The Athletic: 2022-23 CBB Top 20 Guards, Wings and Bigs

[tcf15]

No UConn players listed in the guard rankings, but one each in the wings and bigs list.

Top 20 Wings
19. Jordan Hawkins | 6-5 floor spacer | Connecticut
It’s maybe aggressive to put him here as opposed to in the section detailing breakout players, but I’d bet Hawkins ends up putting up the kind of numbers that warrants All-Big East selection this year. He’s one of the best movement shooters in the country, a terrific athlete who Connecticut will run off of all sorts of screening actions to try and get free. Expect him to get in the vein of seven-plus 3-point attempts per game this season while shooting over 37 percent on them. He’s that level shooter. The big questions are around everything else. Can he put the ball on the deck enough to make defenders stay honest? Can he make passing reads? He’ll average 15 points per game this year on high level shooting. But the key will be rounding out the rest of his game.

Top 20 Bigs
12. Adama Sanogo | 6-9 post | Connecticut
One of the best pure posts in the country, Connecticut might even have a better roster that makes more sense around him this year. With dynamic defender Isaiah Whaley and reluctant shooter Tyrese Martin gone, the Huskies will surround Sanogo with even more shooting and floor-spacing than he had last season with smooth-shooting four Alex Karaban and movement floor-spacer Jordan Hawkins. Throw in Andre Jackson (a reluctant but decent shooter), Naheim Alleyne, Joey Calcaterra, and dynamic transition threat Tristan Newton, and teams are going to have a tougher time doubling Sanogo, which should allow him to add to his 15 points per game.

 

[tcf15]

Big East Players in Top 20 Guards

18. Jared Bynum | 5-10 lead | Providence
One of the most clutch players returning to college basketball this season, Bynum hit big shot after big shot during last season’s magical Providence season that saw them win 12 games by five or fewer points or in overtime. But for the Friars to win the Big East again, Bynum will need to take on an even bigger role with the graduation of five senior starters. Having reloaded in the backcourt with transfers in sharpshooter Noah Locke and two-way guard Devin Carter, Ed Cooley will rely on the stability and toughness of Bynum to get Providence to where it wants to go in 2023.

Five breakout guards to watch

Trey Alexander | 6-4 combo | Creighton
Alexander was huge to close the season for Creighton after Ryan Nembhard’s injury, averaging 12 points, four rebounds and four assists per game in the team’s last 10 games. Alexander will shift back off the ball with Nembhard back, and will be allowed to try to wreak havoc with his athleticism and energy in transition. The 6-4 guard is also a killer defender who follows in the footsteps of great Bluejays guards like Ty-Shon Alexander. He’ll get the toughest assignment every night, score double-figures, help with the offensive distribution, and almost be the glue guy for a team that I’m very high on in 2023.

Six freshmen who could swing their team’s season

Mark Armstrong | 6-1 combo | Villanova
How Villanova adjusts to a new era under Kyle Neptune is one of the most interesting stories in college basketball this season. Undeniably, a big part of that will be finding scoring and efficient offense, especially with star wing Cam Whitmorehaving fractured his thumb early. Caleb Daniels is a good two-way guard, but can he consistently be the No. 1 option? Armstrong being able to handle the point would be huge for them. Typically, Nova doesn’t trust freshmen, and Armstrong isn’t exactly the traditional two-foot, jump-stop, balanced kind of guard. He’s an electric open-floor athlete who is score-first, a creative ballhandler and attack-oriented. If he can handle the duties at some point, Nova’s upside is much higher. If not, it’ll be guys like Angelo Brizzi and Chris Arcidiacono.

Desmond Claude | 6-5 lead | Xavier
Scouts who have been to Xavier have been extremely excited about Claude, an enormous 6-5 guard who will be physically ready to play college basketball from the jump despite his high school ranking being right around the No. 100 mark according to most recruiting services. He can shoot from distance off the catch as well as drive all the way to the rim and power through contact to finish. He and Colby Jones should combine well for the Musketeers sharing on-ball responsibilities, allowing them to present opposing teams with enormous mismatch nightmares as both are in the 6-foot-5-plus neighborhood. If he’s as ready to go as scouts think, Xavier should be a top-three team in the Big East and get back to the NCAA Tournament in Sean Miller’s first year.

