My colleague Brendan Brody recently wrote about three of the biggest surprises and disappointments in the Big Ten this season, and I wanted to piggyback his idea by analyzing Big Ten rotations. As much as we think we know about a team’s lineup in the preseason, unsung players will inevitably force their way into playing time. While the four players below may not yet be household names in Big Ten circles, they’ve significantly exceeded expectations this year and their futures seem very bright.

DJ Wilson Has Caused a Stir With His Game and Fashion Sense (credit: MLive)

• DJ Wilson, Sophomore, F, Michigan – The best and most exhaustive college basketball preseason preview comes from Blue Ribbon, and because of how deeply they dive into each team, it’s a great way to identify “out of nowhere” players. To that point, Michigan’s Wilson was the very last player discussed in the Wolverines’ section, barely registering a courtesy mention. Instead, he’s used a combination of long arms and short shorts to become one of John Beileins’s most important players this season – he leads the Wolverines in offensive rating (19th nationally); he’s easily their best rebounder; and he’s even hitting 44 percent from the land of plenty. He’s the captain of (and the inspiration for) this year’s team.
• Cordell Pemsl, Freshman, F/C, Iowa – Continuing to use Blue Ribbon as a tool for this exercise, we come upon another disregarded forward in Iowa City. Like Wilson, Pemsl was also the 11th player mentioned in the Iowa preview, and although the Hawkeyes’ roster was more uncertain in the preseason, it’s still impressive how important the freshman has been thus far. After bouncing back from a twice-torn meniscus (and an intentionally broken leg) in high school, he’s now averaging over 10 points and nearly five rebounds per game while shooting an absurd 65 percent from two-point range. He’s also shown a nice penchant for getting to the free throw line and blocking shots early in his career. He, along with fellow freshman Tyler Cook, will make Iowa’s frontcourt a force to be reckoned with for the next three-plus years.

Read the rest of this entry »

After reeling off four straight wins to begin the 2015-16 season, California endured its first setbacks of the season in last week’s Las Vegas Classic. First came a 14-point loss to San Diego State, which had fallen at home to Arkansas-Little Rock the previous week. (To be fair, Little Rock is currently 5-0, and has also taken down Tulsa on the road.) The day after beating the Bears, the Aztecs were unceremoniously thumped by West Virginia. In its second game in Vegas, Cal lost by four points to Richmond, which already has a win at Wake Forest and returns four starters from last season: one of whom, senior forward Terry Allen, went off for 34 points and 13 rebounds against the Bears. All of which is to say, through a rather convoluted lede, that the non-conference portion of the season is in full swing. Crazy stuff happens as teams begin to take shape. There’s no need for Cal fans to panic after watching their team’s perfect 4-0 record dwindle to a more pedestrian 4-2 in the face of tougher competition.

Sam Singer (#2) might not be one of the more heralded players on Cal’s squad, but he is one of the most important. (Cal Athletics)

Take that game against Richmond. The Bears’ two standout freshmen, Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb, led the team in points (27) and rebounds (seven), respectively, continuing their strong starts to the season. They are the two gemstones that head coach Cuonzo Martin has embedded into the program he’s building in Berkeley — one that seems poised to become a West Coast powerhouse for years to come. The new blood blends well with the core that Mike Montgomery, Martin’s predecessor, assembled before retiring at the close of the 2013-14 season. In addition to being one of the best minds in the game, ‘Monty’, as he’s commonly known, brought in the likes of Tyrone Wallace, Jabari Bird and Jordan Mathews, all of whom start for Cal this season. Read the rest of this entry »

For the past 15 years, the ACC/Big Ten Challenge has done its part to give the college basketball community some great early season games. But as you scroll through the annals of the event’s fun history, it’s not chock-full of historic moments. Don’t get me wrong — there were a number of great games to choose from, but aside from the hardcore college basketball aficionado (/raises hand), it’s tough to isolate a few stand alone plays or performances to define this stable of yearly games between two of the country’s best conferences. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but the bottom line is that the Challenge has not been an event known for so many great moments as much as great basketball.

Fifteen Years of ACC/Big Ten Challenges Have Produced a Few Great Moments

Still, there have been a few. Here are some of those moments and games.

