UNC Basketball: Tar Heels struggle with Elon, Alabama up next

UNC 75-Elon 61


Elon came out of the locker room on fire, hitting seemingly everything from three-point range for most of the first half.  Marcus Sheffield was the best player on the floor, and Carolina consistently gave up open shots and trailed 33-32 at the half.


UNC came out inspired to start the second stanza, led by freshman big man Armando Bacot.  Bacot had by far the best game of his young career, dominating Elon inside and on the glass on his way to 22 points, 14 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assists, and 2 steals.  


Bacot played with tremendous effort and aggression.  He was simply too big and strong for the Phoenix to deal with, and if he can continue bringing that mentality he should be able to have success against almost anyone. 

Bacot tried to dunk every chance he got, but he also showed a nice touch with the jump hook around the rim.  He played great defense as well, and I’m now a lot more excited about his potential after this performance.


Cole Anthony had an off-shooting night and only scored nine points, but this was arguably his best game in other aspects.  Anthony got others involved and saw the court extremely well, making a few passes I wasn’t even sure he was capable of.  He showed he’s more than just a one-on-one scorer, and I’m excited to see his progression over the course of the season.



Game 5:  Alabama


I originally thought Alabama would be a step up in competition, but after seeing a few of their games I’m not so sure.  The Crimson Tide will definitely be the most athletic team UNC has faced, but they’re sloppy and don’t do anything particularly well.


Alabama tries to apply pressure defensively, but they leave a lot of open opportunities if you can take care of the ball.  Carolina has to be decisive and aggressive offensively and wait for the Alabama defense to make mistakes.  Alabama overplays defensively, leaving themselves extremely susceptible to pump fakes and screens.  It usually only takes a few passes for several driving lanes to open up, and the undisciplined nature of their defense ends up allowing lots of easy looks at the basket.


Alabama isn’t very impressive offensively either.  They’re turning the ball over way too much, and they don’t have many good ball handlers or passers.


Point guard Kira Lewis is by far their most dangerous weapon.  His battle with Cole Anthony is the most intriguing part of this game, and it will be a major measuring stick for NBA scouts.  


Lewis has great size and is extremely quick, long, and athletic.  He’s dangerous driving to the basket and finishes very well around the rim, but he often waits too long to get aggressive.  


Lewis has typically started slow and waited until the second half to go on the attack, but he’ll need to put pressure on the defense from the opening tip in this one for Alabama to have any hope of winning this game.  His speed and lightning-quick first step make him very difficult to defend, and he shoots it pretty well from three-point range too.


Alabama doesn’t have many good ball handlers outside of Kira Lewis, so they aren’t a huge threat to drive the ball to the basket.  They lack an inside scoring threat as well, so this team should be very easy to defend.  Keeping Kira Lewis out of the lane and getting out on three-point shooters should be the main objective for Carolina defensively, and if they can do that this should be an easy win for the Tar Heels.


John Petty and James “Beetle” Bolden are good three-point shooters and are the main guys you can’t leave open.  Petty is able to create his own shot off the dribble, but he’s also prone to making some very questionable decisions with the ball in his hands.  

Freshman Jaden Shackleford is another guy who can hit the three, but he’s been very inconsistent so far.  He’s shown glimpses of an all-around game and plays extremely hard, and it will likely take a breakout performance from him for Alabama to get the win.  UNC’s next game against Ohio State is where the real test will begin.




College Basketball Update



In other news around the country, there’s a new national championship threat and it’s not a team you’d normally think of.  A few days ago I wrote about Obi Toppin, the power forward from Dayton who just might be the best player in college basketball.  He’s a great talent who should definitely be a top pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, but he’s got some good players around him as well.  Dayton is playing great basketball in the Maui Invitational, and I actually think they will keep it up and knock of Kansas to win the title.  I can’t say I saw this coming into the season, but I now think the Dayton Flyers have a legitimate chance to win the NCAA Championship this season.


Here are my updated rankings…

2020 Team Rankings		Games Seen	Last
1	Dayton	3	11/26/2019
2	Louisville	1	11/5/2019
3	Arizona
4	Tennessee	2	11/16/2019
5	Gonzaga	1	11/15/2019
6	Texas Tech	1.5	11/21/2019
7	Duke	4	11/26/2019
8	Kansas	2	11/8/2019
9	Ohio St.	2	11/13/2019
10	Michigan	1	11/12/2019
11	Oregon	1	11/12/2019
12	Washington	2	11/16/2019
13	Baylor	1	11/8/2019
14	Georgetown	2	11/21/2019
15	Penn St.	1	11/14/2019
16	Butler	1	11/12/2019
17	Villanova	1.5	11/13/2019
18	Indiana	0.5
19	Cincinnati	1	11/6/2019
20	Auburn	2	11/8/2019
21	UNC	3	11/20/2019
22	Virginia	1	11/6/2019
23	VCU	1.5	11/13/2019
24	LSU	2	11/22/2019
25	Clemson	2	11/24/2019
26	TCU	2	11/24/2019
27	Utah St.	1	11/22/2019
28	Virginia Tech	3	11/26/2019
29	Maryland	1	11/9/2019
30	Arkansas	0.5

