Now that the college basketball season is behind us, every program can place the majority of their attention to the spring signing period, figuring out the transfer market and preparing for the spring evaluation periods. In this week’s #TwitterTuesday, we dive deep into the immediate futures at Auburn and Missouri, Trae Young’s impact at Oklahoma next year and which route Cincinnati might go in the 2018 class.
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Auburn is coming off of an 18-14 campaign and will lose Ronnie Johnson and TJ Dunans to graduation. While each guard brought solid scoring and filled their role nicely, there is much room for optimism at Auburn. Entering his fourth year, it is time for Bruce Pearl to make a push for an NCAA Tournament, and it appears the Tigers are on track.
Austin Wiley, a former five-star big man that enrolled mid-year last season, has bolstered the interior presence, and there is a plethora of talented wings and guards around him. Davion Mitchell is an explosive lead guard while Chuma Okeke might be the best utility knife forward in the 2017 class. The two freshmen will enter the program and help in some way or form next season.
Last year’s freshmen Mustapha Heron, Danjel Purifoy and Jared Harper will have a full offseason under their belts to better their games. They remain young, but if others like Anfernee McLemore and Horace Spencer can show some of improvement, I would be surprised if Auburn doesn’t find a way to make it to the tournament next year.
On the recruiting front, things remain as strong as ever as the Tigers already hold a commitment from five-star junior EJ Montgomery, a talented sophomore big man in Jared Jones, and have laid down the proper foundations with some of the top talents out of the Deep South.
This one is tough as the Big 12, while it didn’t have as good of a year as it has had in the past on the recruiting front, still has plenty of talent entering the league in this fall.
Texas should really enjoy the unselfish, playmaking abilities from Matt Coleman at the lead guard spot, Billy Preston has all of the talent to be the next one-and-done small forward from Kansas, and Lindell Wigginton may become a legend in Ames as Iowa State will surely lean on the freshman guard straight out of the gates.
However, whether it is because of his talent level or due to the volume of minutes and shots that will be afforded to him, Trae Young is the freshman that will make the biggest impact in the Big 12 next year. The five-star guard isn’t a freak athlete, nor is he the biggest of ballplayers around, something that may hold him back from leaving OU for the NBA after just one year.
However, Young is the closest thing the college game will see to Steph Curry next season. He has a hot trigger, a bravado to him and is going to play for Lon Krueger, who allows his players plenty of freedom. Put it all together and Young staying home should and will impact the program in more ways than just one.
One of the most consistent programs nationally, Cincinnati is coming off of its seventh straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. They have put together a solid 2017 class, but the 2018 group may be even more important given who is leaving. Kyle Washington and Gary Clark are on their way out after establishing themselves as cornerstones. They will also lose Quadri Moore, and who knows, another really good year from Jarron Cumberland or Jacob Evans, and each could throw their names into the NBA Draft.
What Cincinnati has done thus far is focus in on a crop of backcourt targets recently. As Alex noted, Brendan Adams, a 6-foot-4 scoring guard out of Baltimore, remains a heavy UC target this spring. Others to watch include top-75 guards Luther Muhammad and Dwayne Cohill, and they could also could get back in the hunt for former VCU commit and versatile wing Kevin Easley.
In the frontcourt, the Bearcats have remained in contention for talented forwards Jerome Hunter, Kiyon Boyd, Hameir Wright, Nate Roberts and Jermaine Harris.
It is vital the Bearcats land at least one from both the forward and guard groups. As we have learned in the past, Cincinnati is more about the right fit than the highest ranked recruit, all of which has equated to consistent success.
Missouri has been the talk of the spring, as Cuonzo Martin has immediately infused energy, optimism and talent into the program. It landed the top ranked player in the 2017 class, Michael Porter Jr., and then secured the verbal commitment from top-150 guard Blake Harris on Sunday.
The Tigers are likely to add another piece in the coming weeks as they remain in the mix for Mark Smith, a top-75 guard, and could become the favorites for top-50 big man Jeremiah Tilmon pending his release from Illinois.
Porter Jr. is a game-changer. He will immediately fill Mizzou Arena thanks to his elite talent level and entertaining style of play. Throw in Harris, a super crafty playmaker, along with returnees Jordan Barnett, Kevin Puryear and Terrence Phillips, and the future looks the best that it has ever been since Frank Haith took the program to a second seed in the NCAA Tournament in 2012.
Still, Missouri is coming off an eight-win season and figures to struggle through some growing pains. It is still a level or two below Florida and Texas A&M, and chemistry could fluctuate down the stretch as adversity strikes. I don’t see Missouri reaching the tournament next season, but it will be on the bubble; that alone should make it a huge step forward, recalling just where things stood in Columbia just two months ago.
The Jordan Tucker-to-Villanova ship may have sailed a few weeks ago. While it was originally in the final two for him during the winter months, the other being Indiana, it would seem that neither will land the talents of the 6-foot-6 small forward.
Born and raised in New York, Tucker transferred to Wheeler High School, a powerhouse program in Atlanta, for his senior year. While he is someone that would excel in the four-guard lineups that Jay Wright has become known for, it looks like the race for four-star senior is down to Syracuse and Georgia Tech, with Oregon also in the mix.
At the time being, it is a toss-up between the two ACC programs and a commitment should occur in the coming days with the late signing period beginning Wednesday. When push comes to shove, give me Syracuse as Tucker decides to go back home to join Jim Boeheim’s program.
