College Basketball: Five Players Ready to Break-out

Michael Lemaire by Columnist Written on May 14, 2008
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Last season, he averaged 10.4 points per game and 6.5 rebounds, but his improvement clearly played a big role in the Huskies improvement, and return to the NCAA tournament.

Even scarier is that at his size, he shot 42 percent from behind the arc. How do you defend someone who can shoot over you, dribble by you, or run right through you?

His continued development will hinge, in large part, on whether A.J. Price will be able to return to form following knee surgery. 

Robinson's best game is his ability to run the floor and finish at the rim, and if Price is at full strength, they could become an unstoppable duo.

UCONN has a legitimate shot at a National title if Robinson stops taking a back seat and starts running the show.

3. Matt Howard/Butler:

Matt Howard is a coach's wet dream.

He is not the most skillful player, and he doesn't have the ability to stretch the defense the same way Daye and Robinson do. But his work ethic and basketball IQ are through the roof, and he was only a freshman for Coach Brad Stevens.

Built like a tight end at 6-foot-8 and 225 pounds, Howard is deceptively agile for a guy his size.  For the Bulldogs, he primarily played inside, and fans should expect more of the same next season.

Howard was the model of consistency. He scored in double digits in 24 out of 34 games and five or more rebounds in 23 out of 34 games.

His production came from his ability to score in a multitude of ways. He would get garbage points off offensive rebounds, or post-up and hit a jump hook or a five-foot jumper.

He could run the floor extremely well and always count on now graduated Mike Green to find him the ball.

The strongest indicator he will break-out next season? His shot selection.

He shot almost 60 percent from the field for the season and always played his best games against big opponents. He hung 12 and 12 in a win over Michigan and had 23 and seven against Ohio State's menacing front line.

He also had 16 and nine in the heart-breaking loss to Drake. Point being, the kid will not be denied, and he has some cold blood in his body.

Howard was the third leading scorer for the Bulldogs last season at 12.3 points per game, and the second leading rebounder at 5.5 per game.

But senior stars AJ Graves and Mike Green have since gone on to bigger and better things, leaving the Bulldogs in the capable hands of Mr. Howard.

Unfortunately for Butler, they graduate five of their top seven players, which should only mean that the onus falls harder on Howard to improve and become THE guy for Butler.

4. Nic Wise/Arizona-

Wise had a very tough season. He played sparingly in the first two weeks of the season, but as he improved, he soon began piling up 30+ minutes per game, especially once Jerryd Bayless went out with his injury.

But then Wise got hurt, missed seven straight games, and came back to score in double figures every game the rest of the season.

Although he is small in stature at 5-foot-9 and 175 pounds, the Texas native is a rocket with the basketball in his hands, always looking to push the tempo and break out into a man-advantage break.

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written on May 14, 2008 Rankings/List

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