College Basketball 2018-2019

[Shadowlight]

The season kicks off toight with a slew of games on the ESPN networks including powerhouse matchups between Michigan State vs. Kansas and Duke vs. Kentucky. Later on white friendly BYU will play Nevada on CBSSN. Kentucky by the way has a sharp shooting white freshman Tyler Herro.

Usually member Jack Lambert kicks things off here but he has been MIA for a while now so I figured I would jump in. Like the players I will go over below consider me the back up. Ha.

Just a word about this Duke team which has garnered a ton of publicity with their 5 star freshman class. Coach K has a good enough track record in my eyes so I won't get on him about bringing in such a high profile caste class.

Overall I suspect his team will be insufferable as the media goes into overdrive. That said the cupboard is not dry.

There are the backups.

C-Antonio Vrarankovic 7'0" Jr. Look for him to get some time at the post.

F- Jack White 6'7" So. Hard to tell how much he will play. Has terrific hops.

G-Alex O'Connell 6'6" So. Skinny long range threat he has speed and can jump out of the gym. Look for him to improve every year. Should be part of the rotation.

F-Joey Baker 6'7" Fr. Reclassified from the class of 2019. Many are comparing him to ex Duke star Mike Dunleavy Jr.. Very versatile and can hurt teams from the outside and inside. Initially many thought he would red shirt but after getting a look at him they changed their minds. Good all around athlete. Smooth.

Now the bottom three players above will all be battling with each other for playing time but the best case scenario has them playing a lot and making noise. Which bodes well for next season and beyond too.

So Duke really is a mixed bag as freshman Williamson, Reddish, Jones and Barrett will get most of the attention. Still one can hold out hope that the back ups come into their own.

 

[Carolina Speed]

The season kicks off toight with a slew of games on the ESPN networks including powerhouse matchups between Michigan State vs. Kansas and Duke vs. Kentucky. Later on white friendly BYU will play Nevada on CBSSN. Kentucky by the way has a sharp shooting white freshman Tyler Herro.

Usually member Jack Lambert kicks things off here but he has been MIA for a while now so I figured I would jump in. Like the players I will go over below consider me the back up. Ha.

Just a word about this Duke team which has garnered a ton of publicity with their 5 star freshman class. Coach K has a good enough track record in my eyes so I won't get on him about bringing in such a high profile caste class.

Overall I suspect his team will be insufferable as the media goes into overdrive. That said the cupboard is not dry.

There are the backups.

C-Antonio Vrarankovic 7'0" Jr. Look for him to get some time at the post.

F- Jack White 6'7" So. Hard to tell how much he will play. Has terrific hops.

G-Alex O'Connell 6'6" So. Skinny long range threat he has speed and can jump out of the gym. Look for him to improve every year. Should be part of the rotation.

F-Joey Baker 6'7" Fr. Reclassified from the class of 2019. Many are comparing him to ex Duke star Mike Dunleavy Jr.. Very versatile and can hurt teams from the outside and inside. Initially many thought he would red shirt but after getting a look at him they changed their minds. Good all around athlete. Smooth.

Now the bottom three players above will all be battling with each other for playing time but the best case scenario has them playing a lot and making noise. Which bodes well for next season and beyond too.

So Duke really is a mixed bag as freshman Williamson, Reddish, Jones and Barrett will get most of the attention. Still one can hold out hope that the back ups come into their own.

Thanks Shadowlight for the preview. I was always a Duke fan, but it's not quite the same lately. As you said, hopefully one of the backups will come into their own. On a side note Baker came in a year early, re-classified or something? He could have come in next year, I think. Is that correct?
Also, yes JL was last seen in July. I hope he's OK?

 

[Freethinker]

Thanks for kicking things off. My personal life has been crazy busy so I don’t have time to preview some solid teams to follow. I’ll try to get around to it at some point. I will however mention that the player I’m most looking forward to is Georgetown freshman Mac McClung. He’s the uber athletic guard from rural Virginia that broke Allen Iverson’s HS scoring record. I’ve watched nearly all of his mixtapes online and he’s one of the most exciting and explosive HS athletes I’ve ever seen.

 

[Bucky]

Big Blow for Big Blue nation. Romped by Duke. I missed the game though, did anyone of the above mentioned bench players have an impact?!

