College Basketball 2018-2019

crazy to think that none of the following legitimately good teams from non-Power conferences: Belmont (23-4), Lipscomb (21-6), Utah State (22-6), nor Vermont (22-6) are even receiving votes ... Belmont, especially, looks very strong.
 
Last night's games offered some intrigue although Wisconsin played stupidly at the end of the IU game and ended up losing in I think was double overtime.

Also caught a glimpse of Utah State star Sam Merrill but his outside shot was not falling. His team won though.

I notice no one appears to care about women's basketball here ( I do) but it is worth pointing out Iowa State senior G Bridget Carleton was held scoreless in the first half at Texas Tech but stormed back with 27 points in the second half which included the game winning layup with a couple of seconds left. She also grabbed a bunch of rebounds.

Carleton wasn't on WNBA first round lists but that could be changing. She has exploded this season. Talk about a second half bounce back in a road game.

Tyler Herro saved KY last night with 29 points on 9-10 shooting. His shooting percentage has been erratic at times this season but nice to see him play an efficient game.

I said this earlier in the year but to me he is the best white freshman in the country. But I do not want him to try and turn pro after this season. Absolutely not. Want to see his game develop at the college level for one of the most high profile teams in the country.

Ohio State destroyed Iowa despite 17 points from another dandy freshman Joe Wieskamp. The big surprise was Ohio State freshman Justin Ahrens, whose older brother plays for Michigan State, got hot from deep and poured in 29 points. Ahrens has barely played at all this year. Perhaps a stepping stone type of game but more likely a player that could develop and emerge through time.

Now WV Bob Huggins, who is as big as a house, has been a caste hound for ages. There have been some white players of late but they have been role players. His one special white recruit the flashy PG Noah Cottrill from the class of 2010 never panned out and was kicked off the team. I can't remember Huggins coaching a white star ever!

So Huggins basically has no history, and his history is really long, of being white friendly. Another flashy freshman PG Jordan McCabe, not as highly rated as Cottrill, has barely registered anything positive this year. But he had a career game last night in a triple overtime win against TCU with a 27 points-11 assists-6 steals game. Again like Ahrens above we will have to wait and see where this leads but at least we know these two formerly hidden players have some burst out talent although I don't see McCabe as an NBA talent, at least not yet. Which doesn't mean he can't become a star at the college level.
 
at halftime, (Belmont’s) Dylan Windler (the individual) has 21 points (on 6-8 shooting), 10 rebounds, and 2 steals; UT Martin (the entire team) has 23 points (on 10-33 shooting), 10 rebounds, and 3 steals. dude is a legit monster.

Wofford devoured a cupcake tonight, and they enjoyed their first-ever game in the Top 25. most of the starters sat for nearly the whole second half. Fletcher Magee had an easy (for him) 18 to lead all scorers.
 
as a quick follow up to the above post, when he left the game early in the second half Dylan Windler had scored 32 points (on 10-13 shooting). UT Martin had 31. needless to say, it was a route, and the starters sat most of the second half.

speaking of starters, Belmont has a couple of promising freshmen. point guard Grayson Murphy had a Belmont-record 16 assists with 0 turnovers in the blowout, and center Nick Muszinski (sp?) had another efficient night with 19 points (9-10 shooting) and 3 blocks in only 18 minutes.
 
McClung reminds me of Jason “White Chocolate” Williams, but more of a scorer than passer. He plays with a streetball like freedom. Very rare for a White American player to have that mentality, and be allowed to use it.

Luka has far exceeded my expectations. He’s highly skilled, but most impressive is how he just took over the team at age 19. To me, his game compares to LeBron, a 6’8 point forward, can handle, pass and score, without the raw power of LeBron, but a better shooter.
 
Dylan Windler had 22 and 10 to end the conference season for Belmont with a win. freshman point guard Grayson Murphy chipped in with 10 assists (with only 1 turnover), and freshman forward/center Nick Muzsinski added 10 points and 3 blocks.

Fletcher Magee dropped 36 (13-21 from the floor, 8-14 from three) to help Wofford go undefeated (18-0) in conference play. Nate Hoover chopped in 17 (4-7 from three).

the rarely mentioned Mike Daum had another double-double (20-10) for South Dakota State. he “doesn’t pass the eye test,” but he can flat out play.

Sam Merrill and Utah State’s White contingent knocked off #12-ranked Nevada to end their regular season. Merrill led the way with 29, and athletic-but-undersized power forward Quinn Taylor had 4 blocks.
 
white lightning said:
Another hilite reel dunk by the high flyer Matt McClung.

