10 New Names in Hoops That You'll Be Knowing Soon

Remember how last season hoops fans were introduced to players like Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls and future-No. 1 pick Karl-Anthony Towns while he played for the Kentucky Wildcats? This hoops season promises to have a few stars who we should start to get familiar with—because they have breakout potential.

Whether that means going from a B-level player like Butler to a bonafide star, a top recruit to the top pick like Towns or, yes, even earning stripes as a head coach, here are 10 names that we should all keep in our minds as the hoops season gets underway.

Jabari Parker

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Am I cheating by putting Milwaukee Bucks forward Jabari Parker on this list? Possibly, but, c'mon on, the kid played in just 25 games during his rookie campaign last season after being selected No. 2 overall in the 2014 draft, so he's sort of a forgotten man.

Parker, who was as hyped as high as fellow 2014 draftee Andrew Wiggins, has all the skills and size to become an absolute star, back to full strength following a knee injury in his first year.

Should he show no ill signs of that injury once he returns in a few weeks, Parker could become both an All-Star and the Comeback Player of the Year, so shame on any of us who forgot how talented he is.

Skal Labissiere

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If you don't know who Skal Labissiere is quite yet, be ready to get introduced to, arguably, the most talented prospect in college hoops, as he dons Big Blue for the Kentucky Wildcats this season after being one of the top recruits in the nation this past year.

Joining a long line of Kentucky stars who went on to become top-3 NBA picks, Labissiere is, once again, projected by many to be in the conversation as the top overall pick.

After a small hiccup to determine if he would be eligible to play this season because of some questions regarding his recruitment, the 6'10" forward is set to become the inside-outside player who former UK star Anthony Davis was for the Cats—and Davis' lone season ended with a national title, so look out.

Fred Hoiberg

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You might not have thought you would see a first-year NBA head coach's name on this list, yet here is Chicago Bulls new leader Fred Hoiberg joining some of the biggest names in hoops this season.

So why does the former Iowa State Cyclones coach and NBA player earn my praise? Because he has both the coaching wits and talented roster to actually take the Bulls further than his predecessor, Tom Thibodeau—and he was pretty darn good.

Following five seasons at the helm of the Cyclones, Hoiberg is determined to meet the lofty expectations he has for both himself and his team, so don't be shocked if his new energy produces similar results to that of Steve Kerr and David Blatt in 2014-15; those two first-year guys guiding their teams to an NBA Finals matchup.

Brandon Ingram

Ranked No. 3 on the ESPN Top-300 list of recruits during his last year in high school, new Duke Blue Devils forward Brandon Ingram is expected to carry on the long tradition of Dukies who made a name for themselves under Coach K.

Spurning Duke's rival North Carolina during recruitment, Ingram brings a game to Durham that is touted as being on par with dynamic forwards such as Kevin Durant—which carries ridiculous amounts of pressure.

Joining former high school teammate Darnell Dunn as the only two players to lead their team to four-straight NCHSAA state titles, Brandon Ingram will be on a mission to help the Blue Devils repeat as national champs and keep his personal winning streak alive.

C.J. McCollum

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Sure, it'd be easy to sit here and add Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum onto this list because he exploded in the team's opening game of the season with a 37-point outburst, but more than that one game is the fact that the former No. 10 overall pick has some talent.

McCollum, who was sort of the odd man out the past few years in Portland, is now getting a chance to show why so many were high on him when he came out of Lehigh in 2013, stepping into vacant roles formerly occupied by Wesley Matthews and Nicholas Batum.

With the Blazers hoping to remain competitive after giving budding star Damian Lillard a mega deal this past offseason, C.J. McCollum hopes to be the ideal running mate for a one-two punch in the backcourt.

Enes Kanter

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Remember back in 2011 when Enes Kanter was ruled ineligible by the NCAA while he was on the Kentucky Wildcats because he had accepted money from a former pro league? This may finally be the season when hoops fans get to see why so many in the Bluegrass were pleading to "Free Enes."

Taken No. 3 overall in 2011 by the Utah Jazz, Kanter never developed into the dominant force that many believed he could be while with the Jazz, finally getting an opportunity during last season with his current squad, the Oklahoma City Thunder, which signed him to a huge deal in the offseason to keep him in OKC.

Some wondered what the Thunder were thinking by making Kanter the 20th highest-paid player in the league, but he has shown he can score and rebound with the best of them since joining the team—putting up a 18.5/11.2 clip—so it was a risk worth taking on the talented big man.

Grayson Allen

Last year's Duke Blue Devils men's hoops team might have won the national title, but had it not been for overlooked freshman Grayson Allen, they may have found themselves on the losing end.

While his incoming classmates Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones and Justice Winslow all got the press and headlines throughout the year, it was Allen—a former McDonald's All-American himself in 2014—who came off the bench and dropped 16 points in his 21 minutes to provide the Devils a spark and win the NCAA championship.

Allen might have been that other freshman last year, but he's back as a sophomore to prove his title game performance was no fluke, with some already touting him as the heir apparent to some fella named Christian Laettner, who had just a little success down in Durham with Coach K and the Dukies.

This may just be the first season where we see some of the reason why.

Nikola Mirotic

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After being drafted by the Houston Rockets in 2011, it wasn't until last season with the Chicago Bulls that forward Nikola Mirotic finally debuted in the NBA.

While it took a few years for him to work things out and come over to the States, 2015-16 will be the year that those outside of Chicago will begin to understand just how good the guy is.

The 24-year-old Mirotic honed his skills overseas playing in Europe, being named as the league's Rising Star in 2011 while playing with Real Madrid, so he has always had a high ceiling that was expected to translate to the Association.

A tall and lanky player who can stretch the floor like, dare I say, Dirk Nowitzki, Nikola Mirotic will get his fair share of pick-and-pop attempts in the Bulls' new offense—and defenses better be ready to close on him, because the kid can stroke it from deep.

Kris Dunn

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Of every player on this list, Providence's Kris Dunn may be the most underrated and unheralded guy, as he has played for a Friar team that has reached the NCAA tourney the past two years, but he has yet to have his coming out party in March.

Many believe that, on skill alone, Dunn might be the best player in the country—yes, he's that good—yet he forwent a shot at the NBA to return to college and both hone his skills and help guide his team.

Scoring over 15 points per game, assisting on another 7.5 per game and being named co-Big East Defensive Player of the Year, Kriss Dunn has everything a coach would want in a hoops player, he just doesn't play for a big-time program for casual fans to watch very often.

Tabbed as the Preseason Player of the Year in the Big East, it's time for people outside the conference to take notice.

Ben Simmons

Much like fellow LSU Tigers student-athlete Leonard Fournette has done on the football field for the school, incoming freshman Ben Simmons is expected to resurrect the hoops program and become a regular on highlight reels.

Simmons, who was the top prospect in the ESPN top-300 heading into this season, is being touted as a superstar in the making, with scouts raving about his all-around game and how it will translate to the next level with ease.

Already showing a sneak preview of what he can do in a preseason game in his native Australia, Simmons is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in 2016 and be a franchise player—so, yeah, it would be smart to get to know his name.