2019-2020 NBA Draft Rankings
Rank	Player	Position	Team	Height	Weight	Year
1	James Wiseman	PF/C	Memphis	7'1"	240	Freshman
2	Obi Toppin	PF	Dayton	6'9"	220	Sophomore
3	Jaden McDaniels	SG/SF	Washington	6'9"	200	Freshman
4	Harlond Beverly	PG	Miami	6'4"	185	Freshman
5	Zeke Nnaji	PF	Arizona	6'11"	240	Freshman
6	Isaiah Stewart	PF	Washington	6'9"	250	Freshman
7	Cole Anthony	PG	UNC	6'3"	190	Freshman
8	Anthony Edwards	SG	Georgia	6'5"	225	Freshman
9	Tyrese Maxey	SG/PG	Kentucky	6'3"	198	Freshman
10	Filip Petrusev	SF/PF/C	Gonzaga	6'11"	235	Sophomore
11	Jordan Nwora	SF	Louisville	6'7"	225	Junior
12	Jahmi'us Ramsey	SG	Texas Tech	6'4"	195	Freshman
13	Vernon Carey Jr.	PF/C	Duke	6'11"	260	Freshman
14	Isaiah Livers	PF/SF	Michigan	6'7"	230	Junior
15	Brandon Rachal	SG/SF	Tulsa	6'6"	220	Junior
16	Yves Pons	SF	Tennessee	6'6"	215	Junior
17	Samuell Williamson	SG	Louisville	6'7"	200	Freshman
18	Precious Achiuwa	SF	Memphis	6'9"	215	Freshman
19	Nico Mannion	PG	Arizona	6'3"	190	Freshman
20	Landers Nolly II	SG	Virginia Tech	6'7"	230	Freshman
21	Steven Enoch	PF/C	Louisville	6'10"	255	Senior
22	Trayce Jackson-Davis	PF/C	Indiana	6'10"	235	Freshman
23	Justin Smith	SF	Indiana	6'7"	230	Junior
24	Wendell Moore Jr.	SG/SF	Duke	6'6"	210	Freshman
25	Trendon Watford	SF/PF	LSU	6'9"	236	Freshman
26	Nahziah Carter	SG/SF	Washington	6'6"	205	Junior
27	LJ Figueroa	SF/SG	St. John's	6'6"	195	Junior
28	Ochai Agbaji	SF	Kansas	6'5"	210	Sophomore
29	Cassius Stanley	SG	Duke	6'6"	198	Freshman
30	Josh Green	SG/SF	Arizona	6'6"	205	Freshman

Week 3 College Basketball Rankings: Top 30 Players and Teams

Featured Player:  Obi Toppin, PF Dayton


I hadn’t seen a lot of Obi Toppin prior to this season, but after seeing him this year he immediately put himself in the conversation for the #1 pick.  James Wiseman’s size will likely keep him in that 1^st spot, but if Wiseman is off the board when it’s the Hornets turn to pick I’d strongly consider drafting Obi Toppin.


At 6’9” 220, Toppin is big and extremely athletic.  He plays with tremendous intensity and tenacity and stays on the attack on both ends of the floor.  He moves extremely well for a man his size, and he runs the court as well as anyone.


Toppin has every skill offensively.  He has a solid handle, allowing him to take the ball the length of the court after grabbing a rebound.  He attacks the rim with ferocity and aggression, never missing an opportunity to throw down a monster jam.  


He’s a good shooter with three-point range, and he’s very good in the post.  He reads the defense extremely well and makes perfectly-timed pinpoint passes when the opponent collapses on him.  He sets great screens and cuts hard off of them, and he instinctively understands the right time to dive to the rim to create the most separation.


Toppin’s length, athleticism, aggression and instincts make him a great defender as well.  He moves his feet to stay in front of most any opponent, and he challenges shots both at the rim and on the perimeter.  He plays with tremendous effort and fights extremely hard for position.  He boxes out early, making it much easier for him to dominate the glass.


Obi Toppin is probably the most well-rounded NBA-ready player I’ve seen so far, and I’m excited to see him against higher-level competition this week.  His Dayton Flyers play the first game of the Maui Jim Invitational today against Georgia, and while everyone is expecting a heavyweight matchup between Michigan State and Kansas for the championship in this tournament, I think both Dayton and Virginia Tech have a legitimate chance to mess that up.

