College Hoops Barometer: Risers & Fallers

The transfer portal has taken some of the emphasis off of the necessity of nailing freshmen recruiting.  This also appears to be a year in which the top recruits simply have not panned out as expected.  Both Dereck Lively and Dariq Whitehead have largely struggled to begin their collegiate careers, while it has been the third-highest ranked Blue Devil in the class, Kyle Filipowski, who has had the biggest impact thus far.  Arkansas freshman Nick Smith has been inconsistent (fellow freshman Anthony Black has been better), Amari Bailey is playing on an extremely deep UCLA squad, and Texas forward Dillon Mitchell has played more of a complementary role for the Longhorns.  The best freshmen in the country thus far have been Keyonte George of Baylor, GG Jackson of South Carolina, and Brandon Miller of Alabama.  All were still highly thought of, but certainly not in the realm of previous top high school prospects like Chet Holmgren, Jalen Green, or RJ Barrett.  Scouting is an inexact science, though, and the season is still largely in its infancy.  There's plenty more basketball left to be played for all of the above-referenced freshmen before making a more concrete judgment on their games and development.

Wishing all the readers of the College Hoops Barometer a happy holiday season and a happy, healthy new year!

UPGRADE

Bryce Hopkins, F, Providence – The Kentucky transfer has been downright dominant for the Friars so far this season.  A spare part for the Wildcats just a season ago, Hopkins has been featured by Providence throughout the early portion of the season.  He has been particularly hot of late, notching four double-doubles in his last five outings.  That includes Tuesday's mammoth performance in a Double OT win over Marquette in which Hopkins played 47 minutes and registered 29 points and a staggering 23 rebounds.  Over the last five games, Hopkins is averaging 20.0 points and 12.8 rebounds, all wins for the Friars.  The ascension of Hopkins has keyed the recent winning streak for Providence.

Blake Hinson, F, Pittsburgh – Hinson played two years at Ole Miss but had been kept of the court since that time due to various impediments; he has finally made a triumphant return to college basketball.  In his first season since the 2019-2020 campaign, Hinson is averaging 17.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game for the Panthers.  Hinson recorded his fourth double-double of the season Tuesday against Syracuse with 27 points and 13 rebounds in a thrilling 84-82 win over the Orange.  Hinson also tallied four assists, two blocks and a steal for the contest.  The 6-7 junior has shown a versatile inside-outside offensive game.  Pitt has started its ACC slate with a record of 2-0, but difficult tests loom over the next couple of weeks with matchups against North Carolina, Virginia, and Duke.

Morris Udeze, F, New Mexico – The Lobos are flying high to begin the 2022-2023 campaign, off to an 12-0 start under coach Richard Pitino.  New Mexico returned standout guards Jaelen House and Jamal Mashburn, but the transfer of Udeze from Wichita State appears to have been the catalyst for the Lobos this season.  Udeze leads UNM in scoring at 17.5 points per tilt and is second in rebounding at 7.3 boards per contest.  Udeze is hitting an impressive 61.7-percent from the field.  The Lobos were projected to finish fifth in the Mountain West Conference and have not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2014.  There's still a lot of basketball yet to play, including the entire conference slate, but at least New Mexico appears to have a fighting chance this season, and Udeze is a main reason for some hope. 

Tyree Appleby, G, Wake Forest – Appleby started his collegiate career at Cleveland State, then transferred to Florida after two seasons.  He spent two more years with the Gators, where he acted as Florida's starting point guard last season.  However, Appleby's statistics thus far this season with the Demon Deacons mirror his numbers during his final campaign at Cleveland State, where he was the focal point of the offense.  With Wake Forest, Appleby is averaging 18.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists per contest.  He is shooting career highs of 50.4-percent from the floor, 42.6-percent from three-point land and 88.5-percent from the foul line.  Appleby served as the catalyst for Tuesday's resounding win over Duke, tallying 18 points, four rebounds and eight assists in the 81-70 triumph over the Blue Devils.  Appleby is third in the ACC in scoring and second in assists.

