Rivals Roundtable: Emerging prospects, first-year coaches
Each week, National recruiting analysts Rob Cassidy, Dan McDonald and Russ Wood tackle several topics about college basketball and recruiting. Today, they discuss new players on the radar, first-year head coaches and which under-discussed mid-majors will make noise come march.
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MCDONALD: Why experience matters in college hoops
2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2023 Rankings: Top 30
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1. Which prospect that has only recently popped on to your radar most intrigues you?
CASSIDY: I’ll go young here. Class-of-2024 guard Tentyn Flowers has recently appeared on my radar. It’s probably a bit too early to get too carried away projecting what he will or won’t become, but some things are already clear. Flowers has elite length and moves incredibly well for a prospect of his size. He also boasts a smooth jumper from the outside.
The sample size on him is admittedly small, so I don’t want to get too carried away with the hype just yet, but what I’ve seen is encouraging to say the least. Flowers is definitely one to watch in the year ahead, as he seems to have all the tools of an elite prospect.
McDONALD: I watched film of 2023 guard Lamariyon Jordan the other night and came away really impressed. I’m still getting a feel for where prospects stack up nationally in that class, but I think Jordan will be somebody we eventually get into the rankings for that class. He’s 6-foot-5, athletic and scores it at all three levels. He competes on both ends of the court. I’ll definitely have him on my watch list going forward in that class.
WOOD: Brandin Podziemski more than intrigues me. The 6-foot-6 guard out of Delafield (Wisc.) St. John's Northwestern Military Academy is a skilled lefty who can dribble, pass and shoot it. Podziemski has NBA three-point range and can more than stretch the floor with shot making ability.
I love his feel for the game and his high basketball IQ allows him to create scoring opportunities for his teammates. Unfortunately I did not see him play until after we did our rankings update or I would have pushed for a spot in the top-70. Arizona State, DePaul, Illinois, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky and Wake Forest have all offered the class of 2021 standout.
2. Which first-year head coach has had the most encouraging first year on the job?
CASSIDY: I’ll say Issac Brown at Wichita State. Consider the circumstances here. Brown, who is working with an interim tag, took over a program in turmoil and has a roster featuring nine newcomers, four of which are junior college transfers. Nobody would have been surprised if WSU was near the bottom of the league this year as they attempted to rebound from a player mistreatment scandal that cost the most successful coach in program history his job. Instead, Brown has the Shockers sitting near the top of the AAC and looking like a no-doubt NCAA Tournament team. Brown deserves even more praise than he’s already getting.
McDONALD: It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that follows college basketball closely, but Andy Kennedy is doing a terrific job in his first season at the helm at UAB. The Blazers moved quickly to hire the former Ole Miss head coach and former UAB star to take over their program after moving on from the previous staff. Kennedy’s squad sits at 12-2 overall with a 5-1 in Conference USA.
WOOD: Wyoming fans should be very encouraged by what Jeff Linder has done thus far in Laramie. The Cowboys have already eclipsed last season’s win total – they are coming off back-to-back seasons in which they had single-digit wins. Compared to last season, Wyoming is 12.2 points/100 possessions better than last season and are playing faster. They also lead the Mountain West Conference in three-point field goal defense. Linder is accomplishing this without any seniors. So, there is improvement this season and the future looks bright for the Cowboys.
3. Which mid- or low-major will be most dangerous come March?
CASSIDY: Hello, San Diego State. The Aztecs look destined to capture the Mountain West crown and eventually find themselves somewhere around the 11 line in the NCAA Tournament bracket. If they do, in fact, land there some poor No. 6 seed is going to have a bad time. The Aztecs sit at 24th in Pomeroy Rankings and are one of the nation’s top teams defensively.
SDSU is currently scoring at a breakneck pace, but its defense is the stalwart that will serve it well against high-majors in the postseason. It sure seems like Matt Mitchell, who averages nearly 15 points per game, will introduce himself to America as the Aztcs make a run in March.
McDONALD: I’ll go with Liberty here. They’ll probably settle in as either a 12-seed or 13-seed, which is prime territory to go pull off a first round upset. What makes them scary is the fact they’ve been here before and advanced. They won’t be a team just happy to be in Big Dance. They’ll fully expect to beat whoever they get matched up with in the first round if they end up winning the Atlantic Sun.
WOOD: When Drake opened the season at Kansas State and won by 10, it had my curiosity. After 15 consecutive wins, the Bulldogs have my attention. You need good defense in March and Darian DeVries has Drake playing very good defense this season. At our deadline, only one team has scored more than 70 points against the Bulldogs and they are ranked No. 16 in field-goal percentage defense. Drake is also a veteran team – something that is beneficial in March – starting two seniors and three juniors.