January Notes:
International update: SG Lazar Tomasevic from Serbia and forward Eduardo Prestes have raised their stock over the course of the season and both are going in the back end of the 1<sup>st</sup> round in current mock drafts.
Recruit signing update: The #1 ranked recruit has made his choice, and it’s THE Ohio State Buckeyes. Most believed this would be his choice all along, he grew up nearby and was a huge Buckeyes fan growing up. The #2 ranked recruit also made his commitment, signing with Kentucky—they also received a commit from #24 ranked Wade Rowland (PG).
Duke has a bit of a logjam at the forward position, but they’re making it work so far. They’ve moved up to the #1 spot in the recent polls. Freshman PF Cedric Stephenson has played so well this season it’s been tough for Coach K to take him out or limit his minutes to get Aldo Haston or Isaak Stevens some meaningful playing time. Shooting guard B.J. Temple continues to be one of the nations’ premier scorers and has moved up to 2<sup>nd</sup> in the nation in points per game.
Kentucky dropped a few spots in the rankings after back to back losses to Tennessee and LSU. Forward Juice Harrington continues to look like the clear cut top pick in the upcoming draft. He’s 4<sup>th</sup> in the nation in scoring right now—averaging 21.8 points per game and it seems like every game he’s making some type of highlight worthy play.
UNC and Duke seem to be on a collision course for the #1 spot in the nation. UNC is #2 and still has both games against Duke coming up which should determine the ACC champ and possibly the #1 over seed in the NCAA tournament. Freshman PF Sampson Love III has had a good month after an up and down start to the season. SF Bobby Anderson has been lights out recently from 3pt range, moving into the top 10 in the NCAA in three pointers made and 3pt%.
This was supposed to be a rebuild year for Gonzaga, but they’ve done a good job of remaining relevant this season and have definitely overachieved. They’re 18-3 and sitting at #8 in the January Polls. Freshman Desmond Dillenger and Rashaan Muhammed have been instrumental in the team’s success this season with the limited talent on this year’s team.
Arizona has fallen outside of the top 25 as center Loren Dixon continues to struggle. It was a rough month for Dixon who averaged a paltry 8.5 points per game to drop his season average to 12.5. Arizona had high hopes this year for the top recruit coming out of high school but early season injuries and the lack of talent surrounding him have derailed their season.
Kansas has started to garner some attention as a team that can win it all this year. Led by sophomore point guard Shea Frizdon who remains in the top ten in scoring, assists and steals, add in the stellar play from senior SG Nasir Edwards—they have arguably one of the best if not the best back court in the nation.
California has moved up to #15 in the recent polls, as SF Jonas Claver (the younger brother of Nico Claver who played for Gonzaga) shows that his early season success wasn’t a fluke. Claver still leads the nation in scoring and doesn’t look like he’ll be slowing down; he just posted a career high 41 points in their 91-85 win over UCLA.
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