College basketball season snuck up on the populace and starts Friday – which means it’s time for a Most Intriguing List. My 25 Most Intriguing People in the sport:
1. Mike Krzyzewski, Duke. The biggest name in the sport might have the best team in the sport. And the most injured team in the sport. The Blue Devils begin the season No. 1 with a powerful blend of experience and the nation’s top freshman class – but how many of those freshmen will be available, and when? Preseason injuries have struck three five-star recruits: Harry Giles, Jayson Tatum and Marques Bolden.
2. Jay Wright, Villanova. Coach Bang had an almost inhuman reaction to a buzzer-beating, national-title-winning shot last April in Houston. He said one word to himself and walked down the court to shake hands with North Carolina’s Roy Williams, while the world collectively lost its mind around him. With the shot maker (Kris Jenkins) and one of the nation’s five best college veterans (Josh Hart) both back, can Wright lead a strong repeat bid?
3. Nigel Hayes, Wisconsin. He was an engaging jokester as a complementary part on the Badgers’ 2015 national runner-up team, a sometimes-struggling leading man last year, and now a senior who finds himself in the middle of much more than basketball discussions. When Hayes appeared during a College Football “GameDay” show in Madison last month holding a sign that read, “Broke College Athlete – – Anything Helps,” it touched off another round of debate about paying the players. Now he’s put his name behind a statement by many African-American athletes demanding change at the school after a fan brought a Barack Obama caricature with a noose around its neck to the Wisconsin-Nebraska football game. There is a lot going on in Hayes’ world at present.
4. John Calipari, Kentucky. After underachieving last year, Calipari is back to Harbaugh-level attention grabbing with a new book on the market (his second in three years) and another loaded class of freshmen (an annual phenomenon). Kentucky observers say “Swaggy Cal” is back, full of attitude, because he believes he has a team that will compete for the national title.
5. Markelle Fultz, Washington. The best of a loaded freshman class roared out of relative obscurity over the course of two dizzying seasons, propelling himself from the junior varsity at DeMatha High School to the No. 1 NBA draft prospect for 2017. If you haven’t seen Fultz play yet, make time for it – he should put up big numbers in Lorenzo Romar’s up-tempo playing style.
6. Grayson Allen, Duke. College basketball is always more interesting with a lightning-rod Duke player, and here comes Allen. In the grand Duke tradition of Christian Laettner, J.J. Redick and others, Allen has managed to distinguish himself as both an excellent player and an annoying guy with an attitude. After intentionally tripping two players during games last year, Allen has owned up and attempted to move on – do you think opposing fan bases will let him? But beyond the controversy, he is the key player on the No. 1 team in the country. How he plays could determine whether Duke wins its sixth national title.
7. Sean Miller, Arizona. It looked like he had a Top 10 team until the world came crashing down. His top player, Allonzo Trier, is sidelined indefinitely amid an ongoing NCAA investigation. His top 2015 recruit, Ray Smith, retired from the sport after suffering his third torn ACL earlier this month – he never played an official game for Arizona. Big man Chance Comanche is suspended indefinitely for reported academic issues. And so it appears quite possible that Miller’s tag as the Best Coach Without A Final Four could stick for another season.
8. Tom Izzo, Michigan State. Newly minted Hall of Famer who is coming off an exceedingly rare first-round NCAA tournament flop – one of the biggest in tourney history, in fact, as a No. 2 seed against Middle Tennessee State. Now Izzo is embarking upon another rarity for him: building a team around freshmen, specifically top recruit Miles Bridges. Izzo signed the nation’s No. 3 class, behind only regular recruiting juggernauts Duke and Kentucky. With a schedule that includes Arizona, Kentucky and Duke in the first month, they’d better be ready right away.
9. Bryce Alford, UCLA. His dad is the coach. His dad’s job is on the line. He took 408 shots last year on a team that went 15-17 overall, 6-12 in the Pac-12 – tying the Bruins’ worst league record since 1948. So there was criticism – spoken out loud by some and whispered by others – that Bryce Alford was a bigger part of the problem than the solution. This year, paired with a five-star point guard recruit in Lonzo Ball, he has a chance to change that narrative and maybe save his dad’s job. No pressure.
10. Dana Altman, Oregon. He has a loaded team that could be capable of the program’s first Final Four since the sport’s first Final Four, in 1939. Somewhat surprising to find Altman in this exalted position, just 2 ½ years after an alleged sexual assault nearly decimated his program. It led to the dismissal of three players, the filing of a Title IX lawsuit and a civil suit that initially named Altman (he later was removed from the lawsuit). As the popular phrase goes, there is a lot to unpack here.
11. Kris Jenkins, Villanova. How does he handle life after The Shot? The junior is back after making one of the most memorable baskets in NCAA tournament history – certainly the longest one to win a championship game, measuring some 25 feet – and he has a completely different profile now. It was news when Jenkins did not start Villanova’s exhibition game last week for being a couple of pounds over the weight goals Wright and his staff set for him. Still, the reformed fat kid is said to be 15 pounds lighter than at the end of last season.
