Summer Travel: High Major Edition
This is a process for me to get a feel on where things stand around the country with a good chunk of teams. It’s a chemistry building experience. There's not much to take from the actual games, but a quick snapshot of how things are looking heading into the fall semester. I also do not find it worth it to backtrack and say Team X beat Team Y but lost to Team Z who beat Team A. Rosters are fluid on both sides, a team might play three games in 30 hours. You get the idea.
Clemson: Italy (World University Games). Result: 6-0 - Like looking at sideways summer-time box scores from assistant SID’s? Here you go. What can be taken from Clemson’s early summer trip in the University Games is a core rotation that due to a lack of numbers, is likely to be the group to try to navigate the ACC this season. Already down a player in Clyde Trapp (lost to an ACL this summer before the trip), the Tigers feature a true freshman point guard in Al-Amir Dawes, two grad transfer wings in Tevin Mack and Curran Scott. Brad Brownell needs the reinforcements as the only rotational players returning this season are Aamir Simms, John Newman and Hunter Tyson. Newman showed promise on the trip as did Dawes and fellow freshman guard, Chase Hunter. Brownell has played a traditional two big system while at Clemson, but with only Trey Jemison being taller than 6’8, it will be interesting at how often Simms now shifts to the 5. Given that Jemison only logged 15+ minutes once in six games is a tell that Clemson will look a lot smaller this year in the paint. Clemson under Brownell has had a 2PT% defense that has consistently ranked in the Top 50 via KenPom (5 of the last 6 seasons) but that included a row of centers from Landry Nnoko, Sidy Djitte and Elijah Thomas. That caliber of big man no longer exists on the roster.
Creighton: Australia. Result: 2-1. It’s hard to tell how the competition stacks up with on these summer trips. It might be at least alarming that Creighton was non-competitive in their opener and trailed by 25 halfway through their 2nd game. Here’s my issue - there’s nothing up front. Jacob Epperson has had two shortened seasons in which he never displayed much - only logging 20+ minutes once. He and grad transfer Kelvin Jones did not play on the trip (nor did guard Marcus Zegarowski). Jones is a transfer from Idaho State, one of the worst teams in the country that ranked 350th defensively. If you’re 6’11 and anchoring the 350th defense, it’s worth asking how bad you might be on that end. In short, Creighton will be and play short. Exclusively playing 4 out and at times likely to be 5 out. It’s hard to see there not being a ceiling no matter how good the guard play is likely to be.
DePaul: France/Italy. Result: 3-0: Will Charlie Moore be eligible? That’s the question that may keep DePaul in or out of the Big East cellar this season (or just St. John’s being terrible). Moore was clearly DePaul’s best back-court player on the trip and it’s a program that desperately needs solid point guard play. Moore, Paul Reed, Jalen Coleman-Lands, Darious Hall and Romeo Weems isn’t a terrible core (to go with Carte’Are Gordon being 2nd semester eligible). It’s not very good, but not terrible. If not, Devin Gage is the point guard once again and they likely will be dreadful offensively.
Georgetown: Bahamas. Result: 3-0 - Hoya fans were going to be excited for the upcoming season. Their recent trip to the Bahamas did nothing to damper that feeling. A 3-0 trip to the Bahamas ended with a newfound amount of depth and athleticism that is about to give the program and Patrick Ewing a needed jolt. JUCO import Galen Alexander and freshman wing Myron Gardner stood out with their physicality and will push the incumbent Jamorko Pickett on the wing. UCF grad transfer Terrell Allen is an adult in the room and will help with the progression of the sophomore guard duo of James Akinjo and Mac McClung. While Omer Yurtseven will step in to the void Jessie Govan has left, it appears he also has a capable young backup in Qudus Wahab. All told, the Hoyas appeared to be 10 deep and that was without senior guard Jagan Mosely. To my eye, Akinjo was the standout. There was not a time where he clearly did not appear to be a cut above anyone on the floor. And if you know me, you know I was critical of him last season. A friend asked me why I was ‘stunned’ at how good the Hoyas looked (f you’re new here, this is where my allegiance falls). He responded that that’s what a high-major team with conference title aspirations looks like. Here’s a glimpse of some of the new additions causing problems with their length and athleticism:
Georgia Tech: Spain. Result: 4-0: If they only had an offense. Josh Pastner’s very odd flirtation with the Princeton offense finally should be fully outed and now for good reason with a returning back-court of Jose Alvardo and Michael Devoe. Pastner’s first three years in Atlanta have resulted in offensive rankings of 259th, 197th and 228th. On the flip-side, the defense has posted marks of 6th, 61st and 43rd. A positive sign for the Yellow Jackets is simply topping 80 points in each outing. Pastner should allow Alvardo and DeVoe more freedom and if Evan Cole and Jordan Usher (2nd semester eligible) can contribute a punch of athleticism in Cole’s case and shooting from Usher, the Jackets might get a little more interesting. Both showed well on the trip. James Banks continues to be the man in the middle. Of note, Cole was being used as a backup 5 at times on the trip.
