The All-”GIVE THEM THEIR FLOWERS” team
The All-”GIVE THEM THEIR FLOWERS” team
Who are the most unappreciated players in college basketball this season?
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If you missed it, we rolled out the most in-depth conference previews that you’ll find anywhere on the internet last week: The ACC, the Big 12, the Big East, the Big Ten, the Pac-12 and the SEC.
This week, we’ll be taking a look at some of the most interesting players and teams around the country. Yesterday, we gave you a breakdown of the 12 players that are in line to have breakout seasons. Today, we’ll take a look at the “stars” that deserve more attention than they are getting. Without further ado:
These guys cannot be considered breakout stars because they are either already stars or they likely won’t see a drastic change in their role this season, but they are five guys that do not get nearly enough appreciation for just how good they are.
Give them their damn flowers.
DAVION MITCHELL, Baylor
I’m not willing to say that Mitchell is the best defensive player in college basketball this season — you’ll see why in a minute — but I do think that he is arguably the toughest on-ball defender in college basketball. I personally think that we need to allow him and Marcus Garrett to play 1-on-1 to a very low number, like five, to give out the official title of best on-ball defender in the country, but I digress.
Mitchell is just a monster on that end of the floor, one of the main reasons that Baylor was able to change their defense and play that aggressive man-to-man that turned them into a title contender last season. He’s as valuable to what Scott Drew does as Jared Butler is.
Butler is a first-team All-American. Mitchell did not even make one of the all-Big 12 teams. Give that man his damn flowers.
JALEN CRUTCHER, Dayton
Obi Toppin is the guy that got all of the credit, all of the attention and all of the flowers on Dayton last season.
And he deserved it. He was the piece that made Dayton’s offense, the best offense in college basketball, work.
But it should be noted that he was hardly the only star on that roster. Jalen Crutcher averaged 15.1 points and 4.9 assists while shooting better than 42 percent from three for the Flyers. He was the one that hit the game-winning three to beat Saint Louis on the road in overtime last season. He may not have been the National Player of the Year, but Dayton would not have been a No. 1-seed in the theoretical NCAA tournament had he not been there, and they would not be a favorite to win the Atlantic 10 this year without him. Give that man the flowers he deserves.
KEYONTAE JOHNSON, Florida
Florida was loaded last season. Not only did they land Kerry Blackshear, the best grad transfer in the country, to add to a recruiting class that was ranked as one of the best in the country, and headlined by a five-star in Scottie Lewis, but they added all of that to a team that was headlined by Andrew Nembhard, a five-star recruit from the previous recruiting class.
There were three or four players on their roster that deserved to be considered for all-conference status, and I’m not sure any of them were Keyontae Johnson. But by the time the season ended, Johnson was not only the best player on Florida, but he deserved to be in the mix for SEC Player of the Year.
This season, he’ll enter the year as a favorite to win the award once again, and it still feels like no one realizes just how good this dude is. A 6-foot-5 forward that can guard three positions, Johnson is coming off of a season where he averaged 14.0 points and 7.1 boards while shooting 38 percent from the floor. Give him his flowers.
YVES PONS, Tennessee
Pons is the best all-around defensive player in all of college basketball, and I don’t say that lightly. I know the weight behind it, and I fully believe that statement. I think that people drastically overuse the phrase “he can guard all five positions,” but Yves Pons can quite literally guard all five positions, especially at the college level. Combine that with the fact that he can make a face-up three and that he is just a great kid with an impressive work ethic, and that’s why I thought he should have been a top 40 pick in this year’s draft.
He’s also the reason I am so bullish on Tennessee. He makes them matchup proof. He’ll allow them to play five-out if Rick Barnes wants to. He is such a weapon. Give Air Pons his damn flowers.
AAMIR SIMMS, Clemson
It seems like, every year, there is a player on Clemson that gets hyped up as one of the best players in the country that we aren’t paying attention too, whether it’s K.J. McDaniels, or Jaron Blossomgame, or Donte Grantham. This year, it’s Aamir Simms, and it’s totally justified. A 6-foot-8, 245 pound power forward with a perimeter game, Simms is maybe the most entertaining player in the country that you aren’t watching on a nightly basis. He’s coming off of a season where he averaged 13.0 points, 7.2 boards and 2.6 assists while shooting 40 percent from three and averaging better than 2.3 blocks-plus-steals per 40 minutes.
If you watched him go for 25 points, nine boards and five assists as he absolutely dismantled then-No. 3 Duke last season, you’d know what I’m talking about. So please: Give. That. Man. His. Flowers.