2019-2020 NBA Draft Rankings
Rank	Player	Position	Team	Height	Weight	Year
1	James Wiseman	PF/C	Memphis	7'1"	240	Freshman
2	Obi Toppin	PF	Dayton	6'9"	220	Sophomore
3	Jaden McDaniels	SG/SF	Washington	6'9"	200	Freshman
4	Harlond Beverly	PG	Miami	6'4"	185	Freshman
5	Zeke Nnaji	PF	Arizona	6'11"	240	Freshman
6	Isaiah Stewart	PF	Washington	6'9"	250	Freshman
7	Vernon Carey Jr.	PF/C	Duke	6'11"	260	Freshman
8	Filip Petrusev	SF/PF/C	Gonzaga	6'11"	235	Sophomore
9	Anthony Edwards	SG	Georgia	6'5"	225	Freshman
10	Wendell Moore Jr.	SG/SF	Duke	6'6"	210	Freshman
11	Cole Anthony	PG	UNC	6'3"	190	Freshman
12	Tyrese Maxey	SG/PG	Kentucky	6'3"	198	Freshman
13	Jordan Nwora	SF	Louisville	6'7"	225	Junior
14	Isaiah Livers	PF/SF	Michigan	6'7"	230	Junior
15	Brandon Rachal	SG/SF	Tulsa	6'6"	220	Junior
16	Yves Pons	SF	Tennessee	6'6"	215	Junior
17	Samuell Williamson	SG	Louisville	6'7"	200	Freshman
18	Jahmi'us Ramsey	SG	Texas Tech	6'4"	195	Freshman
19	Precious Achiuwa	SF	Memphis	6'9"	215	Freshman
20	Nico Mannion	PG	Arizona	6'3"	190	Freshman
21	Steven Enoch	PF/C	Louisville	6'10"	255	Senior
22	Kira Lewis Jr.	PG	Alabama	6'3"	165	Sophomore
23	Trayce Jackson-Davis	PF/C	Indiana	6'10"	235	Freshman
24	Justin Smith	SF	Indiana	6'7"	230	Junior
25	Landers Nolly II	SG	Virginia Tech	6'7"	230	Freshman
26	Trendon Watford	SF/PF	LSU	6'9"	236	Freshman
27	Nahziah Carter	SG/SF	Washington	6'6"	205	Junior
28	LJ Figueroa	SF/SG	St. John's	6'6"	195	Junior
29	Ochai Agbaji	SF	Kansas	6'5"	210	Sophomore
30	Jalen Smith	PF/C	Maryland	6'10"	225	Sophomore

Featured Team: Duke Blue Devils


I was really hoping Duke would take a big step back this season after the departures of Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett, and Cam Reddish, but unfortunately the new freshman are picking up right where they left off.


Vernon Carey is a beast down low.  He’s sure-handed and goes up extremely strong, finishing almost everything around the rim.  He’s a great rebounder who reads the ball extremely well out of the air and has great awareness around the basket, and he uses his huge frame to carve out position and grab most any rebound that comes anywhere close to him.


Carey handles the ball pretty well, and he’s got an incredible spin move that’s nearly impossible to defend.  He’s got a great touch around the basket, but he’ll try to dunk every chance he gets.


Carey plays extremely hard and can bring great intensity and competitiveness, but if there’s one complaint I have it’s that he is a little slow and not physical enough defensively.  He often gives his man a great angle to the basket, and he doesn’t use his size and strength as well as he should.  Despite this shortcoming, I fully expect him to continue improving and become a better defender down the road.


Wendell Moore is another freshman who’s really starting to take his game to another level.  He came off the bench and didn’t play a whole lot in their first game against Kansas, but he’s started the last two games and is now looking like a potential lottery pick.


Moore has great size and strength, and he’s also got a great handle that allows him to get wherever he wants to go.  He easily gets by his man and is a phenomenal finisher around the basket, but he’s also a great passer who can find the open man when the defense overhelps on him.  He’s a good shooter with three-point range, and there’s really nothing he can’t do offensively.


Moore’s size, strength, length, and competitiveness make him a very good defender as well.  He’s explosive off the floor, and he uses that leaping ability to block shots and grab rebounds.  Wendell Moore has a well-rounded game with no real holes already, and it’s scary to think how much better he can get.


Fellow freshman Cassius Stanley is an elite athlete who has shown flashes of brilliance as well.  He explodes off the floor for highlight-reel dunks, but he’s also shown the ability to knock down the three.  He’s borderline out of control emotionally, but I like his fire, intensity, and effort and it leads to him coming up with many rebounds and loose balls.


With Tre Jones leading the team as the “veteran” sophomore point guard, Duke is in position to make a run at a national championship this season.  While I do think this team has a few holes and will ultimately fall short of both the ACC and NCAA championship, it wouldn’t shock me to see them find a way to get it done.

2020 Team Rankings		Games Seen	Last
1	Louisville	1	11/5/2019
2	Arizona
3	Duke	3	11/22/2019
4	Tennessee	2	11/16/2019
5	Ohio St.	2	11/13/2019
6	Gonzaga	1	11/15/2019
7	Kansas	2	11/8/2019
8	Texas Tech	1.5	11/21/2019
9	Michigan	1	11/12/2019
10	Oregon	1	11/12/2019
11	Washington	2	11/16/2019
12	Baylor	1	11/8/2019
13	Maryland
14	VCU	1.5	11/13/2019
15	LSU	1	11/13/2019
16	Kansas St.	2	11/9/2019
17	Arkansas	0.5
18	Georgetown	2	11/21/2019
19	Penn St.	1	11/14/2019
20	TCU	2	11/24/2019
21	Butler	1	11/12/2019
22	Utah St.
23	Cincinnati	1	11/6/2019
24	Auburn	2	11/8/2019
25	Virginia	1	11/6/2019
26	Virginia Tech	1	11/5/2019
27	Villanova	1.5	11/13/2019
28	Dayton	1	11/16/2019
29	Indiana	0.5
30	Memphis	2	11/12/2019

