looks like he a big contributor for the Wolverines as a newby and depending on how the season goes, he could even be starting regularly by the end of it.
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