College Hoops Barometer: Risers & Fallers

The Kentucky Wildcats lambasted the Miami Hurricanes on Tuesday in a battle of top-15 squads during the ACC/SEC Challenge.  At the center of the lopsided victory was freshman Reed Sheppard, who canned five three-pointers en route to a game-high 21 points.  He is shooting an outrageous 63.3 percent from three-point range so far this season.  Sheppard impacted the game in a variety of ways, though, tallying five rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block in the 95-73 triumph.  Despite coming off the bench, Sheppard has been among the more surprising freshmen in the country thus far this season.  Sheppard's father Jeff was the Most Outstanding Player on Kentucky's 1998 Championship run, and his mother also played college basketball for the Wildcats.  As such, the bloodlines are strong for Reed, and the freshman should continue turning heads in Lexington and beyond.

Here are some more movers and shakers in this week's College Hoops Barometer.

UPGRADE

Miles Kelly, G, Georgia Tech – Kelly led the Ramblin' Wreck to an upset Tuesday over a ranked Mississippi State squad, tallying a double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds.  After averaging 14.4 points and 3.4 rebounds as a sophomore, Kelly has taken his game to new heights as a junior.  He has surpassed the 20-point scoring plateau in three of five games for Georgia Tech.  In addition, he is managing almost double as many rebounds as he did a season ago.  Georgia Tech was predicted to finish near the bottom of the conference under new head coach Damon Stoudamire, but perhaps Kelly's ascension will change the expectations.

PJ Hall, C, Clemson – The senior has been tremendous through six games for the undefeated Tigers, managing 21.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.2 blocks per contest.  Despite battling foul trouble Tuesday against Alabama, Hall still collected 21 points, eight rebounds, two assists and four blocks in just 21 minutes in an 85-77 road win at Alabama.  Hall collected a career-high 29 points in the prior game, a blowout win over lowly Alcorn State.  The Tigers narrowly missed the NCAA Tournament last season, but Hall's stellar play is going to give them a puncher's chance come next March.

Cam Carter, G, Kansas State – Despite starting every game last season for the Wildcats, Carter played more of a complementary role, averaging 6.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists per contest.  With Markquis Nowell in the NBA, Desi Sills graduating and Ismael Massoud transferring to Georgetown, Carter has been an integral part of the Wildcats backcourt this season.  He is averaging 16.9 points per tilt, which is 10 points more than last year.  That included 28 points in a loss to Miami earlier this month.  He also tallied 19 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals in Tuesday's overtime win over Oral Roberts.  Carter is currently fourth in the Big 12 in steals, and sixth in scoring.  Carter has taken advantage of the huge vacuum created by the aforementioned departures, including attempting a staggering 7.1 three-pointers per contest.

Quinten Post, C, Boston College – With a great name for a big man, Post is dominating the interior for the Eagles thus far this season.  He is setting career-highs across the board with 20.8 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.2 blocks per contest.  Post initially declared for the NBA Draft following last season, but played in just 19 games due to ankle/foot injuries, and the 7-footer from the Netherlands ultimately decided to return to BC for one more year.  That decision appears to be paying dividends so far.  As long as Post can remain healthy, his stock should only continue to rise based on his mammoth production.

CHECK STATUS

Aden Holloway, G, Auburn – Holloway has had an impressive start to his collegiate career.  The 6-1 freshman leads the Tigers in assists and is currently second on the squad in scoring.  Holloway is hitting 42.9-percent of his shots from three-point land.  The Tigers have really played just one meaningful game thus far, so Holloway has not even had to play extended minutes yet in any contests.  In fact, he played 27 minutes in the season opener and scored 19 points; both are still career-highs.  As such, Holloway's production should get even better as the competition stiffens and his minutes increase.

Mackenzie Mgbako, F, Indiana – The prized freshman phenom has been up and down for the Hoosiers.  His last game was his best thus far for Indiana, tallying 18 points and 18 rebounds in an 89-76 triumph over Harvard.  However, Mgbako has scored four points or fewer in four of six contests with the Hoosiers otherwise, and looked overmatched against the likes of defending champion UConn and Louisville recently.  Mgbako has shown plenty of promise, but there is certainly going to be a learning curve here.

Elliot Cadeau, G, North Carolina – Cadeau reclassified to join this year's recruits for the Tar Heels, but has been inconsistent to begin his collegiate career.  Despite the departure of Caleb Love, there is still plenty of depth at guard for UNC.  In addition, Cadeau has gotten into foul trouble in contests against stiffer competition.  In fact, he fouled out in just 17 minutes in an overtime loss to Villanova on Thanksgiving, then subsequently fouled out again in a clash with Arkansas.  Cadeau is clearly just getting his feet wet at this level, but the former five-star recruit appears to be struggling on the defensive end thus far.  Put a different way, his inability to stay on the court is hampering his ability to put up stats and lead the Tar Heels on the offensive side of the ball.

DOWNGRADE

Fousseyni Traore, F, BYU – Traore injured his hamstring and is currently considered day-to-day for the Cougars.  Traore started every game last season for BYU, averaging 12.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per contest.  He had gotten off to a bit of a slow start prior to the injury, managing just 10.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per tilt.  Surprisingly, the Cougars remains undefeated on the season, including impressive wins over NC State, Arizona State and San Diego State, and Traore is one of five players averaging double figures in points to begin the season.  As such, perhaps the Cougars maintain some level of caution with Traore as they continue to roll with a deep, talented squad.

DeLonnie Hunt, G, Richmond – The transfer from Wagner will be sidelined for nearly the next two months after suffering a fractured wrist.  Hunt started all but one game during his three seasons at Wagner, and was one of the better guards to enter the transfer portal this offseason.  He averaged 9.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per contest prior to the injury.  In his stead, even more responsibility will be heaped onto the shoulders of fellow transfer Jordan King, who is averaging over 20 points per game to begin the 2023-2024 campaign.  King came over from East Tennessee State, which has produced the likes of Kenny Chesney and Atlee Hammaker.

Xavier Booker, C, Michigan State – Another one of the top recruits in this year's class, Booker has failed to find his footing thus far with the Spartans.  The freshman has appeared in double-digit minutes in just three of seven games for the Spartans on the young season, averaging just 2.8 points and 1.8 rebounds per tilt.  Booker did not even see the court in Michigan State's narrow loss to Arizona last week.  Instead, Carson Cooper and Mady Sissoko have been seeing the majority of minutes in the middle for Michigan State.  Booker's collegiate career is only just beginning, but he has a lot of work to do to gain the faith of coach Tom Izzo this season.