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He looks like he’s reached a similar comfort level in college that he had in HS. He’s showing that confidence again that he can score on anyone. I’m really happy with his development and honesty didn’t think he’d take over games like this as a freshman.
 
enjoy McClung while he’s in college, as he will be downgraded come NBA draft time.

the NBA is a genetic lottery league, placing a premium on size. McClung is listed at 6-foot-2 (probably is closer to 6-feet, which makes his high flying act even more impressive to me) and isn’t very long. he has plus leaping ability and quickness, but at his height/length he would be VERY small for an NBA two guard, which is his position as he doesn’t (currently) show any point guard skills other than an occasional highlight reel no-look pass. he’s a dynamic, athletic scorer, so it will be interesting to see if he also develops into a defensive stopper or more as a primary ball handler, which would help his case moving forward. as it is, despite his electrifying sky walking, he will likely be considered a second round/undrafted guy unless he develops considerably.

i am not saying he can’t play, but that’s the way NBA “scouts” evaluate.
 
Creighton (three White starters) knocked off #10-ranked Marquette (two White starters: the talented Hauser brothers) behind 19 points (including a couple of nasty dunks), 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks from athletic 6-9 power forward Martin Krampelj.

Michigan got big games from its two White playmakers in a win over all-black #17-ranked Maryland. Iggy B went off for a game-high 21 points (6-12 shooting) to go with 7 boards. Big man Jon Teske chipped in 11 points (5-13 shooting), a game-high 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks despite being unusually cold from 3-point range.
 
Jimmy Chitwood said:
enjoy McClung while he’s in college, as he will be downgraded come NBA draft time.

the NBA is a genetic lottery league, placing a premium on size. McClung is listed at 6-foot-2 (probably is closer to 6-feet, which makes his high flying act even more impressive to me) and isn’t very long. he has plus leaping ability and quickness, but at his height/length he would be VERY small for an NBA two guard, which is his position as he doesn’t (currently) show any point guard skills other than an occasional highlight reel no-look pass. he’s a dynamic, athletic scorer, so it will be interesting to see if he also develops into a defensive stopper or more as a primary ball handler, which would help his case moving forward. as it is, despite his electrifying sky walking, he will likely be considered a second round/undrafted guy unless he develops considerably.

i am not saying he can’t play, but that’s the way NBA “scouts” evaluate.
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Very well said JC. I've watched McClung this season and these were my thoughts as well. It does make him even more impressive because he is not long. I wondered if he ever played any football and what kind of RB or WR he would have made?
 
Carolina Speed said:
Very well said JC. I've watched McClung this season and these were my thoughts as well. It does make him even more impressive because he is not long. I wondered if he ever played any football and what kind of RB or WR he would have made?
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I agree with CS that is some sharp on point analysis from JC up above concerning McClung. And a reminder to outside visitors that this site isn't just a bunch of white suck ups who don't look at the hard reality of things.

That said McClung is my favorite freshman. He really is exciting and we will have to wait and see how he develops. If he can hone his PG skills over time and polish up other areas then yes I can envision some sort of NBA future. The best hope is he keeps expanding his game and gets more consistent too. I think Pat Ewing is building a nice program at Georgetown so I expect Mac to continue to improve.

Funny CS mentions other sports. He is that rare white basketball player who actually looks like he could have been a baseball or football star to boot. I could see him at RB.
 
Kyle Guy went OFF tonight as #2 Virginia clobbered Syracuse. the underrated shooting guard was 8-10 from 3-point range (for a game-high 25 points), leading a team-wife long range barrage for the Wahoos. he also has under appreciated hops, as evidenced by his team-high 7 rebounds (he had a two-hand putback dunk a couple games ago that was NASTY!).

point guard Ty Jerome had a big night, as well: 16 points (5-6 from deep), 14 assists, 3 rebounds, and 4 steals with just 2 turnovers in 35 minutes.
 
overlooked (by me) in my last post was the frequent issue of a “playing defense while White” foul. in this particular case, it was an obvious and egregious intentional high elbow thrown by a black Syracuse player at the head of Virginia’s Ty Jerome, who is White, that wasn’t called. while the officials “missed it,” at least Jay Williams noticed and called it out on the nationally televised postgame show. there is video of it on ESPN, but I can’t get it to link properly.
 
Sam Merrill had a game-and-career-high 38 points (on 15-23 shooting) to lead Utah State to an overtime win over Colorado State and keep the Aggies hopes for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament alive. the outstanding combo guard added team-highs of 8 rebounds and 6 assists, as well as blocking a shot and getting a steal whilst committing only 1 turnover in 45 minutes. it was a complete game for a terrific talent. if you haven’t seen this young man play, you are missing out!
 
That is a new name above.

