Players Every College Basketball Fan Must Watch in 2015-16 Season
Practice is underway in preparation for the 2015-16 college basketball season, which is set to begin in a little more than a month. If you're not itching for the action to get going, you will be soon enough.
To help get ready for the year ahead, we've put together a short list of the players you will need to track throughout the season. These aren't just the best players or the ones on the top teams in the nation but also individuals who should provide nonstop excitement whenever they hit the court. Chances are they'll rarely disappoint when you check in on them.
Follow along as we give you a quick rundown of the players that every college basketball fan should watch for in 2015-16.
Ron Baker, Wichita State
1 of 15
Position: Guard
Year: Senior
Height, weight: 6'4", 210 lbs
Look up the definition of "scrappy guard" in a college basketball dictionary (if such a thing existed) and you'd find Baker's picture. Since bursting on the scene during Wichita State's surprise run to the Final Four in 2013, Baker has been one of the faces of the fastest-rising program in the country.
Baker has continued to become more integral to the Shockers' success since, serving as a key piece of the 2013-14 team that made it into the NCAA tournament without a loss, as well as last year's squad that made it to the Sweet 16. And with coach Gregg Marshall getting lured by bigger programs this past spring, Baker was one of the reasons Marshall opted to stick around.
A career 37.7 percent three-point shooter, Baker has made 178 outside shots and has averaged 12.9 points per game in three seasons.
Jaylen Brown, California
2 of 15
Position: Forward
Year: Freshman
Height, weight: 6'7", 225 lbs
California hasn't been a major player in college basketball in a whileāit last made the Sweet 16 in 1997 and has been in the NCAA tournament just five times in the past 12 seasonsābut suddenly the Golden Bears have been garnering some buzz as a potential Final Four contender in 2015-16. Why the sudden change?
Though several factors have contributed to this hype, the most significant was the signing of 5-star recruit Jaylen Brown. Rated by 247Sports as the No. 4 prospect in his class, Brown's commitment to Cal in May (over Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina and UCLA, among others) was a major win for second-year coach Cuonzo Martin. With Brown and another highly touted signee in Ivan Rabb, the Bears are now expected to battle with Arizona and UCLA for the Pac-12 title as well as be in the hunt for their deepest postseason run in decades.
Brown is arguably the best player Cal has brought in since Jason Kidd, who played in Berkeley from 1992 to 1994.
Kris Dunn, Providence
3 of 15
Position: Guard
Year: Junior
Height, weight: 6'4", 220 lbs
Kris Dunn likely would have been a first-round NBA draft pick this past June, especially after a 2014-15 season when he was one of the national leaders in assists (7.5) and steals (2.7) per game while also chipping in 15.6 points and 5.5 rebounds. Those were all huge increases from his previous numbers as a freshman in 2012-13 and during the injury-shortened 2013-14 campaign.
But Dunn went against the grain and opted not to turn pro, knowing he still had parts of his game to work on and the best place to do so would be in college. His return makes Providence a player once again in the Big East after it won 45 games in the previous two seasons combined.
"Every game Kris is in, he'll dominate the ball and give us a chance," Providence coach Ed Cooley told Chris Dortch of Blue Ribbon College Basketball Notebook, which named Dunn its preseason player of the year. "His presence on the floor is unique and he's the type of talent that can clearly carry a team."
Rico Gathers, Baylor
4 of 15
Position: Forward
Year: Senior
Height, weight: 6'8", 275 lbs
When a shot is off the mark and ends up bouncing off the rim and/or backboard, it can sometimes resemble a rugby scrum or the chasing of a fumble in football. In that respect, it's not surprising that a man as big and strong as Rico Gathers has made rebounding his specialty.
With size similar to Baylor star defensive end Shawn Oakman, Gathers uses his height and girth to muscle his way to a higher percentage of missed shots than almost any other player in college basketball. Last season he was second in Division I in both offensive rebound percentage (18.9) and total rebound percentage (22.3)Ā while ranking fourth nationally in rebounding at 11.6 per game,Ā perĀ Sports-Reference.com.
That's the same tally as his scoring average, with the bulk of his points coming on putback layups and slam dunks, many of which rattled the rim and left opposing players in his wake.