Ethan Happ recorded a triple double in a Badger win against affletic Coppin State. 10pts, 12assists, 11reb, and 4blocks! Only 2nd in Wisconsin history. Other player to record triple double was Josh Gasser in 2011!

 

[Shadowlight]

Carolina asked about Joey Baker. Yes he was originally a 2019 recruit but switched to 2018. He did not play in Duke's opener but both Jack White and Alex O'Connell played well off the bench. White in particular was very active on the boards etc.. The trouble is the hyped freshman will be the main dish all season long so the "reserves" will be lost in the shuffle most of the time. But as they say keep your eye on the ball because the "reserves" are pretty darn good and the hope is by next year they become a much bigger focus.

Also Free mentioned Mac McClung. He had a solid debut for the Hoyas. Below is his debut rim rattling dunk as ESPN dirt bag B. Jones and a sidekick discuss the dunk. Thankfully they steer clear of saying something too obnoxious. McClung is what you call a crowd pleaser!

 

[Bucky]

Carolina asked about Joey Baker. Yes he was originally a 2019 recruit but switched to 2018. He did not play in Duke's opener but both Jack White and Alex O'Connell played well off the bench. White in particular was very active on the boards etc.. The trouble is the hyped freshman will be the main dish all season long so the "reserves" will be lost in the shuffle most of the time. But as they say keep your eye on the ball because the "reserves" are pretty darn good and the hope is by next year they become a much bigger focus.

Also Free mentioned Mac McClung. He had a solid debut for the Hoyas. Below is his debut rim rattling dunk as ESPN dirt bag B. Jones and a sidekick discuss the dunk. Thankfully they steer clear of saying something too obnoxious. McClung is what you call a crowd pleaser!

 

[icsept]

Just flipped on Wisconsin v Xavier. Wisconsin with 4 Whites on the floor, up 16 with 7 minutes to go. Hopefully they’re back to their usual excellence this year!

 

[Bucky]

Happ had 30pts, 7reb and 5assists in Badgers win over Xavier! Davidson was sharp with 19pts! Only 4 players scored for UW, bench will need to contribute more as season progresses.

For Xavier Zach Hankins and Ryan Welage played great minutes.

 

[Shadowlight]

I got a chance to watch Georgetown's Mac McClung play for the first time on TV. He seemed taller than the internet videos which made him seem shorter.

Georgetown won a spirited game against Illinois and McClung had a hand in the victory. He is extremely explosive and has a great burst to go with solid dribbling skills. He can get into the lane and made several terrific passes.

The reason he wasn't ranked in the top 100 must be because of his shooting skills. Three games in he is 0-11 behind the 3 point line. So his shooting, especially from long range, is something he will need to work on.

Interesting. I think he played for a mainly white team yet he sort of has a "city basketball slang" way of talking. In fact his game is very playground. He excels in a fast open court type of game.

Georgetown also has a white back up transfer F Greg Malinowski. And next season highly rated NC State transfer Turkish C Omer Yurtseven will join the team. HC Pat Ewing is opening up Georgetown to some white players, a rare thing.

But back to McClung. His leaping ability is surreal. I know that big thick player from Duke is getting a lot of hype for his leaping ability but I doubt anyone gets up as high as McClung. He just explodes into the air. See below his steal and crazy dunk against Illinois.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/game?gameId=401082334

[Update--I caught the game on Fox Sports One last night. Fox sports networks telecast a lot of Big East games. I also think Georgetown plays some games on the CBS Sports Network (CBSSN). So if interested keep your eyes open for TV games. Watching this high flier is worth it.]

 

[Freethinker]

As usual, Michigan under John Beilein is a team to watch. The 5-0 Wolverines have a stud freshman by the name of Ignas “Iggy” Brazdeikis. Iggy a 6’-7” forward, is Lithuanian by the way of Canada, has a lot of international experience already and looks like a hardened vet already. He’s got a nice all round game, plays tough and has the necessary swagger. I’m predicting great things to come from this young man.

 

[Carolina Speed]

Usually member Jack Lambert kicks things off here but he has been MIA for a while now so I figured I would jump in. Like the players I will go over below consider me the back up. Ha.

Where is Jack Lambert?
Someone asked, I think it was Footballdad, where I was a couple of years ago while I was recovering from throat Cancer. Just checking on you JL.
I hope you're OK. Let us know, I always enjoyed your posts!