5) 11/29/06 – Purdue 61, No. 25 Virginia 59: Crump For The Win. Tarrance Crump only averaged 5.0 points per game and shot 41 percent from the field in his two seasons with the Boilermakers, but the floater he hit with 1.8 seconds left in the Challenge game to give Purdue the win over a ranked Virginia team may have been the biggest shot of his career. His game-winning shot was set up after Virginia’s Sean Singletary hit two free throws to tie the game with 29 seconds remaining. The win was notable in that it was Purdue’s first over a ranked non-conference opponent at home in 21 years. (Challenge result: 8-3 ACC.)

Read the rest of this entry »

Just 221 days ago we looked on as Connecticut outlasted Kentucky in the National Championship game. What you’ve done with those 221 days, I have no idea. But I know what college basketball has been doing; waiting. Just sitting there, letting the rest of the world pass it by. Sure, there were a few interesting stories that came out during the dog days of summer, but in the end, this was one of the most boring offseasons in recent history. And you know what, that’s okay. Because the time for waiting is over. Starting this very morning, games will be played again. Real games that count. Games with outcomes that might be listed on tournament résumés come March.

What I advise of you is to take it all in. Follow your team from the start. Do not give up after a bad loss. Celebrate a big win. Because this sport is way too fun to not watch it all from the beginning.

Rush the Court. (credit: TBL)

It’s funny what memories stick out in our minds. Some of the most vivid ones of mine are related to sports, and the majority of those have to do with basketball. I remember having back surgery when I was nine years old and my first request after waking up was for one of the nurses to turn the channel in my room to an Oregon State-Portland game. I remember March afternoons in grade school asking to go to the bathroom, then going to the library instead to use a computer and check the scores of Tournament games. Now I just take an extra long lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings. Some things never change.

Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve seen about two weeks of the college basketball season fly by, and between ESPN’s 24 Hours of College Basketball, the State Farm Champions Classic, and the bevy of compelling storylines, there’s been no shortage of great things to discuss. So this week’s College Basketball by the Tweets focuses on Tuesday night, with a strong slate of games to choose from and an unlimited supply of tweets to embed. The night belonged to the scorers — the men who eschewed passing and got their shots up. When it was all said and done, seven players finished with more than 30 points, led by Wisconsin forward Frank Kaminsky‘s 43, which was a school record. Jahii Carson poured in 40 as well for Arizona State. What were some of the reactions around the Twitter-verse?

Jahii Carson. 40.

— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) November 20, 2013

Ariz St finishes off UNLV. Jahii Carson had 40 points and 7 assts. Not a bad night at the office.

— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) November 20, 2013

True "@raphiellej: "@MedcalfByESPN: UNLV just can't do anything with Carson. Wow." Not many can."

— Myron Medcalf (@MedcalfByESPN) November 20, 2013

Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky scored a total of 63 points in his freshman year. He scored 43 points against North Dakota tonight. Wow.

— Jay Bilas (@JayBilas) November 20, 2013

Tell me the Avatar photo isn't terrific of Frank "The Tank" Kaminsky. Take a close look. It's phenomenal.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) November 20, 2013

Also, lost in all this is the play of North Dakota’s Troy Huff, who scored 37 points of his own in the 103-85 loss to the Badgers.

Troy Huff came off the bench to score 37 pts in 28 mins. @GMT_ronreezy also scored 19 off the bench on 7/10 FG. Crazy offensive numbers.

— Jonathan Reed (@bigskybball) November 20, 2013

We also saw those same freshman we were introduced to last week, and they backed up their first big-time performance with solid games on Tuesday night. Jabari Parker, for instance, went end-to-end for a huge dunk the Duke’s 83-74 victory over East Carolina. And Twitter went off. Read the rest of this entry »

Chris Johnson is an RTC Columnist. He can be reached @ChrisDJohnsonn. 

Conclusions are designed to summarize. They are added on the ends of books to pithily sum the events of previous chapters. They tie together loose ends, pull things together. Everything falls in line, any earlier doubts crystallized into a clear and concise synopsis. Everything makes sense. When it doesn’t – that’s when you question, when you wonder, when you’re truly flabbergasted by the events unfolding in front of you.

That was the feeling I got Monday night watching one of the most insane first half performances of any national championship game in any season in any level of competitive basketball. Spike Albrecht blew my mind. Yours, too: In the matter of 16 minutes, Albrecht – called into action after National Player Of The Year Award-gathering point guard Trey Burke picked up a sketchy second foul – scored 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting and 4-of-4 from beyond the arc. He entered the game at a precarious time for Michigan, what with their floor leader and undisputed best player sent to the bench, and when he left, Albrecht was a legend.