Watching DePaul-Georgetown last night and Georgetown got waxed. McClung has not been at his best in road games.

DePaul is one of the strangest teams out there. Max Strus has scored 73 points the past two games nailing wild three point shots. He is one of the most inconsistent players around but when he is on he plays like a unstoppable wild stallion. And he can leap to the moon with a plus 40 inch vertical. He has all the athletic measurables apart from being white to play in the NBA but I never see his name on lists. A perfect second round flier if you ask me.

They have a bench jockey who looks like a refuge from "Revenge of the Nerds." He has all these sideline antics and the camera kept panning to him. He finally got into the game as the crowd went wild but alas it was too late and the game clock ran out. Next time coach give him some time. Cripes. He was doing jumping jacks as the time was running out. He might be good for all we know?

For some reason the guy makes me laugh. He is a 5'10 sophomore Pantelis Xidias. Becoming a cult figure. He wears glasses/goggles. Comic relief I guess.
 
it’s interesting that you gentlemen posted about Konchar, because i logged in to do the same thing. i first heard his name last night during the Wisconsin-Iowa game, when the announcers mentioned that Happ was one of only 6 collegiate players to ever amass a certain amount of some combination of points, rebounds, assists, steals, etc. (the list includes some all-time greats). one of the players (Konchar) was still playing college ball, so i looked him up. what a story!

you can read a detailed profile here:
https://amp.indystar.com/amp/2776059002

he’s an explosive athlete. hard to imagine (if you don’t understand the racial component) why he’s not a household name.

 
Jimmy Chitwood said:
it’s interesting that you gentlemen posted about Konchar, because i logged in to do the same thing. i first heard his name last night during the Wisconsin-Iowa game, when the announcers mentioned that Happ was one of only 6 collegiate players to ever amass a certain amount of some combination of points, rebounds, assists, steals, etc. (the list includes some all-time greats). one of the players (Konchar) was still playing college ball, so i looked him up. what a story!

you can read a detailed profile here:
https://amp.indystar.com/amp/2776059002

he’s an explosive athlete. hard to imagine (if you don’t understand the racial component) why he’s not a household name.

Click to expand...


I heard about Konchar during that broadcast as well JC! You can color me shocked that this guy even slid below our radar at CF! Nice highlight video. The guy can do it all.
 
Currently watching Bowling Green vs Buffalo. Only 1 pale face on the court currently, JR G Dylan Frye from Miami. Pretty good, avg 12ppg. Woman announcer(she is a babe) already declared that he has a high IQ. Lol.
 
I finally got the chance to watch Belmont and Dylan Windler playing Austin Peay on ESPNU tonight, and all I've got to say is "wow." This kid is an absolute stud, and dominated the Governors. He had 32 points and 21 boards in a HUGE effort tonight. I really liked Belmont's freshman PG, Grayson Murphy. I believe he finished with double-digit assists tonight; he'll be a great player for the Bruins in the future. The announcers were even hyping up Windler as an NBA draft pick throughout the game as well, and were singing his praises the whole night. Apparently, ESPN's Joe Lunardi has the Bruins in, even if they were to lose to Murray State in the Championship tomorrow night. That's good news. It'd be a crime if the Bruins were not playing in March.

A couple of other notable performances I've seen recently:

Even though it's been a tough year for Notre Dame, having had to integrate a number of freshman into their team, John Mooney is one of the most improved players in the country. In fact, against Clemson, he had an awesome game, with 18 points and 20 boards. Even the color commentator in the game said Mooney is the most improved player he's seen this year. With the Irish losing nobody of note off of their team this year (Rex Pflueger got a medical redshirt), look for them to come back STRONG next year.

Jimmy mentioned him, but Utah State's Sam Merrill has been a joy to watch. I was able to see their game against Nevada, and he was simply a beast. As JC alluded to, Merrill carried the Aggies against Colorado State as well.

Also, thanks to all of the posters who've kept me informed during NCAA season. I've not gotten to watch much in the way of college hoops this year (hence the lack of me posting), but it's been nice reading the updates here. I do plan on trying to watch a lot of tournament week, and the NCAA tourney, and with that posting here a little more as well.
 
Yes I caught a lot of the game last night too and Dylan Windler was talked up for the NBA draft. Smooth looking athlete. Belmont is a team to get behind. Big one tonight as they face off against Murray State in the final and their media hero PG and possible number one draft pick Ja Morant.Would love to see Belmont send him home and have Windler and emerging PG Murphy outplay him in front of all those drooling scouts. I think Belmont is in the NCAA tournament even with a loss but a win erases all doubts.

A lot of final season big games on today. Power 5 conference tournaments start next week.

Virginia still looks like the best team to me.
 
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