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Lipscomb University and their four White starters knocked off #18 TCU (and their one White player who saw the floor) last night.

 

[Bucky]

Good news JC !

Wisconsin is getting ready to tip off against Stanford.

 

[Bucky]

Nate Reuvers has 6pts and 6blks start of 2nd half!

Happ having his usual sound game. 12pts 5reb 2blks

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Virginia is currently ranked #4, and they start three “gym rats” and have four key contributors in their shirt rotation. they are a tough, defensive-minded team who are capable of making a deep run this year. They play later tonight.

Marquette is currently up 10 on #2 Kansas. the Golden Eagles have had at least three White players on the court for the entire game.

Iowa is a very young team that plays a bunch of “overachievers.” the Hawkeyes are currently #20, and they have some high flyers with upside but there’s a lot of room for them to still improve.

 

[Jack Lambert]

Where is Jack Lambert?
Someone asked, I think it was Footballdad, where I was a couple of years ago while I was recovering from throat Cancer. Just checking on you JL.
I hope you're OK. Let us know, I always enjoyed your posts!

Thank you for the concern, CS! I'm doing fine. I've just been busy, and not as interested in the NFL/College Football this year, which is why I haven't logged in for a few months. I've still tried to read the forums every so often. Also, thanks to Shadowlight for getting this thread started, as well as taking my Nebraska football write-up for me. I apologize for not having completed that. My schedule has gotten a bit clearer the last couple of weeks, so I've been able to watch some college hoops, and I've been impressed with some of our guys/teams this year that I've been able to catch. I'll try to log in a bit more frequently, and help the posters (who've been doing a great job so far here) keep track of some good white athletes.

Iowa is perhaps the team that's jumped out the most to me so far. Thanks to JC for bringing them up. It's early, but they appear to be vastly improved from last year. They played some much improved defense in winning the 2k Classic last week, demolishing two very "athletic" teams (Oregon and UConn). Another big difference is that Iowa has another ball-handler besides Jordan Bohannon. Fran McCaffrey's son Conner is the backup PG, and he's VERY good. Iowa starts three white players in Bohannon, center Luka Garza, who's improved and has a good three-point shot, and freshman wing Joe Wieskamp, who's a good shot-maker. They bring in McCaffrey and forwards Nicholas Baer and Ryan Kriener off the bench for nice minutes.

Wisconsin is very improved as well. I was impressed by Ruevers today with his block party. The Badgers start three whites (Ruevers, Brad Davison and Ethan Happ) Davison and Happ are two off the Badgers top three players, and are FUN to watch. Having that other top three player (PG D'Mitrik Trice) back and health is also huge.

I like that JC mentioned Lipscomb knocking off TCU. The game before, the very white Bisons beat perennial caste squad SMU. They are definitely a team to watch, and look to be big favorites to return to the Dance this year, especially with FGCU struggling early on.

#24-ranked Purdue is another white-friendly squad to watch. Even though they have a high volume black player in Carsen Edwards, the white Boilers still get their opportunities to score. They got 2nd in the Charleston Classic (I believe) last week. They have three white starters in senior two-guard Ryan Cline (finally getting a shot at huge minutes with Mathias graduated), PF Grady Eifert, a former walk-on who can knock down the three and is a good energy player, and Matt Haarms, a 7'1 center. The Boilers also bring PF/C Evan Boudreaux and SG Sasha Stefanovic off the bench.

As JC mentioned, Marquette and Virginia are also two teams to watch. Marquette starts the Hauser brothers (junior Sam, one of the best players in the country, and freshman Joey, who will be a great forward very soon). Senior Fordham transfer Joseph Chartouny and senior Matt Heldt come off the bench for nice minutes (especially Chartouny).

Virginia starts three white players. Ty Jerome and Kyle Guy form one of the best backcourts in the country, and Jack Salt is great at doing the dirty work. Sophomore Jay Huff has figured out Virginia's pack-line defense, and looks to play a big role this year off the bench.

Butler is another team to watch. They have gotten off to a good start at 3-1, and start three white players. Mercurial guard Paul Jorgensen can take over a game and can score in spurts, G/F Sean McDermott has gotten better every season; he shoots threes and is a good glue guy, and senior Nate Fowler will look to finally have a breakout campaign during his senior season. Sophomore Joey Brunk has played great off the bench, and may be finally realizing his Top 100 recruit status. As just a redshirt sophomore, he has some time to become a great player. Also of note, they have a Filipino player, Christian David, who also gets some time off the bench, but that may change when a highly touted black transfer becomes eligible in December.