Houston: Italy. Result: 4-0: Kelvin Sampson is the best college basketball coach that college basketball circles would rather not talk about. In 9 of 17 years, Sampson has registered a Top 25 defensive according to KenPom and that is while taking over programs that are not in so great of shape. While they lost talented scorers in Armoni Brooks and Corey Davis, I would not sell the Cougars short this year due to their defense. In three of the four games in Italy, the Cougars allowed less than 35% shooting from the field (twice under 30%). They will be bigger in the back court and if Quentin Grimes gets a waiver to play immediately, they might not start anyone smaller than 6’5. Even if Grimes does not suit up this year, the addition of red-shirt freshman Caleb Mills and true freshman Marcus Sasser (17 & 19 point outings) appear to be ready to step in right away alongside Dejon Jarreau and Nate Hinton. Up front, Houston has everyone back outside of Breaon Brady - and supplement that loss with after adding Justin Gorham who sat out last season from Towson. Houston is big, psychical and will not be outplayed. They will miss the shot making Brooks and Davis are leaving behind, but they very well may improve defensively. A player who may benefit the most from four exhibitions and 10 added days of practice is Dejon Jarreau. Jarreau will move over to full time point guard duties (especially if Grimes doesn’t play) and the added reps can only help. While Jarreau can not shoot like the departing guards could, his ability to break down a defense was a well utilized weapon at times last year:
Illinois: Italy. Result: 3-1: I don’t think the college basketball blogosphere could be more in on a team this year than the Illini. I don’t necessarily disagree as I’m the same person who called Brad Underwood a home-run and would have Illinois in Final 4 contention within 4 seasons. Well, time is ticking. His pressure defense moving up a level has generally been a disaster despite forcing turnovers. Underwood took a unique approach to this trip as he allowed each of his assistants to coach one game. Where Illinois’ strength will be this year is in the back court as Trent Frazier and Ayo Dosnmu return. If Dosunmu ended up being B10 POY and a 1st Team All-American, it wouldn’t come as much surprise and he left the trip with scoring totals of: 27, 27, 26 and 16 while shooting better than 50%. Where the Illini will need help is someone else to emerge on the wing - Tevian Jones and Da’Monte Williams figure to be the best candidates as the Kipper Nichols experience comes to a close. Up front, Giorgi Bezhanisvili is another All B10 contender and freshman Kofi Cockburn (did not participate) gives the Illini a different, more physical look. Given how Underwood has operated on both ends of the floor it will be interesting to see how Cockburn fits in. Illinois offensive largely operated out of the high post with Bezhanisvili as a facilitator. Cockburn is a 10 feet and in old-school big man. How he complements (or gets in the way) of what the Illini try to do offensively is worth watching.
Iowa State: Italy. Result: 3:0: A lot of talent departed Ames this spring, but the cupboard isn’t left totally bare. Headlined by Michael Jacobson and Tyrese Hailburton, the Cyclones will need supplementary parts to emerge. 16 point a game scorer, Prentiss Nixon will finally suit up after sitting a transfer year from Colorado State. George Conditt IV and Solomon Young both had strong trips and they contend for front-court pairing next to Jacobson. Iowa State and Steve Prohm will desperately need either Zion Griffin or Terrence Lewis to step up this season. Both were highly regarded recruits and Lewis now enters year three while Griffin becomes a sophomore. Lewis totaled 15 points in one of the three games. Three star recruit Tre Jackson showed well and Prohm generally does have a strong eye for point guards and went back to the southeast to find Jackson.