An enormous burst of energy from Albrecht gave michigan a huge jolt in the first half (Getty Images).

It didn’t stop there. Louisville responded – check that. National semifinal hero Luke Hancock responded with a ridiculous four threes on four consecutive possessions, all launched from the same general right-wing location, each purer than the one preceding. At the end of 20 minutes, two teams went to the locker room separated by one point. It was one half of basketball, and the nation had already enjoyed quite enough excitement for one night – more excitement than this college basketball season, this no-dominant-team, down-tempo, micromanaged, low-standard-of-play, bring-back-the-good-old-days season provided over five months of games.

——————–

The running theme in college hoops circles these days goes a little something like this: The sport is irredeemably destroyed, all the way down to its most basic components – team unity, player motivation, coaching greed and, my personal favorite, parity. As if a relatively equal playing field, and a complementary absence of a Kentucky 2012-level alpha dog, is such a bad thing. As if competitive basketball between two evenly-matched outfits on national television in an arena packed 75,000-strong is a detestable element of the game we’ve come to accept, a sign of deteriorating talent and viewability?

Read the rest of this entry »

Chris Johnson is an RTC Columnist. He can be reached @ChrisDJohnsonn.

The interminable offseason breeds countless hours of boredom and frustration. With seven months separating the net-cutting ceremony that signals the end of every college hoops campaign and the opening tip that begins it, perusing the internet and conjuring up ideas to write about on a daily basis becomes an exercise in creative determination. This is not the NBA, where free agency bridges the gap between the Finals and training camp. The college basketball season has a definitive start and end. Though that line is beginning to blur with amplified recruiting coverage and limited summer practices, when the field of 68 is finally whittled down to one, and the soft tunes of One Shining Moment set off an emotional carousel unlike any other in American sports – from utter despair and devastation for the losing fan base to extreme delight and exultation for the national champion – the hardwood action that has so thoroughly captivated fans across the nation over the previous five months with nonstop intrigue and resume-building/crashing drama grinds to a screeching halt. It’s why the National Championship game always feels like a foreboding culmination, like the end of an enchanting joyride that closes with equal parts satisfaction and disappointment. The warped sense of reality defined by conference races, argumentative bubble talk and AP Poll hand-wringing is swept away without but a single warning to prepare for the lull. Amidst all the joy of a championship celebration and the highly-anticipated lead up to the Final Four, there stands the harsh reality of a painfully long college hoops drought. We college hoops scribes have grown to accept this dichotomy as one negative in an overwhelmingly enjoyable state of affairs. Because no matter how much we dread the dry offseason, the gloomy days spent panging for loaded campus gyms, and buzzer beaters, and visible fan passion, the torture is justified by the sweet end.

Three shipside games will christen a new college hoops season (Photo credit: Getty Images).

The journey to that end begins tonight, and not a moment too soon. We here at RTC have a date with college hoops, one that’s seven months overdue. She cannot evade us, nor the rest of the hoops viewing public, any longer, because tonight the lovefest commences. If you are a first-time viewer of the sport, consider this a warning: What you are about to see may distort your expectations. Over the next three days, teams will eschew traditional playing grounds to meet on aircraft carriers and foreign military bases. It is a patriotic inauguration of the sport we love, but it is not – however delighted you may be by the gorgeous vistas and military backdrops adorning the proceedings – the norm. It won’t be long before geeked-up student sections and campus hysteria inhabits your nightly viewing experience. And for that, we are thankful. Ecstatic. Tantalized. However you wish to describe it or appreciate it, the message is the same: the wait is over.

Read the rest of this entry »

See bottom of the post for the Official RTC Star System

We’ve seen scrimmages, exhibitions, and 2K Sports Classic games throughout the past month, but today just FEELS like the start of college basketball. There is a full slate of games across the nation, including seven Pac-12 affairs. Washington and Oregon State will get their regular season started tomorrow, while Utah and Washington State will wait until Monday night. Arizona is already 2-0 on the season and will play again Sunday afternoon.

