In this week’s edition of McDonald’s Nuggets, Dan McDonald discusses conference tournaments, a potential two-sport star and names his Team of the Week and his Commit of the Week.
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FACT OR FICTION: Skyy Clark will be on Kentucky's roster next season
MORE: Florida Man thinks Hunter Sallis will be going to Gonzaga
2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2023 Rankings: Top 30
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QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Should conference tournaments happen?
There has been a lot of discussion lately if it’s worth it for conference tournaments to happen this year. There are also those questioning if teams who are already pretty much guaranteed a spot in the NCAA Tournament should play in their conference tournaments. Consider me firmly in the camp that thinks conference tournaments should happen as currently planned.
Let’s start with the player safety part of the conversation. If a team or individual players feel like they are at any sort of risk playing this season, they shouldn’t play. I support any athlete’s right to make that decision. However, if we have been able to get this far into the season, why is one additional weekend of games a safety issue? Student-athletes can catch the virus just as easily living their life on their own campus as they could traveling or competing against other players.
Well, what if games have to get canceled because somebody tests positive right before or during one of the tournaments? As someone who conducted travel tournaments last summer, I feel confident saying those situations can be handled pretty easily with everyone’s safety in mind. If a positive test comes up before tournament play starts simply pull that team out. If a player tests positive after tournament play starts pull that player’s team out.
Depending on the opinion of medical experts, you can pull out any team that player’s team played against. It’s not fair, but this last year since the pandemic started hasn’t been “fair” to a lot of people.
There is a way to make conference tournament week - which is one of my favorite weeks of the year - happen safely, and it absolutely should be done.
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RECRUITING NOTE: Two-sport prospect?
Lebbeus “LT” Overton has been receiving scholarship offers from all over the country as one of the top prospects in the 2023 class on the football field. That list includes offers from Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas A&M. He’s been a dominant force at the defensive end position at the highest classification in Georgia, but football is not the only sport in which he’s drawing attention from college coaches.
On Wednesday night, the North Carolina football coaching staff presented Overton with a scholarship offer that came with a caveat that no other school has presented. He’s also been given the opportunity to play on the Tar Heels' basketball team. There is plenty of time for him to change his mind, but he has his mind set on playing both sports at the next level right now.
To understand just what he brings on the football field, I reached out to Rivals.com analyst Chad Simmons for a breakdown.
“Overton is a freak athlete," Simmons said. "He has the frame, explosiveness and athleticism schools covet at rush end across the country. He fires off the ball, has great speed to bend to turn the corner and he can close quick on the quarterback.
"He is not just a pass-rush specialist, either. He is anchored on the edge with great lower body strength, has violent hands and he is sound against the run. The scariest thing about Overton is he still has two more years to develop in high school. You hate to put expectations on a kid this early, but he has five stars, All-American and first-rounder written all over him. His ceiling is extremely high, based on what we have seen to date.”
On the basketball court, I’ve had the chance to watch him several times over the past few years. Some of those traits Simmons mentions translate in a big way on the basketball court. His lower body strength and overall body control make him dominant on the boards. His athleticism and explosiveness allow him to get off the floor quickly to finish inside at 6-foot-4. He’s also worked hard to develop his overall skill, giving him a chance to be a productive player on a nationally ranked high school team that features five-star guards Bruce Thornton and Kanaan Carlyle.
His recruitment could be a rare one in which it’s not only Nick Saban, Kirby Smart, Dabo Swinney, Lincoln Riley, Mack Brown and other top college football coaches involved. This could be a situation where a little effort from a basketball coach, perhaps Roy Williams, makes the difference.
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TEAM OF THE WEEK: Illinois
In one of the most exciting games I’ve watched so far this season, Illinois was able to knock off Iowa last Friday night for a really big home win for the Illini. Brad Underwood’s squad followed that win up by hanging on for an overtime win over Big Ten rival Indiana on Tuesday night. It’s the kind of week that could result in the Illini moving back into the top 10 if they can knock off Wisconsin on Saturday.
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COMMIT OF THE WEEK: Dillon Hunter to Baylor
Baylor is currently ranked No. 2 in the top 25 and has the No. 11 recruiting class signed for 2021. Now the Bears are on board with the first commitment in the 2022 class. Four-star point guard Dillon Hunter popped in favor of Scott Drew’s program on Thursday night. The Georgia native transferred from Westlake High School in Atlanta to Ypsilanti Prep for his junior season to play a national schedule alongside Emoni Bates, the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2022 class. Hunter had also received offers from Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest. A 6-foot-3 guard, Hunter is equally capable of creating his own offense as he is setting up others. He’s a good athlete that also has a ton of potential on the defensive end and rebounds his position well.
