Eight programs on the rise entering the new season
Our 2015-16 season preview continues with a look at eight teams on the rise. Check back every day for more college hoops preview content.
CAL: The Bears have been an above-average Pac-12 team for the past seven seasons, but they’ve seldom managed to gain sustained national relevance. That should change this season thanks to an influx of talent the likes of which has not been seen in Berkeley since the days of Lamond Murray and Jason Kidd. Ivan Rabb, a McDonald’s All-American power forward from nearby Oakland, committed to Cal this past spring. His decision helped persuade consensus top-three prospect Jaylen Brown to the do the same a few weeks later even though the Detroit native had offers from many of the nation’s most prestigious programs. Those two join a roster that already includes Pac-12 player of the year candidate Tyrone Wallace, high-scoring wings Jabari Bird and Jordan Mathews and 7 footers Kingsley Okoroh and Kameron Rooks. That’s a nucleus formidable enough to make the Bears contenders in the Pac-12 and preseason top 20 nationally.
FLORIDA STATE: Ask ACC coaches which team has the best chance to ascend in the conference this season, and the most common answer is Florida State. The Seminoles return 87.2 percent of their scoring and 89.3 percent of their rebounding from a team that went a respectable 8-10 in league play last season but did not defeat any of the ACC’s NCAA tournament-bound teams. Florida State’s best player is guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes, a 6-foot-4 sophomore who averaged 14.9 points last season and became the first freshman in ACC history to score 30 or more points three times. The rest of the squad is a blend of proven veterans — most notably guards Montay Brandon and Devon Bookert — and ultra-talented newcomers like swingman Dwayne Bacon and guard Malik Beasley. That perimeter depth is a luxury Leonard Hamilton hasn’t enjoyed in a while. He’s hopeful that and the presence of three 7 footers will enable Florida State to return to the defensive dominance that was the foundation of four straight NCAA tournament teams not too long ago.
MARYLAND: At this time last year, Maryland coach Mark Turgeon faced pressure just to make the NCAA tournament after three straight years of falling short amid constant roster turnover. Now the Terps have much loftier goals after winning 28 games last year, returning two NBA prospects and adding a McDonald’s All-American big man and a pair of coveted transfers. Maryland’s catalyst is lead guard Melo Trimble, a 6-foot-3 sophomore who averaged 16.3 points and 3.0 assists last season while showcasing the burst to consistently get to the rim. Duke transfer Rasheed Sulaimon will provide outside shooting and perimeter defense. Skilled senior Jake Layman can play either forward spot. Elite freshman Diamond Stone is a gifted interior scorer and Georgia Tech transfer Robert Carter is a threat to score who can also defend the post and control the glass. If that’s not the most talented starting five in the nation, it’s certainly up there.
OREGON STATE: Expected to be among the nation’s worst power-conference programs in Wayne Tinkle’s debut season, Oregon State instead emerged as the Pac-12’s most pleasant surprise, squeezing 17 wins out of a modestly talented roster by slowing the pace to a crawl and playing stingy zone defense. The Beavers have a chance to contend for their first NCAA tournament bid in 26 years this season with last year’s core returning and the school’s best recruiting class in years joining the fold. Oregon State’s strength is a backcourt anchored by Gary Payton II, a defensive standout just like his father who also led the Beavers in scoring (13.4 ppg) and rebounding (7.5 rpg) last season. Guard Malcolm Duvivier and forward Olaf Schaftenaar should both be in Tinkle’s lineup again this year, but fellow returning starters Langston Morris-Walker and Daniel Gomis will be pushed for playing time by Rivals 150 freshmen Derrick Bruce, Stephen Thompson and Tres Tinkle.
PURDUE: If last year’s 21-win season served as Purdue’s return to relevance, the Boilermakers could be poised to take another leap this winter. They added a McDonald’s All-American power forward and a lights-out shooter to a roster that already boasted a promising young combo forward, a pair of talented 7 footers and the Big Ten’s reigning defensive player of the year. Purdue’s massive frontcourt is its biggest strength. Six-foot-9 freshman Caleb Swanigan joins second-team all-conference 7-footer A.J. Hammons and promising 7-foot-2 Isaac Haas to form a trio that will cause plenty of matchup issues. And 6-7 combo forward Vince Edwards has been working on his perimeter skills all offseason in preparation of playing more on the wing this season. Whether Purdue can ascend into league title contention could be determined by how its backcourt fares. The Boilermakers need a credible point guard to emerge and freshman Ryan Cline and junior Kendall Stephens to provide the outside shooting last year’s team lacked.
RHODE ISLAND: In stunningly quick fashion, Rhode Island coach Dan Hurley has taken the Rams from the bottom tier of the Atlantic 10 to the league’s upper echelon. The Rams may be the Atlantic 10’s deepest, most talented team this season as Hurley has surrounded all-conference guard E.C. Matthews with a strong supporting cast. Six-foot-7 Hassan Martin is a double-digit scorer and capable rebounder who also led the Atlantic 10 in blocks last season. Six-foot-9 Kuran Iverson is a Memphis transfer once hailed as one of the top 50 recruits in his class. Guard Jared Terrell is a potential double-digit scorer and sharpshooting transfer Four McGlynn should add a badly needed perimeter threat. Davidson returns four starters from its league title team, Dayton has won at least two NCAA tournament games the past two seasons and VCU remains formidable, but Rhode Island cannot be overlooked as an Atlantic 10 contender.
TEXAS A&M: When the Aggies lost to Louisiana Tech in the NIT last March, coach Billy Kennedy made a promise to his program’s fan base. “I will go on record to say now we will be a [NCAA] tournament team next year,” Kennedy told reporters after that game. Kennedy has good reason to be confident Texas A&M is poised for a revival. The Aggies return their three leading scorers from a 21-win team and add a recruiting class considered one of the 10 best nationally. Optimism surrounding Texas A&M begins with the duo of wing Danuel House and power forward Jalen Jones, both of whom combined to average nearly 29 points per game last season. Pass-first point guard Alex Caruso also returns, but he’s less likely to wear down late in the season again this year with South Florida transfer Anthony Collins sharing minutes with him. Beyond that, much of Texas A&M’s rotation could be freshmen — and good ones at that. Highly touted big men Tyler Davis and Elijah Thomas will both split time at center and provide a low-post presence, while D.J. Hogg is a sweet-shooting wing and Admon Gilder is already a gifted perimeter defender.
VANDERBILT: The Commodores’ three-year NCAA tournament drought should end this season. They have enough returning talent to build on last year’s 21-win season in which they won eight of their final 10 regular season SEC games and reached the NIT quarterfinals. Seven of Vanderbilt’s top nine scorers are back including all-SEC center Damian Jones, who has already announced this will be his final year in college. The 7-foot junior led the Commodores with 14.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game last year. Surrounding Jones are an array of shooters who helped Vanderbilt become one of the nation’s 20 most efficient offenses last season. Crafty point guard Wade Baldwin IV, wings Riley LaChance, Jeff Roberson and Matthew Fisher-Davis and 7-foot forward Luke Kornet all contributed to the Commodores hitting 39.2 percent of their threes as a team last season. If Vanderbilt merely picks up where it left off last year in February and March, the Commodores project as an NCAA tournament team. If they continue to improve, they could eclipse LSU and Texas A&M as Kentucky’s biggest threat in the SEC.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
