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MORE: Prospects make their NCAA title predictions
This week in the Rivals Roundtable national basketball analysts Eric Bossi, Corey Evans and Dan McDonald have some fun topics. What are they looking for in the McDonald’s All-American Game, could Ja Morant go first and which coach is under the most pressure to win a national title this year.
1. What matchup are you most interested in during this week's McDonald's All-American festivities?
Bossi: Everybody is going to be looking forward to the obvious matchups like Cole Anthony vs. Nico Mannion or James Wiseman vs. Vernon Carey. I want to go with Scottie Lewis vs. Kahlil Whitney in a preview of future SEC battles. Headed to Florida and Kentucky, they are both wicked athletes who love to attack the rim. Plus, they’ve played on different shoe circuits so they haven’t matched up as much. Plus, it could be singular bragging rights for best player in New Jersey on the line. It would be fun.
Evans: It has been a two-horse race for who the best big man in America is for the past three years. James Wiseman has the long-term upside while Vernon Carey has his fair share of potential, but is already a steady producer from 20-feet and in. I cannot wait to see these two go to battle, but let’s toss Isaiah Stewart’s name into the mix. The Washington-bound center plays the hardest, makes for the most sparkling of stat lines and is the most consistent of the three. He is going to come out with a vengeance beginning Sunday in attempting to cement his standing as the best frontline prospect nationally.
McDonald: To my knowledge, Anthony Edwards and Anthony have never matched up with each other in a game or a camp setting. They are on the same team, which means it won’t happen during the game. But, I'm curious to see how that match-up goes if we get to see it at all in the practices leading up to the game. They are the two best players in the country and two highly competitive kids.
2. Should Ja Morant get some consideration to go No. 1 overall after his astounding first-round triple-double against Marquette?
Bossi: Man, it’s hard not to be a little bit of a prisoner of the moment after watching Morant shred Marquette. All that goes through my mind watching him play is “Imagine how good he will be when those are other NBA players on the receiving ends of his passes and he has NBA spacing.” I never saw Morant in high school, so I can’t speak to his improvement since then, but his improvement from even his freshman year (when he was ridiculous) to now is staggering. It’s going to take some serious guts for a team to take him over Zion Williamson, but depending on team needs it is a discussion that should at least be given serious consideration in Draft rooms.
Evans: I mean, why the heck not!? The dude just put up the 17th ever triple double in the NCAA Tournament’s history and made it look like it was a walk in the park. Speaking with the Murray State coaching staff, they have never seen anyone like him and I am not sure the college game has of late, either.
In June, it will come down to who is picking first as I don’t see someone like the Atlanta Hawks wanting to take another ballhandling guard after picking Trae Young last year. Also, if you’re the GM that passes on Williamson and he turns out to be what many believe, I am not sure that front office member will ever get another chance to run another NBA franchise. However, the fact that we are even having this conversation for a prospect that was deemed as a mid-major just three years ago goes to show just how talented but also much-improved Morant has become.
McDonald: It's definitely not a crazy thought if we are talking about Morant and Williamson as prospects depending on what a team needs. Morant checks all the boxes as far as what the NBA wants in its point guards. Size, athleticism, passing, leadership qualities, and he scores it too. My gut tells me it won't happen just because there isn't a GM or an owner in the NBA that wants to be labeled forever as "the guy(s) who passed on Zion". Zion has been the most dominant player in the country in the best conference and his marketability is through the roof. I'd be really surprised if his name isn't called first in this year's draft.
3. Which coach is under the most pressure to win a national title?
Bossi: I don’t know how much pressure there can be on a coach to win a National Championship because I don’t think any of the guys whose fanbases, media and the general public would expect to win one are in any kind of trouble or need much help cementing their legacies.
That being said, I actually feel it’s Mike Krzyzewski at Duke. The level of attention created by Zionmania and them having the most talented starting five says anything less than a Final Four would be a disappointment. But also, I think K is a competitor and doesn’t like that his biggest rivals – North Carolina and Roy Williams – have won more titles since Williams arrived at Carolina. Another title would match the Heels three since Williams got to Chapel Hill. It would also be six overall for Coach K and would strengthen the argument for him as the greatest of all time even more.
Evans: Really, it is more about just getting to the Final Four but there is some pressure on Tony Bennett. What is a bit out of the norm is that the pressure is not coming from his fanbase but rather from the national pundits that have an issue with the methodical, snail-like pace that his teams have played throughout the years. Bennett has failed to reach the Final Four despite earning a five seed or higher in each of the past five years; the latter a statistic that is pretty impressive for a program that cannot be deemed a blue blood. Regardless, there is some pressure on Bennett to get the monkey off of his back, win four games the next two weeks, before eking out two more in Minnesota in winning Virginia’s first ever national title.
McDonald: The answer to this question is almost always a blue blood coach. Williams won a title two years ago, so he's off the hook for a minute. Bill Self has bigger issues to worry about than winning a national title at Kansas. UCLA doesn't have a coach and isn't in the NCAA Tournament. Coach K is teflon when it comes to any sort of criticism from the basketball media, so scratch him from the list.That leaves John Calipari as the coach that could really use a second title to join the special fraternity of coaches with multiple titles, and it would Kentucky fans off his back at least for a week or two. However, PJ Washington's injury situation could be problematic here. It sounds like he will be good to go next week if Kentucky can get past Wofford on Saturday.