Oregon @ #7 Vanderbilt – 7:00 PM PST on Fox Sports South (***)

If Oregon Is To Pull The Road Upset, Stopping Senior Forward Jeffrey Taylor Is A Must

• The Pac-12 game of the weekend will take place in Nashville tonight, where the up-and-coming Ducks will take on national power Vanderbilt. Oregon has caught some breaks in the past weeks in their quest for an upset, mainly with starting VU center Festus Ezeli out due to a suspension/injury. That means Vandy will rely on Jeffrey Taylor to do the scoring down low. UO big men Tyrone Nared and Tony Woods will be charged with handling Taylor on defense. In the backcourt, the Commodores are led by junior shooting guard John Jenkins. Jenkins averaged 19.5 PPG last year and will be held down by double-teams from Jabari Brown and Garrett Sim. Those doubles will leave players like Dai-Jon Parker and Brad Tinsley open, so if those two are able to knock down their open shots the Commodores will win easily.
• If the aforementioned Duck players (Nared, Woods, Brown, and Sim) all step up, Oregon should keep this one close for the first half and some of the second. But with a hostile crowd right on top of them and all of the size and talent that the Commodores bring in, I can’t see Oregon pulling this upset. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s hoping everyone had a superb Labor Day weekend to celebrate the end of summer and coming of fall.  It may have been college football weekend elsewhere across the sporting universe, but here at RTC we’ve been whiling ourselves thinking about the upcoming roundball season.  With that in mind, we’re pleased to announce a completely redesigned site, streamlining many of our existing features and adding a couple of new ones.  Our hope is that a simpler and sleeker interface will enhance the user experience while still offering the comprehensive commentary and analysis on college basketball news that we’re known for.

RTC Continues to Evolve...

The major changes to note are as follows:

• The Independent Voice of College Basketball.  We’re not quite sure how it happened, but in the four-plus years since the debut of RTC we’ve evolved from a one-man showcase of college hoops opinion and nonsense to a 40-person team of extremely talented writers showcasing college hoops opinion and nonsense.  Although we have a very basic affiliation with Big Lead Sports to provide advertising, we are one of the few remaining college basketball sites free from corporate overlords directing our content and analysis.  We are proud of our independence in terms of creative control, and the day that we lose that here will also be the same day we shut the whole thing down.  You as the reader may not always agree with our opinions here at RTC, but you can rest assured that you’re getting a legitimate and honest take.
• Conference Check-In Carousel/Nightly Nonsense Tabs.  This feature located at the top left of the site under the navigation bar will make it easier to keep up with our 31 conference correspondent updates (called Conference Check-Ins) during the regular season.  The most recent Check-In on a given day will post on the far left side under the “Latest Check-Ins” tab, and the carousel will allow readers to scroll back through the last 15 posts to find their favorite conferences.  Conference Check-Ins will resume weekly in mid-November.  On the right hand side of the carousel, you’ll notice a blue “Nightly Nonsense” tab, which will provide a daily listing of the key televised games of each day during the season for your viewing pleasure.  This feature will resume again in early November on Opening Night.
• TumblRTC.  You’ll note on the right sidebar that there’s a new widget we’re calling “TumblRTC.”  Tumblr is a blogging platform that many folks have fallen in love with in the past year, and we’re planning to give it a shot too.  The best way to describe how we hope to utilize it is “RTC for Busy People.” It’s not meant in any way to replace our long-form content on the home page; rather, we intend for our TumblRTC posts to complement it.  TumblRTC will be heavy on photos, quotes, videos, links and any other media we find and think might be interesting to you guys, and it will also provide readers with an interactive way to provide some of their own content back at us.  You will be able to see the last few TumblRTC posts on the RTC home page (above right) or you can see our entire stream at rushthecourt.net/tumblr/.
• RTC Microsites.  These six buttons for each of the power conferences currently sit at the top right of the page where the old Announcements box resided.  Over the next couple of months, we hope to start rolling out conference-specific ‘microsites’ focusing on all things college basketball within each of those six leagues — the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC (for as long as they exist).  Each microsite will have its own subdomain and dedicated writer(s), and the idea will be to cover those conferences with a depth of scope and analysis that is simply impossible on our nationally-focused home page.  Stay tuned on these — we’re very excited about them.  We’re still looking for talented writers to staff these six microsites, so please send us your information (i.e., area of interest, background, writing sample) to rushthecourt@yahoo.com if you think you’d be interested.

As always, none of this means anything if our readers don’t like what we’re doing, so feel free to share your feedback with us in the comments, via email or social media.  We’re always listening.