UNC Basketball: Tar Heels Struggle Yet Again, But Still Come Out With Another Win

UNC 77-Gardner-Webb 61


The Tar Heels had a tough time with Gardner-Webb, but ultimately the Bulldogs just didn’t have enough firepower to pull off the upset.  UNC struggled to score in the first half and headed to the locker room with a slim 30-27 lead.  


Carolina came out much sharper early in the second half to take control, only to allow Gardner-Webb to crawl back within four before pulling away late for the 77-61 victory.  Cole Anthony carried the Tar Heels offensively yet again, scoring 28 points and bailing UNC out with some late-in-the-shot-clock baskets to close out the game.


Cole Anthony is a stud, but right now that’s about all UNC’s got.  The rest of the team is incredibly mediocre, and they desperately need freshman Anthony Harris to come back from injury and be the 2^nd best player on this team.  The rest of the supporting cast just isn’t getting it done, and it’s really a lack of talent that’s to blame.  


Armando Bacot ended up having a decent game, but he was far from impressive.  He was stripped on the way up on several occasions early on, and he has to learn to be stronger with the ball and avoid the steal attempts by smaller defenders.  He did a much better job in the second half, but he’s got to be more dominant when he has such a big size advantage.  


Garrison Brooks was downright invisible in this one.  After putting up solid numbers in his first two games, Brooks was hardly a factor against an undersized Gardner-Webb team.  This should be very concerning for a Carolina team that’s struggling to find help for Cole Anthony, and if someone else doesn’t start consistently stepping up the losses could mount once the ACC gets into full swing.  


Right now UNC is nowhere near the #5 team in the country, and I currently have them ranked #27 and in jeopardy of falling even further.



Game 4: Elon


Elon is really challenging itself with a tough early season schedule, and they come in to this one off two straight losses at Georgia Tech and Michigan.  They lack the size, speed, and athleticism to truly hang with teams of this caliber, but they do have one good player who could give Carolina problems.


Marcus Sheffield has good size, great length, and can create his own shot.  He’s got a solid handle that allows him to get where he wants to go, and he’s able to get to the rim and finish or create space for mid-range jumpers.  He’s capable of making threes as well, but it’s definitely his biggest weakness and should be the thing UNC is willing to give up.  


Keeping the ball out of Sheffield’s hands should be Carolina’s top priority defensively.  Leaky Black should draw the assignment when he’s on the floor, with the rest of his teammates always looking to help him out.


Elon doesn’t have many other offensive weapons outside of Marcus Sheffield, but they do play with great effort and intelligence defensively.  They switch between man and zone while attempting to disguise their defensive looks and confuse their opponent, and they do a great job being in the right position to help when their teammates get beat.


The Phoenix likely aren’t big or athletic enough to win this game, but I do expect them to cover the massive 31.5-point spread.  The Tar Heels should be able to pound it inside for easy buckets, but with how much they’ve struggled to score so far this season, it won’t surprise me at all if Carolina has a hard time pulling away from this team.  


The competition level takes a big step up after this game, and while the Tar Heels do have a favorable schedule this season, they might struggle to finish in the ACC’s top tier in what is looking like a down year overall for the typically dominant conference.


Both Louisville and Duke are much better teams than UNC right now, while many other conference foes are certainly capable of finishing ahead of this Tar Heel team.  A 3^rd place finish is likely the ceiling for this squad, but if no one else steps their game up soon, Carolina could fade back to the middle of the pack.  Luckily Cole Anthony is one of the best players in the country and is more than capable of dragging this team to wins, but at some point the load could end up being too much for even him to carry.

Week 2 College Basketball Rankings: Top 30 Players and Teams

This will likely be the last Monday release of the rankings.  Another day will work better for my schedule, so I'll put out a more in-depth version of these later this week.  

2020 Team Rankings		Games Seen	Last
1	Louisville	1	11/5/2019
2	Texas Tech	0.5
3	Arizona
4	Oregon	0.5
5	Duke	2	11/8/2019
6	Kansas	2	11/8/2019
7	Michigan	1	11/12/2019
8	Gonzaga	0.5
9	Maryland
10	Ohio St.	2	11/13/2019
11	Houston	0.5
12	Baylor	1	11/8/2019
13	TCU	1	11/12/2019
14	Seton Hall	0.5
15	Tennessee	0.5
16	Washington	1	11/8/2019
17	VCU	1
18	LSU	0.5
19	Miami	2	11/8/2019
20	Kansas St.	2	11/9/2019
21	Memphis	1.5	11/5/2019
22	St. John's	0.5
23	Kentucky	1	11/5/2019
24	Michigan St.	1	11/5/2019
25	Xavier	0.5
26	UNC	2	11/15/2019
27	Virginia Tech	1	11/5/2019
28	Creighton	1	11/12/2019
29	Auburn	1.5	11/8/2019
30	UNLV	1	11/9/2019

