Welcome to another rendition of The Chirp’s Monday College Basketball Notebook. Every Monday, we’ll be bringing you some of our key thoughts from the past week’s games and storylines we’re watching as the season progresses. As the great Jon Rothstein says: “We Sleep in May”
Conference play is in full swing in college basketball and so far, we have learned a lot. The Big Ten is a battle every single night and we saw a perfect example of not taking anything for granted in Michigan State/Purdue, where the Spartans choked away one to the Boilermakers. The SEC seems like it’s Tennessee’s conference, but upstart programs like Arkansas, Alabama, LSU, and Missouri aren’t far behind along with Kentucky lurking after kicking off a 3-0 start to conference play. The ACC has no clear-cut frontrunner, but Virginia, Florida State, and Duke seem to be the obvious contenders with Virginia Tech close behind. We’ll highlight the Pac-12 a bit later this week, but we’ve also seen fun battles in the Big East, Atlantic 10, Mountain West, and Horizon League.
The Debut of Sharife Cooper
The Auburn Tigers finally welcomed their 5-star, true freshman point guard Sharife Cooper on Saturday and let me say, boy was he impressive. Cooper hadn’t even practiced in weeks due to eligibility issues, but he came out and put on a show against a very good Alabama team. Auburn is in a transition period this season after they lost a ton of talent from the prior two teams, including one that made the Final Four, but Sharife Cooper is good enough to make Auburn a quality SEC club. Against Bama, Cooper went for 26 points and 9 assists. Remember, this was his first career college appearance and his first time playing high-level basketball in weeks. His incredible court vision was on full display as he effortlessly picked apart Alabama’s defense in the second half, consistently setting up alley-oops for teammates or getting them wide-open threes. Take a look at this pass from Cooper:
And, how about one more:
Cooper is already one of the most dynamic guards in college basketball despite playing just 32 minutes on the year. He was easily the best player on the court during the game. If Auburn can get some additional improvement throughout the year from JT Thor, Devan Cambridge, and Allen Flanigan, then maybe the Tigers can make some noise in the SEC down the stretch. Auburn is currently 6-6 and 0-4 in the SEC; it’s highly unlikely they can qualify for an at-large NCAA Tournament berth, although there’s plenty of opportunities remaining. Is it terribly unrealistic for Auburn to finish the year 10-5? I don’t think that’s crazy and a 16-11 Auburn team just might be good enough, although it would require Auburn to beat high caliber SEC opponents like Alabama, Florida, LSU, and likely Tennessee, Missouri, or Kentucky at least once. They’re a different team with Sharife Cooper and their offensive style allows them to be a blowup threat any night; if nothing else, at least they’ll be fun to watch with Cooper.
How Good Are the Baylor Bears?
Right now, the Baylor Bears are ranked #2 in the nation and because of all the attention Gonzaga has received, a lot of people are overlooking the next crop of teams. I’m not sure we’ve seen enough of Baylor to proclaim them to be just as good as Gonzaga, but one thing I am sure of is that Baylor is a very good basketball team. Baylor and Gonzaga’s meeting scheduled in December was unfortunately postponed due to COVID-19 and while a makeup date may be in the works, it seems it’ll be difficult to find a game slot. Because Baylor’s two biggest games against Gonzaga and Texas were postponed, we haven’t gotten a massive sample on just how good the Bears are. Yes, Scott Drew’s team beat a very good Illinois team (one I labeled as the best in the Big Ten in last week’s edition), but that was very early on in the season. By no means do I aim to discredit that impressive victory, but the 13 point margin of victory was a bit more disparate than the actual team performances were (a 51-point second half from Baylor was a reason why). In fact, Baylor has been a dominant second half team all season long, including big performances in their opening Big 12 games against Iowa State and TCU.