LSU: Spain. Result: 3-1: Somehow Will Wade is still employed and LSU is still plenty talented. If there was a surprise to LSU returning stateside it’s the seemingly increased role now for Charles Manning JR. Wade had this to say about the JUCO transfer: “I’m very, very impressed with Charles Manning. He’s been tremendous all trip. He’s so solid and affects winning in so many ways. You could see that out there today. He’s going to be a huge component for us this season. He’s a really, really good player and that showed throughout this trip. That’s one of my biggest takeaway from the trip how solid he is and how much we are going to be able to count on him and depend on him this coming season.” For a team that felt short one wing player, that’s a big help for the Tigers. Javonte Smart and Skylar Mays are the known quantities while James Bishop is just a freshman and Marlon Taylor for now remains just an athlete. LSU will also lean heavily on freshman Trendon Watford who is a lock to man one of the front-court spots. Emmitt Williams is still a highly thought of talent but if you watched LSU last year, you know his basketball IQ was not even in the ballpark of a quality starter on an NCAA Tournament team. How that turns out this season remains to be seen but a 28 point outing in Game 1 figures as a good sign.
Marquette: Spain/France. Result: 3-0: For better or worse, the one man show of college basketball. Markus Howard returns and almost out of necessity, he’ll have to get shots up. Word on the street last spring was the Hauser brothers had had enough of that and went searching for more opportunities elsewhere. To fill that void, Wojo came away from the foreign trip feeling the need to play two bigs at the same time. I would ask why? Space will be imperative for Howard and the pairing of two non-offensive threats (take two of Jayce Johnson, Ed Morrow, Theo John) is inviting unnecessary floor shrinking and double teams for Howard. I would offer that there is enough in Brendan Bailey, Jamal Cain, Sacar Anim and Greg Elliott to sacrifice the 2nd big. Bailey in particular offers great upside as a stretch 4 and Wojo commented to Jeff Goodman post trip, “Brendan Bailey has a chance to take a big step forward from his freshman year.” Nonetheless, Marquette in my estimation was overrated before the Hauser departure and perhaps now a bit underrated. Koby McEwen will pair with Howard in the back court and the aforementioned wings are versatile and athletic. With a rotating cast of bigs, it at least is a team that should be geared to being a one man show. Just don’t make it more difficult for the guy than it already will be. Their opener vs Purdue will be a great litmus test. That is a team that will force you to play big and I’ll be interested to see how difficult doing so makes life on Howard. Also of note, Marquette has offered zero game recaps/box scores/anything on their official site. Good job.
Memphis: Bahamas. Result: 3-0: I’m not sure any head coach will be under more scrutiny than Penny Hardaway. The I-told-you-so gatekeepers of college basketball would love to see a non-college guy fail (let’s stop comparing guys with actual coaching experience to Chris Mullin. Chris Mullin and Clyde Drexler were the exceptions, not the rule). What is most important to avoid failure in the college game is to simply recruit to a level where that’s not an option. He may have done so, but that alone would sell what he’s building short. An 11-7 conference season and one win in the NIT was a nice debut for Penny and one thing was abundantly clear: they will run. The Tigers finished 7th in pace last season and only figure to be faster with more talent now. The Tigers two most talented players - James Wiseman and Precious Achiuwa did not participate but the team as a whole did not look devoid of talent. Tyler Harris and Alex Lomax return as sophomores and they’ll get all they can handle to try to get minutes away from Boogie Ellis (expected) and Damion Baugh (not expected from the national media). Baugh is a tenacious competitor and checks all the boxes. I would wager that Baugh might outplay all of his freshman counterparts over the course of his career short of Wiseman. Here’s Baugh’s four game stretch: 11/3/4, 10/13/3, 12/8/6 and 10/10/6. DJ Jeffires, Lance Thomas and Lester Quinones also acclimated themselves very well. Harris figures to be an ideal 6th man, but if you’re Lomax you have to wonder how and where minutes will come from. This much is certain and we didn’t exhibition games to know it, this team will run and run some more.