2019-2020 NBA Draft Rankings
Rank	Player	Position	Team	Height	Weight	Year
1	James Wiseman	PF/C	Memphis	7'1"	240	Freshman
2	Jaden McDaniels	SG/SF	Washington	6'9"	200	Freshman
3	Harlond Beverly	PG	Miami	6'4"	185	Freshman
4	Cole Anthony	PG	UNC	6'3"	190	Freshman
5	Zeke Nnaji	PF	Arizona	6'11"	240	Freshman
6	Isaiah Stewart	PF	Washington	6'9"	250	Freshman
7	Trendon Watford	SF/PF	LSU	6'9"	236	Freshman
8	Filip Petrusev	SF/PF/C	Gonzaga	6'11"	235	Sophomore
9	Jordan Nwora	SF	Louisville	6'7"	225	Junior
10	Isaiah Livers	PF/SF	Michigan	6'7"	230	Junior
11	Samuell Williamson	SG	Louisville	6'7"	200	Freshman
12	Cassius Stanley	SG	Duke	6'6"	198	Freshman
13	Tyrese Maxey	SG/PG	Kentucky	6'3"	198	Freshman
14	Jahmi'us Ramsey	SG	Texas Tech	6'4"	195	Freshman
15	Precious Achiuwa	SF	Memphis	6'9"	215	Freshman
16	Anthony Edwards	SG	Georgia	6'5"	225	Freshman
17	Myles Powell	SG	Seton Hall	6'2"	195	Senior
18	Kira Lewis Jr.	PG	Alabama	6'3"	165	Sophomore
19	Trayce Jackson-Davis	PF/C	Indiana	6'10"	235	Freshman
20	Daniel Oturu	PF/C	Minnesota	6'10"	240	Sophomore
21	Steven Enoch	PF/C	Louisville	6'10"	255	Senior
22	Justin Smith	SF	Indiana	6'7"	230	Junior
23	Vernon Carey Jr.	PF/C	Duke	6'11"	260	Freshman
24	Kofi Cockburn	PF/C	Illinois	6'10"	290	Freshman
25	Jalen Smith	PF/C	Maryland	6'10"	225	Sophomore
26	Landers Nolly II	SG	Virginia Tech	6'7"	230	Freshman
27	Tyrese Haliburton	PG	Iowa St.	6'5"	175	Sophomore
28	LJ Figueroa	SF/SG	St. John's	6'6"	195	Junior
29	Ochai Agbaji	SF	Kansas	6'5"	210	Sophomore
30	A.J. Reeves	SG/PG	Providence	6'6"	205	Sophomore

UNC Basketball: Game 3 Gardner-Webb

I’m still shocked and disappointed that UNC’s last game against UNC-Wilmington wasn’t televised here in the state of North Carolina.  After being spoiled with access to nearly every Tar Heel game for as long as I can remember, it’s hard to understand how a game between the two in-state teams couldn’t find its way on to one of my many channels.


Since I wasn’t able to watch it I’m not gonna say a whole lot about it, but after looking at the box score I’m not so upset I missed it.  Both teams shot the ball extremely poorly, and Armando Bacot left the game almost immediately with concussion symptoms.  Bacot’s injury made an already banged-up UNC roster even thinner, but fortunately UNCW just didn’t have the weapons to take advantage.


As will probably be the case until Carolina gets some players back from injury, Cole Anthony and Garrison Brooks carried most of the load and led the Heels to a 78-62 victory over the Seahawks.  Leaky Black and Andrew Platek played their usual supporting roles doing a little bit of everything, but it was Justin Pierce’s big game that enabled UNC to cruise to a relatively easy win.  


After looking nervous and out of place in his first game in a Carolina jersey in their exhibition against Winston-Salem State, Pierce obviously found some comfort on Wilmington’s home floor, finishing the game with 18 point and 12 rebounds.  It certainly helped that Pierce had a significant size advantage in this one, but hopefully that performance will give him lasting confidence for the rest of the season.  The Tar Heels are clearly going to need him to play a big role at least until they get some of those players back from injury.




Gardner-Webb comes to Chapel Hill tonight after dropping its first two games to Furman and Western Carolina.  The Bulldogs are a much smaller team than UNC, and it will take an incredible shooting performance from three-point range for Gardner-Webb to have a chance to win.  


Lance Terry is the deadliest shooter Gardner-Webb has, but fortunately for UNC he hasn’t been getting many minutes.  The Bulldogs would be smart to give him lots of playing time in this one, as a miracle game from him may be the only chance they have.  Jose Perez, Nate Johnson, and Jaheam Cornwell have all shown the ability to knock down threes as well, so defending those guys on the perimeter should be the main emphasis for the Tar Heel defense.


