Before we dive into some candidates, let’s define what we mean by “breakout.” Preseason All-American Ben Simmons is a pretty safe bet to have a great season. The same goes for potential first overall pick in next year’s draft, Skal Labissiere. Predicting that the freshmen we’ve been hearing about for years will step in and excel doesn’t make for interesting reading. Instead, here are several returning SEC players who saw little action last year that could become major parts of their respective teams this season.

Devon Baulkman’s shooting touch could make him a key part of Rick Barnes’ first team at Tennessee (scout.com).

• Devon Baulkman, Tennessee. The JuCo transfer only averaged 14.7 minutes per game last year under Donnie Tyndall, but could be poised to become a key cog in Rick Barnes‘ offense. Barnes has talked about playing up-tempo and letting his players shoot the three at will. This was borne out in the Vols exhibition win over Alabama-Huntsville where they launched 38 three pointers. Baulkman took eight of those shots, and showed promise from deep last season by making 38.2 percent of his 68 three-point attempts. While Robert Hubbs, Kevin Punter and Armani Moore will be the focal points of the Tennessee offense this year, Baulkman could carve himself a valuable niche on the perimeter.
• Moses Kingsley, Arkansas. Kingsley has been an advanced stat nerd’s dream, posting an elite block percentage (11.7%) and solid total rebounding percentage (13.9%) in limited minutes over his two years in Fayetteville. Mike Anderson‘s system by its nature precludes players, especially big men, from playing 25 plus minutes per game. But Anderson is playing with a light deck after an offseason of roster turnover and Kingsley is all of sudden one of his few frontcourt options. He should get plenty of minutes, and has demonstrated enough rim-protecting potential to predict that he’ll have a very productive year.

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Who’s Got Next? is a weekly column by Sean Moran, the RTC recruiting guru. Once a week he will bring you an overview of what’s going on in the complex world of recruiting, from who is signing where among the seniors to discussing the recruitments of the top uncommitted players in the country. We also encourage you to check out his contributions at The Intentional Foul dedicated to recruiting coverage and analysis. You can also follow Sean at his Twitter account @Seanmohoops for up-to-date news from the high school and college hoops scene. If you have any suggestions as to areas we are missing or different things you would like to see, please let us know at rushthecourt@yahoo.com.

Note: Scout.com used for all player rankings.

Jayhawks Sign First Recruit For 2014

Last Tuesday, Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks landed five-star small forward Kelly Oubre from Houston, Texas. Oubre is currently the fourth-ranked small forward in the class and 11th overall and is the first player to make a commitment to the Jayhawks in the class of 2014.  The commitment took place after a whirlwind tour that first saw Oubre visit Lawrence for KU’s version of Midnight Madness, “Late Night in the Phog,” on October 4.  As soon as this event ended Oubre took a weekend trip to Colorado Springs to participate in the USA Developmental Camp at the U.S. Olympic Training Center before returning back to school. After getting back, Oubre cancelled his upcoming official visit to Kentucky and on October 8 announced his intention to play for Kansas.

Kelly Oubre is Kansas’ Heir Apparent on the Wing

Oubre is a 6’6” athletic wing who is known for his outside shooting ability. Last year he led his Fort Bend Bush High School to the Texas State Championship where they ran into current Kentucky freshmen Andrew and Aaron Harrison. After averaging 22.7 points per game as a junior, Oubre made the decision to transfer to Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nevada. This past spring and summer Oubre shot up the national rankings with his play in the camps and on the AAU circuit. He joined two other five-star wings in Justin Jackson (#8 – Scout 2014) and Justise Winslow (#9 – Scout 2014) on the Houston Hoops AAU team which also played in the Nike EYBL. Oubre averaged 15.7 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while shooting 31.5% from the three-point line.

Kansas gets a small forward who is known for his effortless left-handed stroke. He prefers to launch threes from just below the foul line extended and can shoot out to NBA range. Oubre has the athleticism and skill to get to the basket and finish in the paint, but he prefers to rely on his shooting touch to get baskets. Sometimes this can get him into trouble when he continues to launch from deep when his shot is off. While this situation occurred several times during AAU play, Oubre turned in one of the top performances at the USA camp. Right now Kansas is also heavily involved with five-star power forward Cliff Alexander (#5 – Scout 2014) and five-star center Myles Turner (#2 – Scout 2014). Alexander joined Oubre in Lawrence for “Late Night” while Turner traveled to Colorado Springs for the USA Camp. The Jayhawks are also one of three finalists for the package duo of Jahlil Okafor (#1 – Scout 2014) and Tyus Jones (#4 – Scout 2014), both top five players nationally. Oubre got the ball rolling for the Jayhawks. Who’s next? Read the rest of this entry »

Who’s Got Next? is a weekly column by Chad Lykins, the RTC recruiting guru. Once a week he will bring you an overview of what’s going on in the complex world of recruiting, from who is signing where among the seniors to who the hot prospects are at the lower levels of the sport. We also encourage you to check out his contributions dedicated solely to Duke Basketball at Duke Hoop Blog. You can also follow Chad at his Twitter account @CLykinsBlog for up-to-date breaking news from the high school and college hoops scene. If you have any suggestions as to areas we are missing or different things you would like to see, please let us know at rushthecourt@yahoo.com.

Young and Lee Join Historic Kentucky Class

Young’s Addition Bolsters UK’s Already Star-Studded Class (US Presswire)

If your familiar with the phrase “the rich get richer”, that describes Kentucky basketball recruiting. After landing a pair of top-five prospects from the class of 2013, twin brothers Aaron and Andrew Harrison, the Kentucky Wildcats received verbal commitments from two more highly ranked 2013 prospects, in the form of James Young last Thursday and Marcus Lee on Wednesday afternoon. Young is a 6’6″ shooting guard out of Rochester High School (Michigan) and is the No. 5 ranked prospect in the ESPN 100. Lee, a 6’9″ power forward out of Deer Valley High School (California), is the No. 28 ranked recruit. Along with Kentucky, Young listed Kansas, Michigan State and Syracuse in his final four while Lee had just listed California as his only other possible destination. Young and Lee will now join the Harrison twins and unranked prospect Derek Willis as a part of Kentucky’s 2013 recruiting class.

“Kentucky has always been my dream school,” said Young, who revealed his choice by holding up a “Kentucky Bound” blue T-shirt. “I’m not just looking for the NBA. I’m looking for an education and a national championship and that’s about it.” Young emerged as a prime recruiting target for the Wildcats in the spring and had listed Kentucky as the team to beat for his services since the summer. Young has made two consecutive visits to Lexington, once for Kentucky’s alumni weekend and the other this past weekend for “Big Blue Madness.”

Kentucky will now possess the most lethal perimeter trio in all of college basketball for the 2013-14 season with the addition of Young to complement the Harrison twins. In the left-handed Young, the Wildcats are getting one of the best pure scoring guards in the country. An aggressive scorer who can stroke it from deep or utilize his mid-range game, Young is exceptional at scoring off the catch and has a plethora of moves to get to the rim. On the defensive end, he uses his athleticism and length well to disrupt the opposition. The one aspect of his game that needs the most work is his ball-handling. In transition, he can fill lanes but with improved ball security, he could be even more deadlier running the fast break and making plays for either himself or his teammates.

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