College Basketball Waiver Wire: Pickups of the Week

The first few weeks of the season are often pivotal waiver weeks, as we'll see concrete evidence of player development and role changes. Conversely, we also get a lot of big schools playing cream puffs, leading to some misleading performances. It's important to be aggressive and not hesitate to drop some guys you had a hunch on, but it's also not time to panic . There's a fine line when deciding on what moves to make. 

Each Monday morning this season, we'll walk through the top pickups for a variety of college basketball formats. This is a game that can be played countless different ways with many scopes of player pools, but we'll do our best to cover a variety of options. Once again this season, we'll be splitting the column up into "power conference" pickups and "Tier 2" -- those just below. Without further delay, let's get started.

Power Conferences

R.J. Davis, G, North Carolina

UNC looks a bit different under new coach Hubert Davis. The Tar Heels are playing a tighter rotation, with only seven seeing significant minutes Friday against Brown. They are also spacing their bigs, creating driving lanes and kickoff 3-point opportunities. That works great for Caleb Love, who's surely rostered, but also for Davis. He erupted for 26 points Friday after a stat-stuffing opener against Loyola. He's running equally at the point and the 2-guard with Love, and pairing that with stable minutes should lead to more consistent scoring. And it's very difficult to disapprove of the 11 assists he's already handed out.

Dereon Seabron, G, North Carolina State

The Wolfpack are rebuilding a bit, which created many questions in regards to their rotations and production to open the campaign. The loss of center Manny Bates further pushed that envelope, but Seabron has answered a lot of questions. He opened an 18-point, 11-rebound, three-steal outing against Bucknell, and followed it with 21 points, 10 rebounds and three assists against Colgate. He's not going to double-double every night, but that kind of rebounding potential from a backcourt option is borderline elite.

Zed Key, F, Ohio State

Key played a solid 25 and 26 minutes in the Buckeyes first two games after averaging just 11.7 a year ago. He's gone for 14 points and five rebounds, and 11/7 in those two outings, which are serviceable, but far more palatable when paired with his five blocked shots in the early going. If he can flirt with two blocks nightly, there's a lot of appeal to the emerging sophomore.

Steven Crowl, F/C, Wisconsin

Always a little scary putting a Badger here, as I admittedly don't watch them often, especially in November, and my editor does! But Crowl's first two games certainly have moved the needle. He's put up 29 points and 15 boards in just 41 total minutes after never seeing double-digit minutes as a freshman. There remains ample competition for playing time, which caps Crowl's upside, and he isn't blocking shots. But he counters that with the ability to step out and knock down 3s, something you don't always get from a center. Yes, a center, which that eligibility alone lends itself to appeal.

Editor's Note: Yes, there's some Badger bias here. Crowl is going to have a very difficult time with Big Ten centers during conference play, but as long as he's the starter, he makes for a sneaky short-term pickup.

Don Carey, G, Georgetown

The Hoyas have only played one game and have some injury issues, so tracking their rotations over the coming weeks may be required. But the well-traveled Carey seems to be in a leading role, putting up 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists in 32 minutes to open the season. He proved capable of a leading job two seasons ago at Sienna, and perhaps just needed last season to adjust to the increased competition.

Kedrian Johnson, G, West Virginia

Johnson may be better suited as a streaming option than someone we want to bank on for the rest of the year. He's not scoring at all, with just six total points through two games. But he has a whopping 11 steals, adding seven assists. We can hunt scoring far easier than thefts and dimes, and while he's clearly not going to average 5.5 steals while playing just 20 some minutes, there isn't reason to think that production will bottom out in the Mountaineers pressing defense. He looks capable of carrying teams in this category.

Boogie Ellis, G, Southern Cal

The Memphis transfer has jumped right in to the starting lineup for the Trojans, seeing a very nice 34 minutes in a close win over Temple this weekend. He responded with a stat-stuffing 11 points, five assists, three steals and two rebounds, coming on the heels of a 20-point team debut in the opener. With heavy playing time, Ellis seems a lock for scoring with some peripheral numbers sprinkled in.

Kimani Lawrence, F, Arizona State

I have some doubts on Lawrence's staying power, as the fifth-year senior has never been known for his consistency. But it's impossible to ignore his two double-doubles to open the season. At just 6-foot-6, that rebounding level seems likely to suffer as competition picks up, but playing 34.5 minutes thus far, Lawrence may not bottom out either. Mix in four steals and two blocks, and he's looking like a well-rounded option right now.

Wildens Leveque, F/C, South Carolina

Yes, we expect Leveque's scoring to fall some once the Gamecocks are at full strength. But we also know Keyshawn Bryant is out at least another week, and A.J. Wilson remains a question mark. Leveque, at worst, will be a steady rebounder. And at 6-foot-10, 255 pounds, you'll have a great argument for center eligibility. He's logging more steals than he is blocks now, a bit peculiar, but boards and defense will make him usable, and his size figures to help him get some put backs and keep the scoring floor stable.

Henry Coleman, F, Texas A&M

After a 27-point, seven-board opener, Coleman looked like a must-add in all formats. He then followed that with only 19 points and 13 rebounds combined in the Aggies' next two games. I'm willing to cut him some slack as A&M sorts through their options in the early going. He's a former top-65 recruit that Duke felt good enough about taking his initial commitment. Texas A&M has no frontcourt depth, playing six different guards 20+ minutes yesterday against Corpus Christi. As such, I trust that Coleman will see the minutes he needs to score and rebound at a consistent level as the year progresses.

Tier 2

Jalen Cook, G, Tulane

The LSU transfer looks terrific in his new home, opening with 28 points, four boards and four assists, and following it up with 19 points, seven assists, three rebounds and three steals, playing a combined 64 minutes. He saw a robust 35.4 and 33.4 percent usage rate to boot. Tulane doesn't figure to be very good, but Cook looks like he'll be the team's alpha, and production surely follows.

Justin Bean, F, Utah State

Bean averaged a stable 11.4 points and 7.7 rebounds last year, numbers down from the double-double he averaged as a sophomore. He flirted with the NBA Draft, but appears to have returned to school with a purpose. He dropped 30 points on a veteran Richmond frontcourt over the weekend, pulling down 14 boards. This comes after a 16-point, 13-rebound season opener. We know he can rebound, but Bean appears to have stretched his shooting range in an effort to appeal to professional clubs a year from now. That could allow him to set career marks in scoring.

Samuel Mennenga, F, Davidson

There are a lot of rebuilding teams in the Atlantic 10, so it's a conference where we can look for some new names to become fantasy commodities. Mennenga looks to be amongst the best in the early going. He played 23.1 minutes on average in 21 games as a freshman, but put up just 6.0 points and 5.0 rebounds. Mennenga is needed far more as a sophomore however, and has responded with 13.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, a block and a steal in 31.5 minutes. At 6-foot-8, 245 pounds, there aren't many with the size to match up with him and Luka Brajkovic when the Wildcats play non Power-5 opponents.