There are many more teams out there, and even more guys (especially on Top 25 teams) to get to. I'll try and get to a few more soon.

 

[Deceptive Speed]

Thank you for the concern, CS! I'm doing fine. I've just been busy, and not as interested in the NFL/College Football this year, which is why I haven't logged in for a few months. I've still tried to read the forums every so often. Also, thanks to Shadowlight for getting this thread started, as well as taking my Nebraska football write-up for me. I apologize for not having completed that. My schedule has gotten a bit clearer the last couple of weeks, so I've been able to watch some college hoops, and I've been impressed with some of our guys/teams this year that I've been able to catch. I'll try to log in a bit more frequently, and help the posters (who've been doing a great job so far here) keep track of some good white athletes.

Iowa is perhaps the team that's jumped out the most to me so far. Thanks to JC for bringing them up. It's early, but they appear to be vastly improved from last year. They played some much improved defense in winning the 2k Classic last week, demolishing two very "athletic" teams (Oregon and UConn). Another big difference is that Iowa has another ball-handler besides Jordan Bohannon. Fran McCaffrey's son Conner is the backup PG, and he's VERY good. Iowa starts three white players in Bohannon, center Luka Garza, who's improved and has a good three-point shot, and freshman wing Joe Wieskamp, who's a good shot-maker. They bring in McCaffrey and forwards Nicholas Baer and Ryan Kriener off the bench for nice minutes.

Wisconsin is very improved as well. I was impressed by Ruevers today with his block party. The Badgers start three whites (Ruevers, Brad Davison and Ethan Happ) Davison and Happ are two off the Badgers top three players, and are FUN to watch. Having that other top three player (PG D'Mitrik Trice) back and health is also huge.

I like that JC mentioned Lipscomb knocking off TCU. The game before, the very white Bisons beat perennial caste squad SMU. They are definitely a team to watch, and look to be big favorites to return to the Dance this year, especially with FGCU struggling early on.

#24-ranked Purdue is another white-friendly squad to watch. Even though they have a high volume black player in Carsen Edwards, the white Boilers still get their opportunities to score. They got 2nd in the Charleston Classic (I believe) last week. They have three white starters in senior two-guard Ryan Cline (finally getting a shot at huge minutes with Mathias graduated), PF Grady Eifert, a former walk-on who can knock down the three and is a good energy player, and Matt Haarms, a 7'1 center. The Boilers also bring PF/C Evan Boudreaux and SG Sasha Stefanovic off the bench.

As JC mentioned, Marquette and Virginia are also two teams to watch. Marquette starts the Hauser brothers (junior Sam, one of the best players in the country, and freshman Joey, who will be a great forward very soon). Senior Fordham transfer Joseph Chartouny and senior Matt Heldt come off the bench for nice minutes (especially Chartouny).

Virginia starts three white players. Ty Jerome and Kyle Guy form one of the best backcourts in the country, and Jack Salt is great at doing the dirty work. Sophomore Jay Huff has figured out Virginia's pack-line defense, and looks to play a big role this year off the bench.

Butler is another team to watch. They have gotten off to a good start at 3-1, and start three white players. Mercurial guard Paul Jorgensen can take over a game and can score in spurts, G/F Sean McDermott has gotten better every season; he shoots threes and is a good glue guy, and senior Nate Fowler will look to finally have a breakout campaign during his senior season. Sophomore Joey Brunk has played great off the bench, and may be finally realizing his Top 100 recruit status. As just a redshirt sophomore, he has some time to become a great player. Also of note, they have a Filipino player, Christian David, who also gets some time off the bench, but that may change when a highly touted black transfer becomes eligible in December.

There are many more teams out there, and even more guys (especially on Top 25 teams) to get to. I'll try and get to a few more soon.

Great post! Are we doing team write-ups this year? If so I'm ok to do a few.

 

[Jack Lambert]

Great post! Are we doing team write-ups this year? If so I'm ok to do a few.

Thank you, DS!! And yes! Feel free to do whomever you like, and however many teams you like. The more teams we've got info on, the better!