Rutgers: Spain. Result: 4-0. "We need to get better on defense, but we can really score, which is a good thing," added Pikiell. Yeah, I had to do a double take as well. I’ll believe it when I see it, but that is a hopeful sign for a Rutgers program looking to continue to claw it’s way out of the bottom of the B10. What keeps me skeptical of much offensive improvement is the 29.3% mark (33-111) from 3 and 62.8 (54-86) from the FT line that RU compiled over the four games. That’s not bad, it’s awful and falls in line with recent RU teams (Pikiell’s three years have resulted in 3PT% finishes of 312th, 346th and 336th nationally). It’s doubtful RU runs much in transition come conference play or that it’s allowed to so the shooting numbers are worth highlighting even with such a small sample. They do have intriguing pieces in Geo Baker, Montez Mathis, Ron Harper JR and Jacob Young but if they as a group can’t shoot, it will still be tough sledding. Harper JR was the standout of the trip, averaging 17.0 points and 5.8 rebounds. Shaq Carter - who will be counted on greatly as their 5 man - posted 16.0/9.3. This team will probably score a little better with their returning talent, defend at nearly the same level and keep chipping away.
Seton Hall: Italy. Result: 2-0: It’s hard to say that anyone’s NBA decision impacted a single season more than Myles Powell decision to return to Seton Hall. What would have been a fringe NIT team is now a team that seemingly has no expectation that would be ruled too high. Powell did not play in the two games overseas but SHU easily handled the competition. Here’s my concern for the Hall - why is Kevin Willard insistent on playing big? Never-mind he’s tied into playing either Romaro Gill or Florida State transfer Ike Obiagu at the 5 spot but he even mentioned pairing the two for a twin-tower look. Does he know what year it is? Beyond that, he doesn’t seem inclined to move Sando Mamukelashvili to the 5 and play Jared Rhoden (a very promising player, in my opinion) to a small ball 4 role. With Powell, Rhoden, Myles Cale and Quincy McKnight they field a long, rangy perimeter with decent shot making. While Sando at the 5 is not a long-term fit and is too much to ask of him given SHU’s physical style of player, I’d be inclined to utilize that lineup once in a while.
Syracuse: Italy. Result: 4-0: With such a sophisticated palate, it’s not surprise Jim Boeheim headed to Italy. (The last time I saw Boeheim in person he was slumped over with a Subway sandwich hanging out of his mouth). Perhaps he’s changed, and an aspect of the Orange offense seemingly in recent times. If it’s felt like the Orange have jacked more 3’s than usual, it’s true. They’ve topped the 3PA% (shots attempted of which are 3 pointers) mark of 40+ for three of the last four years which ranked them inside the Top 75 nationally in each season. Even just ranking in the Top 100 in that KenPom stat had happened once from 1997-2015 under Boeheim. And while the roster looks rather pedestrian for Syracuse standards this year, a collection of shooters and a willingness to let it fly will make them dangerous game to game. By the way, as much as I follow the sport, this thing where the ACC is starting play Week 1 (like, November 5th) had totally skipped pass me. And for that Syracuse gets Virginia to open the season. Good luck. But anyway, Buddy Boeheim is going to jack 3’s, as is new sniper Joe Girard and fellow freshman Brycen Goodine. Syracuse attempted over 40 three’s in two of their games and 33 in another (only two box scores and a note on a 3rd appear available). More than ever, Syracuse games look like they will be played from 3 point line to opposite end 3 point line (48% of opponent attempts came from 3 last season).
Temple: Bahamas. Result: 3-0. Nobody personifies Temple and Philly more than new head coach Aaron McKie. A Simon Gratz and Temple grad with nearly a decade with the 76ers, McKie is truly home. After a narrow two point escape in G1, the Owls won the final two games in the Bahamas more comfortably. McKie admitted that the trip was a good experience just to get reps on the bench from his own perspective. He also signaled out the need to rebound the ball better.
Gone is last year’s senior big man Ernest Aflakpui and in his place are unproven bigs Justyn Hamilton and Damion Moore. Moore is nothing more than a spot player, while Hamilton still holds promise going into his junior year. He’s agile, long but often maddening with a cold motor and slender frame. A good portion of the Temple cast is well known and all played on the trip - Quinton Rose, Nate Pierre-Louis, JP Moorman and D’Vondre Perry will be counted on heavily. Keenesaw State transfer Monty Scott logged the most minutes on the trip while a pair of freshman in Josh Pierre-Louis and Damian Dunn also saw substantial minutes. There’s enough ball-handling and shot-making to offset some of what Shizz Alston leaves behind. It’s a fairly versatile group, but if a big man does not step up, it’s likely to be a team that is forced to play small without enough offensive fire power to make up for other shortcomings.
In the upcoming we’ll recap a second batch of high-major programs that traveled outside the United States this summer.