| Name | New School | Old School | Grade | Player Archetype | Conference Comp | Proj. Role | Notes |
|---|
| Max Green | Charleston | NU | B+ | Offensive Wing | Reese Miller | Starter | Very good offensive player and very bad defensive player. 3-point% was way worse up a level, but was still tremendous on open C&S. He just jumped up too high in level. 99th% offensive on/off at HC. Capable playmaker and has great offensive feel. Can hit some extremely tough shots off the bounce. Just not a good athlete, but has good CAA wing size. I think he's found the right level. But him + Ellis at the same time will not be a good defensive lineup whatsoever. |
| Tre Singleton | Iowa State | NU | A- | Versatile Forward | Joshua Jefferson | Starter | Okay, I'm not saying that Tre Singleton is the next Joshua Jefferson... but if there WERE someone who would be the next Jefferson, it would definitely be Singleton. Was tremendous at the rim last year, actually ran some PNR possessions and the passing and feel is very promising. Was a net positive defender and rebounder and has the chance to be really good in both areas if he gains some strength. The shooting was awful but a very good FT clip gives me hope. There is a lot to like here, and though it does take some projection, Otzelberger certainly did not take someone with this profile by accident. |
| KJ Windham | James Madison | NU | A | On-Ball Guard | Landen Joseph | Starter | I hate to be dramatic, but JMU's entire season rests on Windham's shoulders. He is genuinely their only player with any DI experience at PG. He was really solid as a FR at NW, and everyone pegged him for a huge SO leap, and it just didn't work. He moved fully off-ball with Jayden Reid coming to town, and it really hurt his game. Extremely capable passer who rarely turns it over. Super talented shot creator in the PNR. Doesn't get to the rim at all but is solid there. Impactful defender with real PG size. Honestly, a whole ton to like here. Unless he just forgot to play basketball and the SO regression wasn't a role thing, he could be one of the very best players in the SB. But if it doesn't work for whatever reason, JMU is screwed. |
| Jayden Reid | Memphis | NU | A- | Pass-First Guard | N/A | Starter | I hope Reid's 5-10 shoulders are ready for the BURDEN he's about to be given as a playmaker on this roster. There are like 7 score first players and he's the only passer. In a vacuum, that kind of totally works because he was absolutely incredible as a passer in the Big 10 last year. The issue is he was bad at everything else. Way too small to finish at the rim, and the 3pt fell off a cliff. Gets hunted defensively constantly and is a huge net negative there. Played two years in this league already - really fun as a passer as a FR and then was way worse as a SO when he had to take on more of a scoring role. If he's just out there to score 8 pts and dish out 10 assists, he's the perfect add. Can this team play any defense around him though? That's my big worry. |
| Blake Smith | Oral Roberts | NU | B- | Off-Ball Wing | Chase Martin | Key Reserve | Former NW walk-on who randomly stumbled upon a real rotation role the last year of Boo Buie's career, played 21 mins across two NCAAT games. Took just 11 shots in 10 games. Pretty good athlete. Hilariously has 14 FGAs and 26 FTs in his career. I guess he has tourney experience? |
| Arrinten Page | Providence | NU | B+ | Versatile Big | Owen Freeman | Starter | What a conundrum Page is. Looks like an NBA player half the time, and looks completely lost at other times. Has found a way to fall out of favor in some respect at all three stops already. But so absurdly gifted that he rightfully gets another chance. Extremely good frame with 6-11 size, great length, and serious fluidity. 42% dunk rate and 70% rim efficiency is terrific. Blocks shots, disruptive defender. Stunningly good passer for his profile, really makes strong reads and uses his length to pass over the defense at the top of the key. On the court, his one real flaw is the defensive rebounding, which is pretty horrible. NW was 6% better on the d-glass when he sat, a 4th% mark nationally. Cincy had a very similar 5.6% mark two years ago. Even at USC, they were 2% better when he sat. He stinks on the d-glass, which is obviously an issue for a 5-man! And then there's just wondering where his head is at. If he can get locked in, if PC can make up for his d-glass deficiency, he could be an NBA draft pick. But history suggests that there will be some bumps in the road. Will he finally put it all together? It really seemed like he did in the non-con last year. For a brand-new team that also has a good backup in Aletan, it's a risk you have to take. |