Gardner-Webb has several good ball handlers and solid ball movement, but their lack of size makes it difficult for them to finish around the rim.  With UNC being a much bigger opponent than either of their first two, Gardner-Webb will almost certainly struggle to score in the paint.  Ludovic Dufeal is really their only true post presence, but at only 6’8” he’ll likely have a tough time against Brooks and Bacot.  Dufeal is a great help defender and does a good job protecting the rim, but again this is just an extremely difficult matchup for him.


Jose Perez is Gardner Webb’s best player and emotional leader.  He loves the mid-post area, preferring to catch it there and shoot the mid-range jumper or bully his way to the basket with his thick frame.  He’s not very quick and doesn’t jump particularly high, but he’s a good passer and playmaker who can score in a variety of ways and has been the Bulldogs clear #1 option this season.


Senior Eric Jamison Jr. is the one Gardner-Webb player that is on UNC’s level athletically.  He’s extremely quick with a flashy handle, but he’s most dangerous cutting towards the basket without the ball.  He often tries to do too much with his fancy dribbling, resulting in more careless turnovers than highlight plays.  From what I’ve seen he loves going left and spinning back right, so keeping that in mind should make him a little easier to guard.

Gardner-Webb is a decent defensive team with a lot of fight, but the Tar Heels will almost certainly be too much for them to handle.  Brooks and Bacot should get plenty of easy buckets around the rim, and Cole Anthony should have his way inside and out with this overmatched Bulldogs squad.  The Heels will only have one more tune-up after this one before the schedule gets much tougher.

Week 1 College Basketball Rankings: Top 30 Players and Teams

Each Monday I'll release an updated edition of college basketball's top 30 teama and players.  The team rankings are based on how the teams are playing right now, and the player rankings are projections for the 2020 NBA Draft as I would pick them.

I didn't get a chance to see everyone during the first week, but after lots of research here's what I've got...



Featured Team:  Louisville Cardinals

Louisville has been by far the most impressive team I’ve seen this week.  They’ve got size, talent, and experience, and while I still need to see a few of the other top teams play, I have a feeling Louisville will hold on to the top spot after I do.


Junior Jordan Nwora is the leader of this team.  He’s a likely first-team All-American and possible Player of the Year in college basketball this season.  He’s got a solid handle for a guy his size, and he’s one of the smartest players you’ll find at this level.  


Nwora looks quicker and fitter this season.  He’s playing much better defense, and he’s getting to the rim and finishing explosively in transition.  He’s rebounding and shooting very well once again this year, and if he keeps this up he should be a lottery pick.


Louisville has several more future pros, including center Steven Enoch.  Enoch has improved a lot over the course of his career.  He’s always had the size, but this year he looks much more coordinated and confident.  He’s a very good rebounder and rim defender, but he’s also agile enough to guard on the perimeter.  


Enoch is a pretty well-rounded offensive player as well.  He’s got a nice jump-shot with three-point range, and he finishes well around the rim with dunks and hooks.  He’s been very active and aggressive so far this season, and if he can maintain this level he’ll be one of the best big men in the 2020 draft.


Samuell Williamson is just a freshman and not even a starter, but he’s been very composed and has shown a little bit of every skill you’d want in his two games this season.  He’s got great size and athleticism.  He’s got a solid handle, allowing him to create his own shots.  He can rebound and lead the break coast-to-coast.  Williamson is a very good shooter with deep range, and he’s capable of making shots of all difficulties.  His tremendous athleticism and aggression allows him to finish in transition and in traffic high above the rim.


The rest of the Louisville supporting cast is mostly made up of experienced veterans who play with great toughness and physicality.  This team has all the pieces to make a run at a national title this season.

2020 Team Rankings		Games Seen	Last
1	Louisville	1	11/5/2019
2	Texas Tech	0.5
3	Washington	1	11/8/2019
4	Gonzaga
5	Arizona
6	Kentucky	1	11/5/2019
7	Villanova	0.5
8	Oregon
9	Xavier
10	TCU
11	Memphis	1	11/5/2019
12	Duke	1	11/5/2019
13	Kansas	1	11/5/2019
14	Michigan St.	1	11/5/2019
15	Maryland
16	St. John's	0.5
17	Baylor	1	11/8/2019
18	Seton Hall	0.5
19	LSU
20	Houston
21	Kansas St.	1.5	11/9/2019
22	Miami	2	11/8/2019
23	UNC	1	11/6/2019
24	Auburn	1.5	11/8/2019
25	Virginia Tech	1	11/5/2019
26	Clemson	1	11/5/2019
27	Oklahoma
28	Michigan
29	Georgia Tech	0.5
30	UNLV	1	11/9/2019

Featured Players



James Wiseman, C Memphis

Wiseman is a complete monster.  It will be a shame if the NCAA rules him ineligible, but I’ve already seen enough to make him a top pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.  He might be the most coordinated, athletic, and aggressive big man I’ve ever seen, and not many in the college game will have any chance of competing with him.

He plays high above the rim and attacks it with ferocity.  He rebounds far above most players, and he uses his body extremely well to carve out space.  He runs the floor with speed and athleticism, and he’s got the timing and reliable hands to catch everything and finish easily in transition.