 

[tcf15]

Big East Players in Top 20 Wings

2. Cam Whitmore | 6-6 power wing | Villanova
Whitmore has a fractured thumb and could miss the start of the season, but it’s tough to get past him at No. 2 given his talent. He has this rare mix of power and grace as a driver, being able to bully smaller players while also possessing the talent to hang in the air and change the angle on rim protectors in order to get cleaner looks as a finisher. He can shoot, and he’s a tough defender. As long as the thumb doesn’t set him back too badly, he’s almost a shoo-in top-10 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. But more importantly, even for a program that doesn’t tend to rely on freshmen, Whitmore brings the kind of scoring explosiveness that the Wildcats will desperately need in Kyle Neptune’s first year as they hope for Justin Moore’s return from his Achilles injury. No freshman has ever won the Big East Player of the Year award, but Whitmore is undoubtedly the most talented player in the league this season. If he gets healthy quickly, he has a real shot to be the first.

7. Baylor Scheierman | 6-6 point floor-spacer | Creighton
Man, did Creighton get lucky that one of the most valuable players on last year’s transfer market grew up just a couple hours away from Omaha. Last year’s Summit League Player of the Year, Scheierman is one of the most prolific shooters returning to college basketball this season, having made 47 percent of his five 3-point attempts per game last season. But he’s more than a shooter. Essentially running the point last year for South Dakota State, Scheierman is a terrific passer who also grabs rebounds and can initiate the offense at times even at the high-major level. My guess is that he slides into more of a wing role with Ryan Nembhardaround, but Scheierman should be terrific this season. He’s an up-transfer you can trust, having posted a 10-point, 18-rebound, six-assist game against Alabama, an 18-point, 10-rebound game against Providence in the NCAA Tournament, an 18-and-10 game against Iowa State, and a 15-point game against West Virginia already in his career.

14. Colby Jones | 6-6 wing guard | Xavier
I’ve been the conductor of the Colby Jones hype train for the last couple of years. I’m a big believer in his game, and he finally started to showcase it last year in the NIT, on his way to becoming the MVP of that event. His last 10 games of last season, overall, were a star-making turn. He averaged 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 52 percent from the field and finally being let loose to be the dynamic on-ball creator he’s capable of being. If Xavier had hired a more creative offensive coach, I probably would have had Jones as a top-seven or so wing entering the year. But I’m a bit worried about Sean Miller getting the most out of him. This roster is tailor-made for a five-out structure with Jack Nunge and Zach Freemantle as skilled bigs. If Miller lets those two play on the perimeter and lets Jones loose, he could be this season’s breakout star. But that would be something different than we’ve seen from Miller in the past.

18. Arthur Kaluma | 6-7 power wing | Creighton
Kaluma is a breakout projection based on how he closed last season for the Bluejays. He averaged 13 points and six rebounds as a freshman in his final 14 games, including a killer 24-point outing in the team’s final loss against Kansas in the NCAA Tournament. He is a mismatch waiting to happen for Greg McDermott and company — too strong for wings, and too quick for bigs. If Kaluma can just take a leap as a shooter this season, Creighton should have every expectation of being there at the end of the season given how well-rounded the roster is. He should also be able to pair with Ryan Kalkbrenner— more on him later in the bigs section — to form one of the best frontcourts in the country.

Five breakout wings to watch

Bryce Hopkins | 6-6 forward | Providence
Hopkins was a little-used forward for Kentucky last season, stuck behind juniors Keion Brooks and Jacob Toppin, older players that were just more ready to play. The Chicago area native decided to transfer and chose Providence as his landing spot. I couldn’t love this fit more. Hopkins was a fast-rising prospect over the back half of his junior season, into his final grassroots season and through his senior season. He’s a killer face-up four-man who will thrive in Providence’s flex offense because of his abilities to handle the ball in the mid-post, face-up in the midrange area and be an offensive mismatch threat, and rebound. He also has the potential to stretch it out to the 3-point line. I would bet he averages 14 to 16 points, eight rebounds, and has a shot to be an All-Big East player.

 

[tcf15]

Big East Players in Top 20 Bigs

6. Ryan Kalkbrenner | 7-1 defensive post | Creighton
Kalkbrenner is my favorite among the rest of the nation’s bigs. He has a case to be the top defensive player in college basketball, as a shot-blocker who also moves really well and is constantly crowding both ball-handlers and finishers at the rim with his length. Beyond that, he’s also a developing shooter from distance, runs hard to the rim both in transition and out of ball-screens, and has reasonable touch on the block if Creighton needs to throw it down to him. If any other player is going to enter that top tier of bigs, he’s my bet. Creighton is loaded with talent and a roster that fits together, but he’s the linchpin of the whole thing. He’s the reason they have a real chance to go to the Final Four if things break right.