| Jordan Clayton | UMass | NU | C | Off-Ball Guard | Ajay Sheldon | Starter | UMass really needed a scoring 2-guard to play next to heavy pass-first Carbuccia, and the Clayton add to fill that role is a bit puzzling to me. He did hit 41% of his threes last year, but was in an extremely low-usage role and was almost entirely an off-ball scorer. Zero ability as a rim attacker. 11 made rim FGs in 69 career games. Fine connective passer, but that's not what you needed from Clayton. Banks and Parker were both 25%+ shot usage last year, and Clayton has never been more than 17% in his career, and really struggled in his career until his role was nearly nothing last year. Very weird fit on this roster with no clear other scoring guards other than FRs. |
| Tyler Kropp | Washington St. | NU | A- | Versatile Big | Drew Fielder | Starter | Kropp was a monster in the FIBA U19s last summer, but just wasn't ready for P5 hoops. A bit too small to be a Big Ten 5-man, but not quite skilled enough to play the 4. Should be able to handle the 5 a bit better here. Really grew in B10 play. Was a big net positive, especially on the glass. Needs to improve his rim touch, but his 24/26 mark from the line suggests shooting upside. Totally worth the gamble here that he can be like the player he was for Argentina with more touches in a slightly less athletic league. |
| Blake Barkley | Grand Canyon | ETSU | B- | Scoring Forward | Garry Clark | Key Reserve | Very good rim player and post presence. The biggest worry I have is that his shot diet was that of a traditional big, and he's 6-8, 220, definitely not a 5-man in the MW, and won't be playing next to another spacer much of the time. Hit his open threes but wasn't roaming around there. Did most of his damage next to Cam Morris, who was far more of a playmaker than he was. Was fine in a limited sample against his two T100 teams. Played a bottom-10 defensive schedule. Not a tremendous defender himself, and not a playmaker. I guess I just wonder if he's more productive than impactful, especially with the physicality bump. Remember, he never saw the floor at NW. |
| Luke Hunger | Boston College | G. Washington | C | Rebounding Big | Milos Ilic | Key Reserve | Hunger was a capable backup big in the A10 by the end of Jan, then GW star Castro went down, and Hunger went on a three-week tear where he was absolutely incredible. Then he didn't score 10+ in his last five games. I am 100%, positively certain that if Castro doesn't get hurt, Hunger doesn't get a P5 shot. Hunger is a capable scorer and not a 0 shooter, but he's not a great athlete. Fine passer but takes way too many gambles. Not a rim defender whatsoever. His best skill is his rebounding. Was largely unplayable at NW, and I don't expect a huge leap here given how concentrated his GW success was. |
| Rowan Brumbaugh | SMU | Tulane | B- | On-Ball Guard | Justin Pippen | Starter | Brumbaugh is a good player with a high floor who is definitely capable of being a fine P5 PG. Does he have a big ceiling moving from the American to the ACC? I'm not so certain. His one P5 season as a FR was for a horrific GTown team. Of course he's gotten better since then, but he's not a fantastic athlete and is relatively FT-dependent. Can that hold in this scheme? He's definitely not Boopie as a shooter, he shot 19% on PNR threes last year. Good passer who never turns it over, but not a pass-first player. Defense isn't great, and he was kind of hidden in a zone the last two years. He's obviously the Boopie replacement. SMU can be a T75 team with Brumbaugh, but very unlikely a T25 one. The duo with Terrell is pretty interesting because Terrell is more of a pass-first guy, and Brumbaugh's shooting is better off-ball anyways. |