Wisemen is also tremendous defensively.  He defends the rim at a high level, but he also moves his feet very well to stay in front of opponents on the perimeter.  He plays with physicality and intensity at all times, making him nearly impossible to stop.  There’s a high probability he’ll end up being the #1 pick.



Jaden McDaniels, SG/SF Washington

Jaden McDaniels is one of the few guys that could step in and play in the NBA right now.  While he’s still very skinny and needs to add strength, he plays with a toughness and aggression level that makes up for it. 

McDaniels is long and athletic and plays with great effort and intensity.  He’s got a great handle that allows him to get where he wants on the floor, and he’s capable of knocking down tough shots off the dribble.  He’s a good passer who usually makes the right decision with the ball, and he does a great job rebounding and coming up with loose balls.

Even though Washington plays a zone defense, it’s easy to see that Jaden McDaniels is a great defender.  He’s extremely active with long arms and quick hands, and his awareness and feel for the game put him in position to block shots and get steals.  He’s in the conversation for the top pick.



Most Underrated: Harlond Beverly, PG Miami

Harlond Beverly is the most underrated freshman in college basketball this season.  Somehow he was only a four-star prospect, but to me he looks like arguably the nation’s best point guard.

He’s huge, but he’s still quick with a great handle.  He’s long and athletic and finishes easily at the rim.  He’s got tremendous court vision, and he effortlessly penetrates the defense and can deliver pinpoint passes to his teammates from a variety of release points.  He understands how to change speeds to keep defenders off balance.  He’s a good shooter and tough defender as well, and with his competitive spirit I know he’ll continue getting even better. 

Beverly has yet to crack the starting lineup, but for Miami’s sake hopefully Larranaga soon realizes that Harlond is his best player.  The Hurricanes are a talented team, and the sooner Beverly can take over as the team’s leader the better.  I imagine that can be difficult with upperclassman who have performed well in past seasons, but Miami will only reach its potential with Harlond Beverly as the starting point guard and clear go-to-guy.

2019-2020 NBA Draft Rankings
Rank	Player	Position	Team	Height	Weight	Year
1	James Wiseman	PF/C	Memphis	7'1"	240	Freshman
2	Jaden McDaniels	SG/SF	Washington	6'9"	200	Freshman
3	Harlond Beverly	PG	Miami	6'4"	185	Freshman
4	Cole Anthony	PG	UNC	6'3"	190	Freshman
5	Tyrese Maxey	SG/PG	Kentucky	6'3"	198	Freshman
6	Zeke Nnaji	PF	Arizona	6'11"	240	Freshman
7	Jordan Nwora	SF	Louisville	6'7"	225	Junior
8	Samuell Williamson	SG	Louisville	6'7"	200	Freshman
9	James Banks III	PF	Georgia Tech	6'10"	250	Senior
10	Steven Enoch	PF/C	Louisville	6'10"	255	Senior
11	Jahmi'us Ramsey	SG	Texas Tech	6'4"	195	Freshman
12	Landers Nolly II	SG	Virginia Tech	6'7"	230	Freshman
13	Isaiah Stewart	PF	Washington	6'9"	250	Freshman
14	Filip Petrusev	SF/PF/C	Gonzaga	6'11"	235	Sophomore
15	Anthony Edwards	SG	Georgia	6'5"	225	Freshman
16	Mustapha Heron	SG	St. John’s	6'5”	210	Senior
17	Saddiq Bey	SG/SF	Villanova	6'8"	216	Sophomore
18	Corey Kispert	SG/SF	Gonzaga	6'7"	220	Junior
19	Josh Green	SG/SF	Arizona	6'6"	205	Freshman
20	Precious Achiuwa	SF	Memphis	6'9"	215	Freshman
21	Tyrese Haliburton	PG	Iowa St.	6'5"	175	Sophomore
22	Jared Butler	PG	Baylor	6'3"	190	Sophomore
23	Jalen Smith	PF/C	Maryland	6'10"	225	Sophomore
24	Nico Mannion	PG	Arizona	6'3"	190	Freshman
25	Jeremiah Robinson-Earl	SF	Kentucky	6'9"	232	Freshman
26	Myles Powell	SG	Seton Hall	6'2"	195	Senior
27	Kira Lewis Jr.	PG	Alabama	6'3"	165	Sophomore
28	Ochai Agbaji	SF	Kansas	6'5"	210	Sophomore
29	A.J. Reeves	SG/PG	Providence	6'6"	205	Sophomore
30	Omer Yurtseven	C	Georgetown	7'0"	264	Senior

UNC Basketball: Season Opener-Notre Dame

UNC kicks off its basketball season with a very difficult ACC battle against Notre Dame.  The Fighting Irish are a veteran team, and like usual they’re a well-coached group that will play intelligent, team basketball.


