Player of the Week
Moses Wright, junior, Georgia Tech
It’s been an interesting year for Josh Pastner and his team so far. They began the season without starting point guard and the go-to playmaker from last year’s team, Jose Alvarado, who is just now returning from an injury sustained last season and is playing well. In his absence, sophomore guard Michael Devoe started the season on fire, and is still one of the leading scorers in the ACC this season. Yet, this past week, as the Yellow Jackets partook in the Diamond Head Classic early season tournament, another player stole the show and took on the role of all-around leader of the team; junior forward Moses Wright. Wright (pictured) put up three strong performances in the tournament, averaging 17.7 points and 7.3 rebounds and helping his team finish in third place. His strongest performance came in a win against Houston, in which he posted his third double-double of the season, a 19-point, 10 rebound effort. Georgia Tech is an intriguing team with a lot of talented players, and if Alvarado, Devoe, and Wright can continue their strong years, Georgia Tech should be playing postseason basketball of some sort.
Who’s Hot
Duke Blue Devils bench
Coach K is known as one of the best recruiters in the history of all college athletics, and brings in recruiting classes featuring mainly five-star and high four-star recruits’ year-in and year-out. With that being said, only five players can be on the court at a time, and every year players who could be starters at virtually any other school in the country find themselves coming off the bench at Duke. Sometimes, those players grow frustrated at the lack of playing time and choose to transfer out, and other times, they embrace the role and do their best to contribute to the team in any way they can. That seems to be the mindset of the players coming off the bench for this years’ Duke team. On 12/28, the bench put up 34 points in their win against Brown. They have totaled 167 points over their last five games, an average of 32.6 points per game during that stretch. Duke is getting 25.3 points per game from their reserves this season, which is the highest scoring average for a Duke bench since the 2007-2008 team that featured standout players such as Nolan Smith and Jon Scheyer coming off the bench.
Manny Bates, freshman, NC State
Freshman big man Manny Bates has quietly been one of the most impactful freshmen in the country for his team. He isn’t setting the basketball nets on fire on the offensive end, as he hasn’t scored more than 12 points in a game this season. Where Bates makes a difference on the court is on the defensive end. He is averaging an astonishing 3.31 blocks per game in his first season, and has 43 blocks in total, already putting him only five blocks shy of the NC State freshman season record. His 3.31 blocks per game puts him 6th nationally, and the freshman leader in the category.
Who’s Not
Jordan Nwora, junior, Louisville
On 12/28, the #3 ranked Louisville Cardinal went into Rupp Arena to face off against one of, if not their biggest rival, the #19 ranked Kentucky Wildcats. Even though it came early in the season, this year’s game is one of the biggest of the season, as both teams have the talent and potential to win the national championship. Arguably the best player on either team is Louisville forward Jordan Nwora, one of the best scorers in all of college basketball. Nwora is seen is as one of the better NBA prospects in the country, but a strong performance and a win against Kentucky would have propelled him into discussions as one of the best. Unfortunately, Nwora did not have the game he and the rest of the country expected him to have. He finished with 8 points, 4 rebounds and 3 turnovers on 2-10 shooting from the field, and 1-6 from three in 39 minutes of action. His teammates stepped up, and were able to bring the game into overtime before Kentucky pulled away with a 78-70 victory.
Clemson Tigers
The Tigers are a team with some talent and potential, but they have not been able to put it together yet this season. They sit at 6-6, but suffered their worst loss of the season 12/22 against Yale, a 54-45 loss. Clemson simply could not get anything going on the offensive end. They had only two players score in double figures, with one player scoring 11 points and the other scoring 10. They shot 15-47 from the field (31.9%), and were a measly 4-20 from behind the arc (20%). The loss is not a good look for Clemson, as conference play is in its early stages, and they must forget about this loss quickly and bounce back or else it will be a long rest of the season.
New Years’ Resolutions for five ACC teams
5. North Carolina – Get and stay healthy
It has been an extremely disappointing start to the year for Heels, as they came into the season with lots of expectations, and have not been close to meeting them so far, sitting at 7-5. While their play has not been at the level it needs to be at, it can also be argued that the team has been decimated by injuries so far. Their star point guard and heart and soul of the team, Cole Anthony, has been out indefinitely after undergoing knee surgery. Other impact players such as Armando Bacot and Leaky Black have also missed time with injuries as well. If UNC can get all of their injured players back and healthy, they will be a tough team to beat come tournament time. If not, disappointment will be in the air in Chapel Hill.
4. Virginia – More consistency on offense
Coach Tony Bennett has turned the Virginia basketball into the premier defensive program in the country ever since he took over in 2009, and this year’s team has continued the tradition of being one of the most defensively sound teams in the country. With that being said, the reigning national champs have a clear weakness this year; scoring the ball. Without go-to ballhandlers and scorers, such as Ty Jerome and Kyle Guy, Virginia has really struggled to score at times, and as a result, have two bad losses already this year, a 26-point loss to Purdue in which they only scored 40 points, and an 11-point loss to South Carolina. The talent, especially on defense, is clearly there. If Virginia is to experience any sort of success in the conference and NCAA tournament this season, they must figure out how to score the ball consistently.
3. Syracuse – Help for Elijah Brooks
Syracuse has potential to be a tournament team this year, as they have a star in Elijah Hughes, and a talented supporting cast with Joe Girard III, Buddy Boeheim, and Marek Dolezaj. Hughes has been an absolute beast for the Orange, averaging nearly 20 points per game, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. The problem has been the consistency of his supporting cast. Boeheim and Girard III have shown flashes, but have not been able to put in strong performances for long stretches. If Hughes is able to continue his dominant breakout season, and the others can support him and takeover the game when need be, ‘Cuse could be a scary team by seasons end.
2. Duke – Continued production from their bench
As mentioned earlier in the article, the Duke bench has been their best and most productive unit since the 2007-2008 team. With Tre Jones and Vernon Carey leading the way as the clear stars and players opposing teams key-in on in the scouting reports, the bench has added another dynamic that makes this team even more intimidating for opponents. If they can continue to make an impact on the offensive end when the starters are not on the floor, it will make that much of a difference come later in the season when other teams are starting to wear down.
1. Louisville – Jordan Nwora to show up in big games
This year’s Louisville team is going to live and die by their star player and leader, Jordan Nwora. He has been one of, if not the best player in the ACC so far. For that reason, his lackluster 8-point performance in 39 minutes in his team’s biggest test of the season against in-state archrival Kentucky is a bit surprising and worrisome for Louisville and their fans. Louisville has all the makings of a contender, as they still managed to take Kentucky to overtime without Nwora before falling, but they will only go as far as Nwora will take them. If he can move past this disappointing performance and use it as motivation for the rest of the season, Nwora can bring this Louisville team deep into the tournament and remove any big-game questions and doubts NBA scouts may have following the loss to Kentucky.