Currently, Baylor is the only team in the country to be undefeated and have all of their wins be by double digits. That is an incredibly impressive feat and one that adds credence to the notion that they are just as good as Gonzaga. The Bears lack the top tier star power that Gonzaga has with Jalen Suggs, but they have plenty of experience and are led by elite two-way guard Jared Butler. Butler is one of the most underrated players in the country and he’s surrounded by a plethora of talented guys like MaCio Teague, Davion Mitchell, transfer Adam Flagler, Mark Vital, and “Big Jon” aka Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua. KenPom currently has Baylor as the #1 team in the country as well, indicating the Bears are legit. Their defense is phenomenal, they have an extremely efficient offense, and have an experienced backcourt. There are some concerns regarding Baylor’s interior presence as they could be susceptible to opposing teams who are dominant inside. They answered some of those questions when Kofi Cockburn was a non-factor earlier in the year, but that was largely because Cockburn was in foul trouble. Illinois’ backup center, Giorgi Bezhanisvhili, went off for 15 points (7-10 FG) and 4 rebounds in 25 minutes. We’ll learn a lot more about Baylor’s interior play in the coming weeks, specifically with how they handle Derek Culver on Tuesday when they welcome the West Virginia Mountaineers to Waco.
One thing to note about Baylor: if you are someone a bit skeptical on them, then you really won’t have any excuses remaining if they impress over the next 10 days. The Bears face West Virginia, Texas Tech, and Kansas all in a row and if they go 3-0, they very well may be ranked #1 in the country in the AP poll afterwards. My guess is they lose one of those games (maybe to Texas Tech since it’s on the road), but this is a great week for a Baylor litmus test. I’m pumped for it.
The Blue Bloods Aren’t Done Yet
Early in the year there was plenty of panic around two specific blue bloods: Duke and Kentucky. While Michigan State has played their way into panic territory after losing 4 of 6 to begin Big Ten play, the Spartans have still not reached full blown “worry” territory for me.
Duke was a team that many were eager to write off after their blowout loss to Illinois at home. While part of that was because they are Duke, a bigger part was that Duke looked really bad early in the season. With such a young roster, and one fairly devoid of the abundance of top-level talent that Coach K is used to, growing pains would be inevitable. However, the sloppy play we saw against Coppin State, Michigan State, and Illinois was certainly concerning.
Despite all of this and the loss of their best player Jalen Johnson to an injury, Duke has actually been on a roll since. While many said Coach K’s COVID comments were fueled because the team wasn’t very good (including Alabama coach Nate Oats), Duke has gone 3-0 since. While the Blue Devils haven’t beaten an impressive slate of opponents (Notre Dame, Boston College, Wake Forest) to do it without their best player and battling through some adversity is impressive. Sophomore Matthew Hurt was been sensational as of late and is averaging 19.6 PPG for the year, freshman D.J. Steward has had some impressive flashes, freshman Jeremy Roach is slowly becoming more comfortable, and even promising sophomore Wendell Moore Jr. seems to be getting his mojo back after a horrible early-season slump. Duke has yet to earn a signature win, but they also don’t have any bad losses either, as two defeats to Michigan State and Illinois respectively do not qualify as such. I’m not sure anybody has a read on how good Duke is yet; after all, they’ve lost to both of the tournament-bound teams they faced but defeated all four teams who are unlikely to go dancing. However, we’ll learn a lot more soon: they face Virginia Tech on the road tomorrow night, the red hot Louisville Cardinals next weekend, and a home date with a fantastic defensive team, Clemson, at the end of January. February is more of a test for Duke, but building a strong foundation until then could solidify the Blue Devils in the 4-6 seed range for the Big Dance.
We also detailed the Kentucky Wildcats last weekend after they finally broke through with a victory over Mississippi State. Dontaie Allen went off in that game and seemed to single-handedly be a remedy for Kentucky’s 3-PT shooting woes. Since that turning point game, Kentucky has rattled off two more victories and are currently 2nd in the SEC standings; who would’ve thought? While the Wildcats have had a penchant for playing uncomfortably close games that could swing either way, they dominated a very good Florida team in Gainesville on Saturday. Getting sophomore wing Keion Brooks Jr. back healthy seemed to provide a huge boost; outside of Olivier Sarr, Brooks is the only player on the roster with substantial collegiate experience and the only player whose prior experience came at Kentucky. Brooks was fantastic against Florida, scoring 12 points while accumulating 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Kentucky may be just 4-6 on the year, but things are clearly trending up for the Cats. Tomorrow night’s marquee matchup against Alabama, who is currently 4-0 and sitting in first place in the SEC, will be another great barometer of just how improved Kentucky is. They also get Sharife Cooper and Auburn on Saturday; at minimum, Kentucky has to split, but if they win both? Watch out.