Notre Dame is very well connected on the defensive end of the floor.  Each player is a good individual defender, and they’re typically in the right position to help if a teammate gets beat.  They make you work extremely hard for each look at the basket, and they don’t have many defensive breakdowns.  6’11” senior Juwan Durham is a defensive monster inside, and he’s usually there to clean up any mistakes and deny easy looks at the rim.


This Notre Dame squad isn’t a great offensive team, but they’re smart and disciplined and don’t turn it over much.  They move the ball well, but they don’t really have anyone to be afraid of.  


Sophomore point guard Prentiss Hubb was the only player to shoot it well from three-point range in their exhibition game against Bellarmine, so keeping the Irish out of the paint and forcing them to knock down long-range jumpers is a good general goal defensively.  Senior shooting guard T.J. Gibbs has been in a shooting slump for over a year now, but he’s shown the ability to make them in the past so I still wouldn’t want to give him many good looks from deep.


Senior big man John Mooney plays a similar game to those of former Notre Dame big men Luke Harangody and Jack Cooley.  He’s a double-double machine, and he finished their exhibition game with 15 points and 12 rebounds.  He’s not going to wow you athletically, but he’s extremely tough and fights for every loose ball.  Garrison Brooks will need to win this matchup for the Heels to come away with a win.


Senior wing Rex Pflueger is back from the ACL injury he sustained last season, but he doesn’t look like the same player he was.  He moved tentatively against Bellarmine, and at this point in the season he won’t be nearly the type of threat he was last year.


Sophomore Dane Goodwin is an extra effort player who makes all the hustle plays.  He’s not exceptionally good at anything, but you can be sure he’ll be giving it everything he’s got.  Notre Dame will really miss D.J. Harvey this season, a guy I expected to be their best player and top NBA prospect who decided to transfer to Vanderbilt.


If Carolina is going to win this game the starters need to play most of the game.  This team isn’t very deep, and UNC can’t afford to play guys that shouldn’t be out there.  I know Roy Williams typically likes to play a lot of guys, but he won’t have that luxury with this team right now if he wants to win games like this.


Freshman Cole Anthony will most likely need to be the leading scorer for this team to be successful.  It’s a lot to ask, but he’s a top recruit with the skill-set to make it happen.  Anthony has a great handle and is extremely good attacking the basket and finishing around the rim.  He’s also shown the ability to knock down shots from the perimeter and find teammates for open looks.


Garrison Brooks looked good in the exhibition game against Winston-Salem State.  He rebounded extremely well and looked under control with the ball in his hands.  He showed a nice touch around the basket, and he’ll need to take on a starring role for this Carolina team.


Leaky Black is extremely versatile and can play up to four positions on both ends of the floor.  He’s a tremendous defender who uses his length and athleticism to disrupt the opponent.  His speed and ability to handle the ball make him especially dangerous in the open floor, and he’s shown glimpses of every skill you’d want offensively.  


I didn’t like seeing him coming off the bench in the exhibition, and I hope Coach Williams realizes that he needs to be on the floor as much as possible.  I understand he’s going to be the backup ball-handler, but UNC will just have to stagger the limited rest breaks of Cole Anthony and Leaky Black.  With all the TV timeouts, they should be able to play nearly the entire game.  It’s never a good idea to start the game without one of your best players.


Graduate transfer Christian Keeling has every skill offensively and has to play a big role this season.  He has a really good handle, and he’s able to knock down jump-shots and finish around the rim.  He has the vision to find open teammates as well, and I’d like to see him be more aggressive than he was in the exhibition.  He could be a major playmaker for this team.


Freshman Armando Bacot looks a lot fitter than he did in high school, but he often looked lost out there in the exhibition.  He really struggled defensively and with his shooting, but he’s a good rebounder and will just have to learn on the fly.  Until Sterling Manley returns from his injury, Bacot will have to play a huge role.  The five I’ve already mentioned should be playing most of the game until the Heels get some players back from injury.


Brandon Robinson’s ankle injury is really unfortunate.  With freshman Anthony Harris still recovering from an injury of his own, the Heels are really thin on the wing.  


Justin Pierce looked completely outclassed athletically and wasn’t very effective in his first minutes as a Tar Heel. Junior Andrew Platek plays hard and has some experience, but he’s not a guy I really want seeing big minutes either.  Walker Miller didn’t look ready for major college basketball, and Brandon Huffman still doesn’t look like he should be out there.  


Senior Shea Rush looked solid in his limited minutes, and he’s a guy I’d consider giving some time to when the starters need a quick break.  He showed great energy and effort while playing good defense and knocking down a three, and he looks like a guy who might be able to make a contribution.


As is normally the case, North Carolina will have the speed and athleticism edge against Notre Dame.  However, the Heels looked sloppy in the exhibition and still have a long way to go to live up to their #9 preseason ranking.  


UNC was a step slow and not very disciplined defensively, and it won’t shock me to see the Tar Heels drop this game and potentially take a couple more losses in the Battle 4 Atlantis later this month.  While I hope that doesn’t happen, this team still has the talent to improve throughout the season and become a factor in March.  I don’t think they have a realistic chance of winning the ACC title however, and I’m going with Louisville to capture their first ever regular season crown.