Buddy Hield, Oklahoma
5 of 15
Position: Guard
Year: Senior
Height, weight: 6'4", 214 lbs
Buddy Hield was last season's Big 12 Player of the Year, so it's not shocking he's the league's preseason pick for this year's award. He's a big reason that Oklahoma stayed in the hunt for the conference title all season (and also why the Sooners made the Sweet 16), and he's why the team is expected to make a similar run.
A native of the Bahamas, Hield brings great energy to the court every minute he's in action. Last year he parlayed that into 17.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, and for his career he ranks 15th on the school's all-time scoring list. He has an outside shot to get to 2,000 points by the end of 2015-16.
Damion Lee, Louisville
6 of 15
Position: Guard
Year: Senior
Height, weight: 6'6", 210 lbs
The graduate transfer rule has been a game-changer in college basketball, where players who have finished their degree and still have eligibility remaining are able to go to a different school in order to make a splash in that final season. Dozens of notable players took advantage of this rule for 2015-16, but Damion Lee figures to have the greatest impact.
Lee averaged 21.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game last season for Drexel, which went 11-19 and lost to a Division II school along the way. The Dragons' poor overall play overshadowed how good Lee was, and when he opted to go elsewhere for his final year of college, plenty of big-name schools were interested in his talents.
At Louisville, he's set to be the go-to scorer for a team that had 82.5 percent of its scoring from a year ago leave the program, per Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller.
Jamal Murray, Kentucky
7 of 15
Position: Guard
Year: Freshman
Height, weight: 6'4", 207 lbs
Kentucky has brought in so many big-time recruits during John Calipari's run that it's hard for one to stand out from the rest. But few have been so highly touted as Jamal Murray, whose play for the Canadian national team during this summer's Pan American Games made it hard to believe he was a recent high school graduate starring against international pros.
He scored 22 points against Team USA in the semifinals, with all of that coming in the fourth quarter or overtime.
Murray was originally meant to be a freshman in 2016-17 but reclassified during the summer, and by coming to Kentucky, he has raised his stock even more based on the success of guards in Calipari's system who have gone on to the pros.
Marcus Paige, North Carolina
8 of 15
Position: Guard
Year: Senior
Height, weight: 6'2", 175 lbs
Marcus Paige is coming off a disappointing junior year in comparison to what he did the season before, when because of a lack of offensive weapons he more or less carried North Carolina. When looking at the 2014-15 season on its own, however, Paige still put up some of the best numbers of any guard in the country.
Now he's on pace to potentially be a 2,000-point scorer, and in this final season we expect to see at least a few more examples of the player who's developed a reputation as being one of the most clutch in the game. Given the nickname "Second-Half Marcus," Paige routinely turns it up after halftime and has a knack for hitting big shots in the final minutes.
Paige is a career 38.1 percent three-point shooter, having drained 180 long balls in the past two seasons.
Gary Payton II, Oregon State
9 of 15
Position: Guard
Year: Senior
Height, weight: 6'3", 190 lbs
Lights-out shooting, vicious slam dunks and no-look passes make the highlight reels and grab the YouTube hits, but having players who can do well in all areas of the game is just as important to a team's success. A team always needs someone who can pride himself on being strong on the defensive end, where many top players end up lacking.
That's not the case for Gary Payton II, who might be most famous for his father (ex-Oregon State and NBA star Gary Payton Sr.) but also led the Beavers in scoring, rebounding, steals and shooting last year. His play on defense was especially key to OSU being one of the stingiest teams in Division I in terms of scoring and field-goal defense.
"No player in the country was better at stealing the ball last year," Bleacher Report's Jason Franchuk wrote. "Gary Payton II is just plain special."
Ben Simmons, LSU
10 of 15
Position: Forward
Year: Freshman
Height, weight: 6'10", 240 lbs
Though teams still play five guys at a time, basketball has moved on from the traditional lineup of having a clear point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward and center. Big men have been responsible for most of the changes, using their ability to do more than bang in the paint and causing us to re-evaluate their roles.
And now comes Ben Simmons, the Australian-born phenom for LSU who was the top-rated playerĀ in the 2015 recruiting class, perĀ 247Sports. Though his size makes him seem like a natural 4, Simmons considers himself a "point forward" who can contribute in all areas of the offense including running it from the top.