12. Roy Williams, North Carolina. Living under the investigation cloud has been exhausting for Williams, but his time is drawing close to being free. The NCAA Committee on Infractions will rule on the appallingly widespread and long-lasting academic fraud case at North Carolina – but when it does, don’t expect Williams or the basketball program to take a big hit. To the contrary, the big challenge will be combatting the national outrage if Williams’ program skates as anticipated. And after losing the national title by a buzzer-beating basket, the Tar Heels have a lot of veteran talent to replace – but some pretty good players in position to do it.
13. Harry Giles, Duke. He might be the best freshman in the country – if he’s healthy enough to play at the level he showed in high school. Potential No. 1 pick in the draft if he can prove he’s still explosive. But after chronic knee injuries, he’s one more major problem from his career being in real jeopardy. He might be the key to the preseason No. 1’s title hopes.
14. Edrice “Bam” Adebayo, Kentucky. The Wildcats’ glaring weakness last year was interior strength, with top recruit Skal Labissiere discovered to be a perimeter percher and nobody else sufficiently stepping up. Enter Adebayo, who is 6-foot-10 and 260 pounds and possesses Dwight Howard’s shoulders and biceps. If that doesn’t add power to Kentucky’s inside game, nothing will. And Calipari loves pounding it in if he’s got the horses in the paint.
15. Jim Boeheim, Syracuse. Missed nine games last year, watched his team flounder much of the season – and then coached the Orange to the Final Four. The Irritable Wizard of college basketball had done it again – and now he has a team he says he likes more than last year’s Final Four outfit. Life in the current bowl ends well, if history repeats itself.
16. Tubby Smith, Memphis. Nobody has been a bigger NCAAB nomad than Smith, whose employment has skipped from Kentucky to Minnesota to Texas Tech and now to Memphis in a decade. Does he still have the energy – in recruiting even more than coaching – to lead a high-level program?
17. Jay Bilas, ESPN. There are a lot of college basketball announcers. None bring the gravitas, insight, humor and playing expertise that Bilas packs into every broadcast. He’s become the four-letter network’s top on-air talent, arguably in any sport.
18. Devonte’ Graham/Frank Mason, Kansas. Graham was committed to Appalachian State. Mason was headed to Towson. Fortunately for Kansas, neither of those things happened and the Jayhawks were able to collect their dynamic starting backcourt on the rebound. Now they could be the best guard tandem in the nation, which clearly nobody foresaw coming out of high school.
19. Ogugua “O.G.” Anunoby, Indiana. He wasn’t even a top-250 recruit coming out of high school in Jefferson City, Mo., but by the end of his freshman season last spring Anunoby had rocketed onto NBA draft charts. He stayed in school, and the 6-foot-8 wing player’s dazzling athleticism and skill set has made him a must-watch for pro scouts. How does he do when he’s no longer sneaking up on the game?
20. Rick Pitino, Louisville. Pilloried during the off-season for tawdry NCAA violations within his program, Pitino has enjoyed staunch support from athletic director Tom Jurich and the majority of the Louisville fan base. Now, a season after enduring a painful self-imposed postseason ban, he’s got a high-quality team that should be among the best in the brutal ACC. The Cardinals might be one quality big man away from Final Four contention as Pitino tinkers with style of play and lineup experiments.
21. Ivan Rabb, California. He was the only projected lottery pick to return to school last June. This year, at least, the 6-11 sophomore shouldn’t be fifth on the team in shots attempted. But can he lead the Golden Bears to their first NCAA tournament victory since 2013?
22. Przemek Karnowski, Gonzaga. Probably the most immense player in college basketball at 7-foot-1, 304 pounds. Karnowski deferred last year to seniors Kyle Wiltjer and Eric McClellan and sophomore NBA draftee Domantas Sabonis, and now it’s time for a more prominent role. Good luck to the West Coast Conference centers tasked with keeping him out of the paint.
23. Jamie Dixon, TCU. Unplugged from the ACC grind to return to his roots and the relative obscurity of TCU, his alma mater. The Horned Frogs are no Pittsburgh – they haven’t been to the NCAA tournament since 1998, and have had just two winning seasons in the last 11. The competition isn’t as tough, but the players aren’t as good and fan interest isn’t as high. How long will it take Dixon to make it work?
24. Dan Majerle, Grand Canyon. The rare NBA All-Star turned college coach, Majerle is starting to make noise in the Valley of the Sun. The Antelopes have gone from 15-15 to 17-15 to 27-7 last year, and should challenge for the Western Athletic Conference title this season.
25. Monmouth Bench Mob. Was anyone more creative and fun than the backup hams for the Hawks? They provided constant entertainment during Monmouth’s surprising and at times giant-killing 28-8 season, which featured victories over UCLA, Notre Dame, USC and Georgetown. What will the crazy kids think of next?
Just missed the list: Dennis Smith, North Carolina State; Josh Hart, Villanova; Kevin Stallings, Pittsburgh; Thomas Bryant, Indiana; De’Aron Fox, Kentucky; Buzz Williams, Virginia Tech; Alec Peters, Valparaiso; Johnny Jones, LSU; Jack Gibbs, Davidson; Bryce Drew, Vanderbilt; Lorenzo Romar, Washington.
5.4k