 

[auror]

Cam Whitmore at 2 is wild.

 

[superjohn]

Cam Whitmore at 2 is wild.

Why?

 

[UCFan1513]

Hawkins overranked, Sanogo underranked

 

[QuickDraw]

Hawkins overranked, Sanogo underranked

I agree with this, Sanogo out of the top 10 seems like a slight imo & Hawkins hasn't shown enough to make the list yet except for a few encouraging flashes but I do hope he makes me eat my words which I believe he is capable of doing.

 

[BuffaloHusky]

If Sanogo has spacing, look for a monster season and a top 5 rating. I don't know of a big in the country who has a softer touch and with more freedom of movement and space around the rim those soft shots will be uncontested put backs that will easily pad his rebounding and scoring stats.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Reluctant shooter Tyrese Martin???

I hope the wordsmithing was off and he meant to describe Whaley as a defender and reluctant shooter.

 

[mauconnfan]

Reluctant shooter Tyrese Martin???

I hope the wordsmithing was off and he meant to describe Whaley as a defender and reluctant shooter.

Reluctant shooter used twice by these stiffs. Sanogo being that far behind Kalkbrenner is a joke. Whitmore might be special but can he play the wing in college before he’s better than all but 1? I do like the fact someone told them Karaban May be a factor. And Kaluma is too far down, kids a stud!

Amateur stuff but still fun read.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Reluctant shooter used twice by these stiffs. Sanogo being that far behind Kalkbrenner is a joke. Whitmore might be special but can he play the wing in college before he’s better than all but 1? I do like the fact someone told them Karaban May be a factor. And Kaluma is too far down, kids a stud!

Amateur stuff but still fun read.

Being behind Kalkbrenner at all is a joke. Hawkins ranking is about right and he may well exceed that. You can tell these guys don’t really know most of these teams or players.

 

[Kenny11]

Does Andre Jackson even exist?

 

[pj]

I'm surprised anyone would rate Hawkins ahead of Andre Jackson as a wing. Hawkins is the better shooter but Jackson is better at everything else, and isn't a negative as far as scoring. One-on-one you might take Hawkins, but in a team game you take Jackson.

 

[CL82]

Does Andre Jackson even exist?

He’s a ninja. You don’t see him until he’s ready to strike.

 

[REB1094]

I know these quotes aren't meant for follow-up math to be done on them, but Hawkins shooting 7+ threes per game (call it 8) and making over 37% of them (call it 38%), would be 3 3PM per game, for 9 PPG on three pointers alone

I made back 10 years on sports-reference before I got tired of clicking, and the highest 3PM per game for us was 2.5

I'm assuming they're just fluffing numbers to justify their "aggressive" placement, but that would put him among the best shooting seasons in UConn history. I will buy every Jordan Hawkins jersey in America if that happens

 

[CallMeBruce]

Being behind Kalkbrenner at all is a joke. Hawkins ranking is about right and he may well exceed that. You can tell these guys don’t really know most of these teams or players.

It's not a joke. Basically every advanced metric thinks Kalkbrenner is the better player. That doesn't mean he will be, but it's certainly not ridiculous to not think all of the numbers are wrong.

 

[auror]

Why?

He's a freshman at Villanova with a fracture on his shooting hand to start the year. I know he showed out at FIBA and the McD game, but he wasn't even a top 10 composite recruit and now suddenly he's top two of all players over 4/5 years on the wing? I think he's going to be awesome, but there are a ton of things to suggest he'll have a slow start to the year.

You have legitimate conference POTY senior favorites with multiple all conference awards already like Timmy Allen, Matt Bradley, Hunter Maldonado, Kevin Mccullar or even Baylor Scheierman to pick from.

 

[superjohn]

He's a freshman at Villanova with a fracture on his shooting hand to start the year. I know he showed out at FIBA and the McD game, but he wasn't even a top 10 composite recruit and now suddenly he's top two of all players over 4/5 years on the wing? I think he's going to be awesome, but there are a ton of things to suggest he'll have a slow start to the year.

You have legitimate conference POTY senior favorites with multiple all conference awards already like Timmy Allen, Matt Bradley, Hunter Maldonado, Kevin Mccullar or even Baylor Scheierman to pick from.

He's projected to be the #5 pick in the draft.

I'm not anticipating Whitmore or Jackson's finger injuries will derail their seasons.