The last blue blood to mention here is the North Carolina Tar Heels, who simply are not that good this season. UNC is 7-4 on the year and 2-2 in ACC play, although they could very easily be 5-6 on the year and 0-4 in ACC play. Their two ACC victories came by a combined 3 points with narrow wins over Notre Dame and Miami, two teams that have struggled to win close games (albeit Miami finally got one over NC State on Saturday). North Carolina’s program has taken a hit ever since some of the school scandals that affected recruiting, but also because some of their top recruits never lived up to the billing while at Chapel Hill. North Carolina uncharacteristically had a poor year last season, partially because Cole Anthony got hurt, but also because the supporting cast struggled as well. This season, we have seen their best player, Garrison Brooks, take a step back and promising freshmen Caleb Love and R.J. Davis show flashes, but never consistently strong performances. Freshman Day’Ron Sharpe has arguably been UNC’s best player, but considering the glut of bigs in the frontcourt, he’s limited to just 20 MPG. North Carolina’s style of pummeling teams inside can still work with this roster, but they severely lack the perimeter play that makes the system effective. I’m not sure North Carolina will miss the tournament outright; after all, they have two quality wins over Stanford and Kentucky, and their losses against Texas, Iowa, NC State, and Georgia Tech are fairly quality, outside of *maybe* the ACC games, although teams are usually given a slightly bigger pass when losing tough conference games. Saturday’s road visit to Tallahassee to battle with Florida State is an important game for the Tar Heels to lock up a signature win.
We Need to Start Talking About the Pac-12
The Pac-12 is a conference that traditionally gets a lot of scorn for being overrated, but over the past two seasons, the Pac-12 has actually had a group of solid teams. The conference gets less coverage because of the pacific time zone and the Pac-12 Network that is not widely available. However, that does not mean the conference lacks quality and we have seen it on display this year.
Currently, the UCLA Bruins are 5-0 in conference play and sit at the top of the Pac-12. Mick Cronin has done a fantastic job in Westwood and while UCLA’s style hasn’t aligned with Cronin’s previous teams at Cincinnati, but the Bruins have been effective nonetheless. UCLA’s only two losses came against San Diego State and Ohio State, two quality opponents. The Bruins have also beaten some quality teams like Marquette, Colorado, and Arizona State. While their second-leading scorer Chris Smith tore his ACL and is out for the year, UCLA still has plenty of talent including Jaime Jaquez Jr., Tyger Campbell, Cody Riley, Jalen Hill, and Kentucky transfer Johnny Juzang who has slowly gotten more comfortable as well. The Bruins are still the favorite in the Pac-12.
The next tier of Pac-12 teams has a bunch of tournament hopefuls. The Oregon Ducks have dealt with a variety of injuries to key players, namely center N’Faly Dante, but Dana Altman has done a tremendous job keeping Oregon competitive. Guard Chris Duarte has been sensational this year, forward Eugene Omoruyi has been a great secondary player, and their secondary cast that includes Eric Williams Jr. and LJ Figueroa is quite a good crop as well. The Arizona State Sun Devils may be the most talented team in the Pac-12, but they’re still struggling to mesh talented freshmen Josh Christopher and Marcus Bagley alongside the rest of the roster. Injuries have been part of the problem and I expect them to continue to round into form with Remy Martin leading the way. The Stanford Cardinal have also been a fantastic team this year, led by uber-talented freshman Ziaire Williams and senior forward Oscar da Silva, who is quietly one of the best big men in the entire country. The Cardinal have battled injuries and absences throughout the year but have played really well and have a strong defense to boot. Two other teams to keep an eye on are the USC Trojans, led by potential #1 overall pick Evan Mobley, and the Colorado Buffaloes, led by do-it-all point guard McKinley Wright IV. You have six teams in the Pac-12 who are potential tournament teams and it’s not out of the equation that another team could surprise as the year goes on. Arizona has a self-imposed postseason ban which eliminates them, but perhaps it’s the Utah Utes. Utah is just 4-4 on the year and 1-3 in Pac-12 play, but their conference losses have come against UCLA, USC, and Oregon, three of the top four teams in the league. If Utah can split their season series with all three teams and pull out wins over Colorado and Stanford, perhaps they can be another Pac-12 team sneaking into the field. It’s highly unlikely that occurs, but impossible? Absolutely not.
