Last week, I wrapped things up by kind of taking a shot at my beloved Tar Heels prior to their tipoff with Michigan State. Glad I get to eat a little crow today, and while watching UNC and the Spartans, I even thought about making today’s piece a spotlight on the freshman in Chapel Hill. Their energy (not statistical success) was the key last Tuesday’s victory. But their youth was on full display Saturday in Lexington, and that idea quickly evaporated. But if anyone watched those two games, you’ll understand how exciting and volatile 17 and 18 year old college athletes can be. So, let’s start with the exciting!
Honestly, I wanted to wait as long as I possibly could to include Mr. Wall in this column. He was going to be my content when I was hurting for new names! But his performance over the weekend left me with no choice. Wall’s 16 points and seven assists against North Carolina are actually
below his season averages which sit at a nice 18.1 points and 7.7 assists. And while we are talking stats, let’s not forget about the 4.1 boards, 2.6 steals and nearly one block Wall is also contributing. Wall is also averaging 3.7 turnovers, and has had four games where he had five or more. But seriously, who cares? If you haven’t seen Wall play, I encourage you to do so, and do it soon because there is no chance he plays more than this season as an amateur. He has the speed of Ty Lawson, the size of Derrick Rose, athleticism only Vince Carter can top (
watch Wall dunk on Jerry Stackhouse here) and a cocky confidence his teammates feed off of. Wall’s importance to the ‘Cats goes beyond the measurables though. He sparked a 28-2 run against the ‘Heels Saturday only to see the lead vanish when he departed briefly due to cramping. In the closing minutes of action, it almost seemed like the Wildcats were incapable of doing anything offensively other than clearing, watching, and letting Wall blow by defenders. He is that important to their team, and some unfortunate team is going to be victim to one heck of a monster performance. I’ve run out of superlatives for him already, so feel free to
email me with some fresh stuff. And please, watch this kid play.
I could ramble on about the greatness that is
John Wall for this entire column. And I feel for the poor sole who has to follow him in this column…but we must press on!
Sadly, Whiteside’s fantasy stardom may rest in the hands of your commissioner and his position eligibility. At 6-foot-11, 215 pounds, Whiteside’s size sounds like more of a power forward who could play on the wing. But his numbers make it clear he is a force to be reckoned with down low, and hopefully the Herd do us all a favor and list him in the middle before his career wraps up. Lost in the Thanksgiving shuffle was Whiteside’s gargantuan stat line from Nov 28 against Ohio; 14 points, 17 rebounds and nine blocks! He has three double-doubles in seven games this season, giving him solid 11.6-point, eight-rebound averages thus far. Whiteside can single-handedly carry your team in blocks as he is swatting shots to the tune of 4.4 per game. He can equally destroy your free throw percentage while shooting just 34.5% from the charity stripe. It’s hard to imagine that number getting worse, take it in stride and enjoy the block party.
If I told you Bowden was averaging just 10.9 minutes off the bench for the 49ers, you might ask yourself what could he have possibly done to warrant mention in this column already. For starters, he is averaging 9.4 points in that limited action. Then I might tell you that Bowden has only taken two two-point field goals all season! The 6-foot-3 guard is averaging an amazing 7.28 three-point attempts through seven games, and as you might expect has had some highs and lows in the early going. Bowden scored 21 points and hit six three-pointers in his debut against UNC-Ashville, only to follow it up with a three-point effort against Elon. In fact, Bowden hadn’t reached double-figure scoring since opening night until last weekend’s explosion against Louisville in which he finished with 17 points on 5 of 12 shooting from downtown. Bowden isn’t doing much more than jacking up long balls, as he has just six rebounds, one assist and one steal all year. The specialist isn’t quite shooting at a J.J. Redick clip yet either, but at 37.3% from downtown, it is respectable. Clearly, Bowden has work to do to become a complete player, but if you have daily lineups, and are losing a certain category late in the week, consider picking him up now. And in keeper leagues, anyone capable of scoring that many points that quickly makes you wonder what’s possible when he seems more minutes.
It’s hard for a team’s top recruit in a conference like the ACC to be considered “under the radar,” but I feel Williams has fallen in to that category out of the gates. The four-star forward chose Maryland over Connecticut and Villanova, amongst others, and is the Terps answer in the middle for some time. At 6-foot-9, 245 pounds, Williams is physically equipped for the pounding he can expect to take in the coming seasons, and appears ready to use his frame to make an impact. Through eight games, Williams is averaging 8.4 points and 8.6 rebounds. He’s pulled down double-digit boards in three contests and had nine in two others. Like most big, young players, Williams is struggling from the line, shooting just 50%. This number is going to be a key down the road, and may be the deciding factor in Williams becoming an All-ACC performer or just an above average regular. The rebounds seem to be a given for the next three or four seasons, and by knocking down his freebies with greater consistency, Williams could easily average a high double-double down the road and elevate himself into elite status. Keep an eye on him, I think he is the key to a turnaround in College Park, and I’m not just saying that because I own him!
From one much hyped under the radar guy to an absolutely unheard of under the radar guy we bring you Dellavedova, a 6-foot-4 guard out of Maryborough Australia. One of three freshman on the Gaels roster “recruited” (which we will use loosely here) out of the Australian Institute of Sport, Dellavedova has gotten his career off to a great start, scoring 19, 19, 17 and 19 points in his first four games. For the year, Dellavedova is averaging 13.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.5 3-pointers while shooting 40.9% from downtown. One can make the argument that Dellavedova was more college ready than many incoming American born freshman as he played in the South East Australian Basketball League prior to coming stateside, but I will ask you why more schools aren’t exploring these routes. Dellavedova is averaging 32 minutes so far, and has the Gaels 6-1 and fans forgetting about Patty Mills already. This kid has some upside as a playmaker, and he can shoot it. At least keep an eye on him. At the very least.