Evans Seven: Top storylines to follow as the season winds down

RANKINGS: 2019 Rivals150 | 2019 Team rankings | 2019 Position rankings

2020 Rivals150 | 2020 Position rankings

Top 75 of 2021

We are just six weeks away from the nets being cut down in Minneapolis. But before that happens plenty of drama will unfold. In this week’s Evans Seven, we outline the top storylines to watch as the 2019 season winds down.

MORE: Who can step in for departing stars next year? | 3-Point Play

Very few players have transcended the sport like Zion Williamson in recent memory. The Duke forward has made run-of-the-mill games against bottom feeders must-watch television. The unicorn has created as many comparison conversations as there are pages in a dictionary. He has dominated the game in a consistent fashion while also making our jaws drop with his unbelievable acrobatics.

However, a major wrench was thrown into Williamson’s story this week as he suffered an injury against North Carolina. Talking heads are now discussing whether it is right or wrong for him to return this season after he sprained his knee. Wherever he goes, Williamson remains a must-watch, and what he does next will only add further to the mystique of the most prolific college basketball player that we’ve seen in recent memory.

Just how good is the UCLA job? Will the powers that be hit a home run with the hiring of its next coach? Or, will the Bruins’ brass publicly stumble and miss on several of their top targets, only to take a lesser alternative that will make the in-season firing of Steve Alford look to be an ill-timed move? Those questions remain, and the Bruins’ job could be the one that spins the coaching carousel like a roulette wheel on busy Friday evenings in Las Vegas. Every offseason, there is that one job that impacts not only the high-major programs, but also trickles down to the lower Division I teams. Is UCLA the one? Time will tell. Do the Bruins go for an acting head coach? Do they pursue a former or current NBA coach? There is plenty of intrigue surrounding what might take place in Westwood.

The Wildcats have already secured the commitments of three top 55 prospects, including two five-stars. However, Kentucky needs more if it wants to pursue another national title. Furthermore, the Wildcats sits with zero frontcourt commitments, and with the more-than- likely departures of Keldon Johnson, PJ Washington and Reid Travis, more work is ahead for John Calipari and his staff. How they go about completing that work is worth keeping tabs on, as they will investigate every avenue possible. Do they hit the grad-transfer realm, as they did with Travis last spring? Can they land Keion Brooks and go the small-ball route? What about players that de-commit, once the coaching carousel starts spinning? Do Matthew Hurt and/or Jaden McDaniels buy into the one-and-done pitch that Calipari has become known for?

Cole Anthony has never been one to struggle when it comes to receiving national acclaim. That is what happens whenever you’re the son of Greg Anthony, though it didn’t hurt that he is an uberly talented prospect at a very young age, grew up under the bright lights of New York City and was the primary playmaker alongside Mohamed Bamba on the travel circuit - playing two years up as just as sophomore in high school.

Offers have not been in short supply, and after cutting his list to a final six in the early fall and a slew of visits taken shortly thereafter there was a thought that Anthony was ready to end his recruitment. Think again. Anthony is a talent unlike many others in his class, and he can singlehandedly change the face of the college season next winter. Oregon and UNC are the most talked-about destinations for him, and the next six weeks could define just how realistic their national title hopes might be next season.

The bubble is usually Charmin-soft when it comes to the Atlantic 10, Conference USA, Mountain West, Missouri Valley and the West Coast Conference in regards to the NCAA Tournament. While the better leagues nationally have seen a downturn, the benefactors look to be the mid-major level programs. Four teams in the Southern Conference could cause damage in the field of 68, and others in the CAA, MAC and Ohio Valley boast squads that power conference programs wouldn’t want to see in their opening-round games.

Matt McMahon has his Murray State Racers running full speed ahead, thanks to the star power of Ja Morant, and Hofstra wouldn’t be fun to meet, thanks to the microwave-scoring prowess of Justin Wright-Foreman. And one can only assume that Wofford’s Fletcher Magee wants to end his college career in strong fashion by winning a few games in March.

It has been over 18 months since the words “We have your playbook” were uttered. Those in the sport were shell-shocked that the pay-for-play schemes and the infiltration of shoe money to elite high school prospects would place powerbrokers in the industry in line for jail time.

But beyond the ousting of Rick Pitino at Louisville and brief scares at Arizona and Kansas, not a whole lot has changed since that fateful September afternoon press conference. However, our friends over at Yahoo! Sports have continued to take the lead in reporting on the investigation, and it looks as if some movement might be near. Whether that leads to the dismissals of some of the more well-known coaches in the game remains to be seen, but the next several weeks could be very interesting.

Talk continues to surround the end of the one-and-done rule, which would allow prospects to entire the NBA Draft immediately after high school. However, that day remains in the distant future, so the best continue to enroll in college.

That makes what Duke, Kansas and Kentucky have done in recent years even more impressive. They continue to enroll five-star after five-star, only to see each leave for the NBA eight months later. But, in the meantime, they continue to compete for conference titles, and even national titles.

This year, the question will surround Tre Jones, Quentin Grimes, Udoka Azubuike, Ochai Agbaji, Dedric Lawson and Tyler Herro. Will they return for another year of college ball? Keep in mind just how poor the 2019 NBA Draft sizes up to be, and there could be difficult decisions for Ayo Dosunmu, Talen Horton-Tucker and Jalen Smith, too. That could force a program that is not accustomed to losing a freshman talent to the NBA to try to find a way to fill a void that it didn’t see opening.