 

[Deceptive Speed]

Kentucky has long had a horrid basketball team rarely featuring white players on the court. However this year Kentucky will actually start a white in 6'5 (Fr) G Tyler Herro, a promising SG out of Wisconsin currently averaging 12 pts, 3 rebs, and 3 assts Pg. Herro is a player to watch out for as he gives Kentucky a high-profile player not many teams have, given this doesnt make Kentucky a team to support.

 

[Deceptive Speed]

I'd also add Notre Dame as another white friendly team, as they start 2 whites and play another 3 close to starter mins. They return a starter in 6'6 (Sr) G Rex Pflueger currently avg. 8 pts, 4 rebs, and 3 assts pg so far, and is regarded as Notre Dame's best defender. Joining Rex as a starter is 6'9 240 (Jr) F/C John Mooney, currently posting career avgs. of 14 pts and 9 rebs pg.

Notre Dame will appear whiter thanks to a bench that includes 3 highly-recruited Fr. as the first options, in 6'10 F Nate Laszewski, 6'6 G Dane Goodwin, and 6'4 G Robby Carmody. Those 3 are ones to watch for Notre Dame as potential starters down the road, and definitely give them an explosive bench unit.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Marquette laid an egg in the second half last night, going with a darker lineup and ending with a bleaker result. coincidence, i’m sure.

Creighton is another team that plays a lot of “blue collar” guys. the Bluejays knocked off #16 Clemson last night.

a problem I have with Wisconsin is their lack of playmakers. aside from Happ, they lack players who can break down the defense and create their own shot or one for a teammate. last night in a dominant defensive performance against Stanford, the Badgers did something i can’t recall having seen in a collegiate game before: they finished the game with only two assists. not a good sign. their defense, though, appears to be among the best in the nation.

Gonzaga, a longtime favorite at CF (and my traditionally favorite team), currently only starts one White athlete, sophomore swingman Corey Kispert. one of their two best players is currently out with injury, stretch four Frenchman Killian Tillie, a possible first-round NBA draft pick. Tillie should be back after the first of the year. usually the first player off the bench is freshman post Filip Petrusev, who looks to have the making of a big time talent. the Zags have four White commitments (of five total) in their 2019 recruiting class.

 

[Freethinker]

On BSPN, Luke Maye is leading the otherwise black Tar Heels against Iggy Brazdeikis and the somewhat White Wolverines. Both guys are top scorers for their squads.

 

[Deceptive Speed]

On BSPN, Luke Maye is leading the otherwise black Tar Heels against Iggy Brazdeikis and the somewhat White Wolverines. Both guys are top scorers for their squads.

Luke Maye was arguably the best player in college basketball last year avg. 26pts and 11rbs, leading to him being named a preseason all-american this year.

At 6'8 240 Luke Maye is a tweener PF/SF type that can shoot, but given his pedigree he should have plenty of NBA interest. However he's currently projected to go undrafted, why is that? There's a countless blacks who get by as undersized PF's and C's without much being said, but since hes white its a deal breaker...

 

[Shadowlight]

Great to see our college basketball guru Jack Lambert back in action!!! (He also dabbles with hockey and soccer mainly). Deceptive above mentioned Tyler Herro. He had his best game yet last night with 16 points and 5 steals. That is the second time this year he has had 5 steals.
I haven't seen enough of him but he has the potential to make it in the NBA down the road as a SG.

JL makes a good point about rangy Sean McDermott of Butler. I like to see players get better each year. They had a big win recently.

The best leaper in college basketball isn't that pudgy guy from Duke, as impressive as he is, but Mac McLung of Georgetown takes the crown. He poured in 16 last night in a win. His shot needs a lot of work but hopefully over time it gets better.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Belmont is a team that i haven’t seen mentioned yet, but the Bruins should be a team to keep an eye on. led by 6-foot-8 senior guard/forward Dylan Windler, a bouncy scoring machine and NBA prospect, the Bruins are very young and start 3 freshmen (in a 4/5 “overachieving” lineup). all 5 starters average double figures in scoring (led by Windler’s nearly 20-per-game), providing a well-balanced offensive attack. while they haven’t played a strong schedule (outside of a surprisingly tough Lipscomb), they are doing what they’re supposed to do against weak competition: dominating. Belmont is currently undefeated.

in other news, Iowa takes on Wisconsin on the Big Ten channel tonight.