CHECK STATUS

Braelen Bridges, C, Georgia – Bridges stuck around in Athens despite the exodus of former coach Tom Crean.  After starting every game a season ago while placing second on the squad in both scoring and rebounding, Bridges found himself in a reserve role to begin the 2022-2023 campaign.  However, he has started the last four games for the Bulldogs with improved results.  Bridges is averaging 14.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.3 swats per contest as a starter.  By contrast, Bridges managed just 3.4 points and 2.9 rebounds in the first seven contests of the year coming off the bench.  The trajectory for Bridges appears promising at this time as he continues to gain the trust of new coach Mike White.

Skyy Clark, G, Illinois – The highly-touted freshman has endured some growing pains during his first campaign in Champaign.  Clark has started all 11 games for the Illini but has managed just 8.1 points to go along with 3.9 boards and 2.1 dimes per tilt.  Texas Tech transfer Terrence Shannon has stolen at least some of Clark's thunder, though scoring depth has also played a role, as Illinois averages nearly 80 points per contest as a squad, which is among the better power conference marks in the country.  Clark was more hyped coming out of high school than say, Syracuse guard Judah Mintz, but the latter has had more of an opportunity to showcase his skill set thus far this season.  Clark's development is still progressing nicely, but he has not been a "can't miss" phenom, at least so far, during his brief collegiate career.

Xavier Johnson, G, Indiana – The Hoosiers have been on a slide of late, dropping three of their last four contests following a 7-0 start to the season.  Part of the reason has been a step up in competition, though injuries have also played a role.  First, freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino missed three games due to a back ailment.  When he finally returned at Kansas over the weekend, Johnson went down with a foot issue.  Trayce Jackson-Davis also missed Tuesday's win over Elon for an undisclosed reason.  Johnson, a senior who started 34 games for the Hoosiers a season ago, had seen a slight downtick in production even prior to the injury.  Johnson was averaging 9.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists per contest, but all three statistics represented a slight regression from a season ago.  Johnson missed Tuesday's game with Elon, and while the Hoosiers had no problem with the Phoenix, an extended absence by Johnson would negatively affect Indiana overall.

DOWNGRADE

Devin Askew, G, California – Askew has had a tough recent stretch for the Bears in terms of staying on the court.  Askew missed Cal's dismal loss to Eastern Washington due to an illness, though admittedly the Bears have had their share of dismal losses en route to a stunning 0-12 start to the season.  Still, Askew is the best player on the squad, as the Texas transfer has started all 11 games he has played in for the Bears.  He is averaging 16.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.  Unfortunately, Askew played just 14 minutes in Sunday's loss at Santa Clara, picking up a right ankle injury.  Askew's status is currently in question in the short term.  The Bears have struggled mightily so far this season, but without Askew, they have almost no shot at success.

Alex Lomax, G, Memphis – Lomax will miss at least Wednesday's clash with Alabama State due to a groin injury.  The versatile Lomax does a little bit of everything for the Tigers, managing 7.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.9 steals per contest.  Lomax leads the American Athletic Conference in thefts by a rather wide margin at this time.  The absence of Lomax will put even more pressure on SMU transfer Kendric Davis, who leads the conference in scoring, is third in assists and fourth in steals in his own right.  Damaria Franklin will likely get the start in place of Lomax, though.

Daniel Batcho, F/C, Texas Tech – Batcho is currently battling an ankle issue which has sidelined him for the last two games and may linger for a bit longer.  The sophomore big man has gone from a reserve role a season ago to starting every game he has played for the Red Raiders, averaging 13.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.8 swats per contest.  Batcho has two double-doubles on his resume this year.  With Batcho and Fardaws Aimaq unavailable, the Red Raiders have had to lean on Kevin Obanor as well as KJ Allen (of Last Chance U fame) to anchor the frontcourt.  Allen collected 15 points and seven rebounds in Texas Tech's most recent contest, a 102-52 thrashing of lowly Jackson State.  Batcho's injury is not considered serious, but he could be held out longer as a precautionary measure, especially with Big 12 conference play not scheduled to begin until New Year's Eve.