Simmons showed this off during the summer when he led LSU in every statistical category during an overseas exhibition trip to his home country.
Melo Trimble, Maryland
11 of 15
Position: Guard
Year: Sophomore
Height, weight: 6'3", 185 lbs
Like it or not, the trend in college basketball is that the best new players each season are usually only around for one campaign. If a player comes in as a freshman and already sees his name on future NBA draft big boards, he's likely going to be a one-and-done guy, regardless of how he performs. The same goes for those who weren't as heralded but end up having monster freshman seasons.
Melo Trimble was the exception to this rule. He was a highly regarded freshman for Maryland and had a big year, but rather than head to the NBA after one season, he chose to stick around. Even more surprising, though, is that he's not currently projected by NBADraft.net as being a draft pick in 2016.
But if Trimble is able to put up another big year like he did in 2014-15 (when he averaged a team-high 16.2 points per game) without having veteran Dez Wells next to him, expect his draft stock to be much higher next spring. Until that happens, though, we'll enjoy him as long as he's in the college game.
Denzel Valentine, Michigan State
12 of 15
Position: Guard
Year: Senior
Height, weight: 6'5", 220 lbs
After spending two years as a role player for Michigan State, Denzel Valentine became one of the program's stars during his junior season. And when the Spartans needed a veteran to come alive and help turn around a struggling campaign, Valentine was at the front of the line.
He averaged 14.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists, each of which was second-best on the team. And with Travis Trice graduating, Valentine's importance to MSU, which trying to match last year's run to the Final Four, is even greater.
He picked up valuable experience playing for Team USA during the Pan American Games, helping that squad to a bronze medal.
Fred VanVleet, Wichita State
13 of 15
Position: Guard
Year: Senior
Height, weight: 6'0", 186 lbs
Part of arguably the greatest backcourt tandem in the country (alongside fellow senior Ron Baker), Fred VanVleet is as synonymous with Wichita State basketball as coach Gregg Marshall and the unique Shockers mascot.
VanVleet spent most of his freshman year as a backup with limited minutes, but when Wichita went on its postseason run, his role expanded, and he became one of the most important contributors by averaging 7.2 points per game in the NCAA tournament compared to 4.3 for the entire season. Since then he's been one of the Shockers' top scorers, averaging 11.6 points as a sophomore and 13.6 this past season.
Each of the past two seasons Baker has averaged more than five assists per game while being one of the most careful guards around. His career ratio of 2.4 assists to one turnover has proved to be very reliable over the years.
Jalan West, Northwestern State
14 of 15
Position: Guard
Year: Senior
Height, weight: 5'10", 175 lbs
There are more than 350 college basketball teams at the Division I level, and while the vast majority of the attention is on the schools and players from the power conferences, plenty of hidden gems out there are worth spotlighting. Jalan West comes to mind, as all of the major opponents he's faced in his career (and will again in 2015-16) are aware of what he can do.
As the point guard for the nation's top-scoring team, Northwestern State, West averaged 20 points and an NCAA-leading 7.7 assists per game last season. That included a 25-point, seven-assist game against Arkansas as well as nine assists against Texas Tech and eight against Oklahoma.
This year Westāwho along with 22-point-per-game junior Zeek Woodley makes up the highest-scoring backcourt in the countryāwill take Northwestern State on the road to face Arizona, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor and Ole Miss.
Kyle Wiltjer, Gonzaga
15 of 15
Position: Forward
Year: Senior
Height, weight: 6'10", 240 lbs
Kyle Wiltjer had to sit out the 2013-14 season after transferring from Kentucky to Gonzaga, and during that time away he not only got himself mentally prepared for a different role with a new team but also transformed his body and his game to become a more complete player. The result was a wildly efficient junior year, when he averaged 16.8 points per game while shooting 46.6 percent from three-point range.
Wiltjer has always been a strong outside shooter, but he added strength and the ability to play inside to his game. This resulted in his getting far more of his points from in the paint or at the foul line, compared to in his first two seasons when more than half of them came on threes.
"With his combination of size (6'10") and accuracy (57 and 47 percent on two- and three-pointers, respectively), he is the most Wisconsin-like frontcourt player to be found anywhere in the world outside of Madison," ESPN Insider John Gasaway wrote.
Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.
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