Sophomores ready for their close-up
It’s one thing to know that the greatest improvement most college basketball players show is between their freshmen and sophomore seasons.
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Florida State's Chris Singleton goes up to block a shot.
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It’s another to pinpoint those sophomores bound for stardom. But hey, that’s why they pay Seth Davis the big bucks.
He’s picked out 10 players poised for breakouts seasons the last few years, and usually does pretty well considering he stays away from guys who already established themselves as good players. Hits include Cole Aldrich, Jeff Teague, Kalin Lucas, Earl Clark, Gerald Henderson and Marreese Speights, while he missed on players like Jamil Tucker, LaceDarius Dunn and Nolan Smith.
ANYWAY, this year’s list has some gimmies (Memphis’ Elliott Williams and Michigan State’s Delvon Roe), and some who could make Davis look really smart.
For instance:
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Wake Forest center Tony Woods (more minutes are coming his way, but the stats are still sluggish).
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Syracuse wing Kris Joseph (Scoop Jardine would’ve been the safe pick).
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Kansas forward Marcus Morris (Jayhawks’ talent glut makes a breakout a tough bet).
Still, it’s a solid list given how many established freshmen returned for their sophomore seasons. Guys like Courtney Fortson, Yancy Gates and Luke Babbitt aren’t exactly household names, but are already good players.
A couple of guys I’d add to the list: Florida State’s Chris Singleton (already picking up Toney Douglas’ slack), Oklahoma State’s Keiton Page (running the show with Byron Eaton gone), Southern Illinois’ Kevin Dillard (especially if Salukis turn in a better season) and Oregon’s pair of stud sophomores, Teondre Williams (killing it) and Michael Dunigan (a tempo-free star).
This kind of reactionary blather is also available at Twitter (@BeyndArcMMiller).
