Rivals Roundtable: Most entertaining player, coach under pressure

Pull up a chair and join us at the Rivals Roundtable, where basketball analysts Eric Bossi (@ebosshoops), Corey Evans (@coreyevans_10) and Krysten Peek (@KP_Rivals) discuss the hoops du jour. If you disagree, hit them up on Twitter and let them know what’s what!

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BOSSI: The most entertaining player is the best player, at least most of the time. In that case, give me Marvin Bagley III, the No. 1 player in the class of 2018 and all of high school basketball now that Michael Porter Jr. from 2017 has moved on to college. Bagley plays way above the rim, dominates the glass and has a very good motor. He might not be the most flashy player in the country, but the level of production he has is highly entertaining and I don't think I've ever walked away from watching him feeling even slightly underwhelmed.

EVANS: How can you go with anyone but Zion Williamson? The 6-foot-7 forward took the country by storm with his other-worldly dunking skills last year. Not since LeBron James graced the high school realm have people been more entertained by an amateur prospect than they are right now with Williamson. Want further proof of the demand placed upon him? He boasts close to 62,000 followers on Twitter and 739,000 followers on Instagram.

PEEK: Darius Garland is one of my favorite players to watch because of his speed, his passing, and the way he finishes at the rim. He's the best passer in the class and I know passing might not be as glamorous as dunking, but there have been multiple times where I've seen him make an impossible pass and asked myself how exactly he did that. A lot of his entertainment factor has to do with the way he attacks the basket (sometimes with four defenders in the lane) and finds one of his forwards for the finish.

BOSSI: This one is easy. Chris Holtmann at Ohio State. Buckeyes athletic director Gene Smith basically said straight up Thad Matta was being let go for recruiting failures. If that doesn't put the pressure on a new guy to produce, I don't know what will. The Buckeyes already lost early commitments from in-state high major prospects Darius Bazley and Justin Ahrens, so it's on Holtmann to make sure to lock up current commit Dane Goodwin, another local ranked in the Rivals150. Then he can chase guys like Bazley and Ahrens again and spread out from there.

EVANS: Archie Miller took his time to take the leap and the patience paid off by taking over at Indiana this spring. At the time, he didn’t know that he would lose OG Anunoby, Thomas Bryant and James Blackmon to the NBA Draft, which now puts further emphasis on the 2018 recruiting class. IU fans have clamored for the best talent to remain in the state, an issue of the prior staff’s in Bloomington. Throwing more gas on the fire is that the state boasts potentially the best wing scorer in Romeo Langford. The pressure is already on Miller and his staff to hit a home run during their first full recruiting cycle at Indiana.

PEEK: There are a lot of high expectations for Brad Underwood to come in at Illinois and turn the program around. It's been seven years since Illinois posted a winning record in Big Ten play and there are a lot of people hoping the former Oklahoma State coach will be the one to get Illinois consistently competitive. Most recently, the Illini lost out on five-star Jeremiah Tilmon when he flipped to Missouri, but it appears Underwood is already starting to make some moves in the 2018 class. Visiting campus this week will be Ayo Dosunmu, who is making a case for five-star status after a strong spring and it would be a huge start for Underwood and his staff if they could land Dosunmu.

BOSSI: If I need somebody to win me a defensive possession I'm turning to Luther Muhammad. The shooting guard from New Jersey is an absolutely tenacious on-the-ball defender who can defend point guards, shooting guards and small forwards. Many times this spring I've seen opposing guards simply give up trying to beat him off the dribble or score on him and defer to other players. He's physical, he's nasty, he talks some trash and to me he is a high school version of Tony Allen. He'll be visiting St. John's later this week and the Red Storm would be getting a potential All-Big East level defender if they could get him. I'd also keep an eye out for Holtmann and Ohio State, who had a strong relationship with him while they were at Butler.

EVANS: Perceived as a top-25 prospect for the past few years, Bol Bol has worked his way into the best in the class of 2018 conversation this summer. A dominant interior defender, Bol is leading the Nike EYBL with close to five blocks per game, all while averaging just over a foul per contest. He also has posted a 21-percent defensive rebounding number where, combined with his shot blocking skills, makes him the most potent class of 2018 defender.

PEEK: Jontay Porter has stepped us his game this spring and is noticeably more aggressive on the defensive end. Porter is averaging almost 13 rebounds per game and 2.7 blocks per game (including seven blocks against Team Melo) for Mokan Elite in the Nike EYBL. Since putting on a little bit of muscle mass, he can defend power forwards with a back-to-the-basket game and is mobile enough to step out and guard the perimeter. It probably doesn't hurt that he's had years of practice defending his brother Michael Porter Jr., who is of course the No. 1 player in 2017.