Final Note: Players to Watch & Andrew Jones
As I do every week, I’ll detail some of my favorite under-the-radar prospects that have caught my eye over the course of the season so far. Last week, I detailed Ochai Agbaji, Yves Pons, and Jacob Gilyard. Here’s some names I want to highlight this week:
G-Mike Miles (TCU Horned Frogs): Mike Miles is a freshman point guard for the TCU Horned Frogs and while the program flies under-the-radar nationally, he’s an incredibly talented player. Here’s him this Saturday putting Jared Butler on skates:
Miles didn’t only get Butler once, he actually got him twice. Miles’ ability to create space for himself has been a really impressive skill and combined with a smooth shooting stroke and numbers to boot, he’s established himself as one of the best freshmen in the country. Alongside R.J. Nembhard, TCU’s backcourt is actually top-10 (maybe even higher) in the nation. Miles may not declare for the NBA Draft after this year but if his play this season is any indication, he is well on his way to being a NBA player and possibly a first-round pick as well.
G-Mitch Ballock (Creighton Bluejays): Overall, there’s nothing particularly flashy about Mitch Ballock’s game. Many are likely not even to have Ballock on their draft boards, but considering how shooting is at a premium in the NBA, there aren’t many better pure shooters than Ballock in college basketball. This season, Ballock is shooting 39.8% from deep on 6.9 attempts per game. Ballock’s range is limitless and he comes off screens well and squares himself up in a very impressive fashion. For his career at Creighton, he has connected on 40.2% of his 3-PT attempts while shooting nearly six per game. Not only is Ballock an impressive shooter, but he does it on high volume too. We’ve seen the success players like Duncan Robinson have had at the NBA level and while Ballock isn’t the shooter Robinson is, there are some similarities. Ballock is a quality ball-mover as well and an improved defender. I think he’d garner some looks in the second round or as an UDFA for teams looking for shooters.
F-Jalen Wilson (Kansas Jayhawks): We detailed Jalen Wilson’s teammate, Ochai Agbaji last week, but Wilson has been another Jayhawk who has impressed me this season. Wilson is a prototypical modern wing; he’s a smooth athlete who is impressive in transition, he’s nimble enough to move on the perimeter, and he’s a tremendous rebounder. Wilson plays a frontcourt role for Kansas but his offensive game resembles that of a combo forward, almost similar to that of Harrison Barnes. By no means am I outright comparing Wilson to Barnes, but with their offensive style and frame, there is some overlap. Wilson only played 2 total minutes last year for the Jayhawks but he’s been sensational this season, averaging 14.7 PPG and 8.1 RPG on 49/39/66 shooting splits. His free throw numbers leave a lot to be desired but his 3-PT stroke has been really impressive and he’s taking 4.5 attempts per game. Wilson has a lot of untapped potential given his lack of experience at the collegiate level still, but from what he’s shown, I’d be eager to bet on his upside.
Final Note: This Awesome Andrew Jones Moment
Andrew Jones, the junior guard from Texas, had his life change dramatically a few years ago when he was diagnosed with leukemia. Luckily, Jones has recovered and since returned to the court, which is a tremendous feat in of itself. Jones has been one of Texas’ most important players this year and a key reason why the Longhorns are a legitimate Final Four threat. Look at what he did this weekend, nearly three years to the date when he was diagnosed with leukemia:
That shot was easily the best thing I saw this weekend. What a moment for Jones; we’re all rooting for him.
The Chirp 