Season Update
Top 25
1) Duke 15-0
2) Kentucky 14-0
3) North Carolina 13-1
4) Ohio State 12-1
5) Florida 13-2
6) Louisville 12-1
7) Michigan State 13-1
8) St.Johns 13-0
9) Syracuse 12-2
10) Oregon 11-2
11) Xavier 14-1
12) Illinois 12-2
13) Cincinnati 13-1
14) Kansas 12-3
15) California 12-2
16) Marquette 13-2
17) Washington 12-3
18) Iowa State 12-2
19) Virginia 12-3
20) USC 11-3
21) Creighton 12-2
22) Texas 11-3
23) Notre Dame 12-3
24) Michigan 11-3
25) Georgia Tech 11-3
Derrick Mercer has been everything we expected…. And more. The #1 recruit out of Charlotte stayed home to play for the Tar Heels who are coming off a mediocre season with some returning upperclassmen. Many questioned this choice when he could have made a stacked Duke team even better, but with UNC returning all of their guys they have been dominant with the addition of Mercer. The Tar Heels have dropped only 1 game and are up to #3 in the nation.
Florida is off to a solid start, led by a few underclassmen. The main man to look at is freshman SG Tyreke Atkins, brother of former Kentucky PG Tyshaun Atkins (NBA 2K17, DC2). He has led the Gators in points, assists, and steals. Along With Atkins, SF Gerald Williams has helped elevate the offense. The Gators look to compete with Kentucky for the SEC championship.
St.Johns has been led into the top 10 by hometown kid Chris Iverson. The freshman PG has been a threat on offense from all over the court and seems to have mastered the pick and roll. While he has been dynamic on offense he has also been a nuisance when guarding opponents as he is top 10 in steals per game.
Marquette wasn’t looked at as a contender or even one of the top teams outside of the Power Five but has had a great start to the year because of star Freshman Justice Reed. The 4* out of Chicago decided to stay close to home and it has paid off as he is the star leading a dark horse into conference play while jumping into first round projections. Reed has been dominant on offense with his ability to create shots and knock down shots all over the court.
USC star 5* freshman Levi Hopkins was making some noise early on in non-conference play but suffered an ACL sprain in a win against Temple which will end his season. Since Hopkins’ injury, the Trojans have fallen in 2 of their last 5 games and have dropped down to #20 in the rankings. Hopkins was averaging 15.8 points and 5.5 rebounds and was looking at a boost up the draft board, but it is unclear if he will choose to enter the draft or come back next season.
Hopping into some more torn ACL news we will jump to someone who is returning from an ACL injury last season in Malachi Higgins out of Kentucky. Higgins, a redshirt freshman PG, was a middle of the pack 4* who was exceeding expectations and looked like he could’ve been an early 2nd round or late 1st round selection but went down late in non-conference play. In his first game back he was 5 of 7 from the field with 3 assists in 22 minutes coming off the bench. Higgins will most likely get in the starting lineup in the coming weeks.
Recruiting News
The #1 team in the nation, Duke Blue Devils, has landed the top big man in the class in C Kaleb Reid. Duke isn’t looking to add that many kids to this class, but another name to look at is 4* forward Troy Leuer.
Oregon has landed a couple of studs in 5* SF Trey Bowen II and high end 4* C Julius Davis. Bowen and Davis had been playing AAU together out in California since middle school and it was expected that they would play college ball together. The Ducks were able to land the duo over USC and Arizona.
Ohio State has been using their top 5 status to steal not just the top SG in the class, but the top player in the state of Michigan, Bryon Bishop, from the Wolverines and Spartans. Michigan State was looking to add Bishop to a class that already includes 5* big man Zach Daye.
First Round Mock Draft
- Derrick Mercer - North Carolina - C - Freshman (Stock: <> )
- Dominique Kilpatrick - Illinois - PF - Sophomore (Stock: + )
- Vic Reed - SG - Freshman (Stock: <> )
- Javon White - Kentucky - SF - Freshman(Stock: <> )
- Devonte Campbell - Syracuse - PF - Sophomore (Stock: + )
- Damir Clayton - Duke - PG - Freshman (Stock: - )
- Lionel Martin - France - C - International (Stock: + )
- Chris Iverson - St.Johns - PG/SG - Freshman (Stock: + )
- Tyreke Atkins - Florida - SG - Freshman (Stock: + )
- Quin Young - Florida - PG - Freshman (Stock: - )
- Mookie Flowers - Duke - PF - Freshman (Stock: - )
- Marquez Bowman - Washington - SF - Sophomore (Stock: + )
- Kris Clemons - Duke - SG - Freshman (Stock: + )
- Justin Harper - Ohio State - C - Sophomore (Stock: + )
- Keyshawn Price - West Virginia - PG - Freshman (Stock: <> )
- Tyler Ware - California - C - Senior (Stock: <> )
- Corey Tucker - North Carolina - PG - Senior (Stock: ++ )
- Isaac Sikes - Australia - SF - International (Stock: <> )
- K.T. Madison - UCLA - C - Sophomore (Stock: ++ )
- Sean Gates - Missouri - SG - Sophomore (Stock: -- )
- Myron Mitchell - Illinois - SF - Freshman (Stock: +++ )
- Wesley Bell - Oregon - SG - Senior (Stock: + )
- Clayton Price - Miami - SG - Sophomore (Stock: -- )
- Shelvin Ellis - Kansas - SF - Sophomore (Stock: +++ )
- Jamerson Novak - Rutgers - PF - Sophomore (Stock: +++ )
- Terrence Lyons - Virginia - SF - Freshman (Stock: ++ )
- J.P. Webber - Syracuse - C - Freshman (Stock: +++ )
- Steven Cardinal - Iowa State - SG - Sophomore (Stock: ++ )
- Justice Reed - Marquette - SG - Freshman (Stock: +++ )
- Lorenzo Simon - Kentucky - PF - Freshman (Stock: --- )
Next Update: End of Regular Season + Conf Tournament Results + Top Foreign Players
11-18-2020, 05:50 PM
