In previous seasons, I probably wouldn't have taken note of the many developments we are seeing in the early going. But after this week's ACC-Big Ten Challenge, the good folks on the East Coast largely take the next month off; studying, taking finals and playing cream puffs. So what we've seen so far has a little more merit, and dare I say, trends are developing.
John Henson's offense
I'm not trying to convince you this is where the ball belongs with the game on the line. And maybe his new found "confidence" is the reason the 'Heels have already lost heading towards a week where they face Wisconsin and Kentucky (Henson shot just 4-for-12 against UNLV.) But from a fantasy perspective, Henson has already vaulted into an elite territory this early in the season. He's simply not just scoring on dunks and tap ins. He's confident taking jumpers, has shown a solid back-to-the-basket game, as well as a jump hook often from the left side. If anyone can name a player in America capable of blocking a jump hook from Henson, I'm all ears. There is only modest improvement in Henson's free throw percentage, so there is reason for the the 'Heels to worry he'll shoot more than he should. From a fantasy angle, a guy who we already knew was good for 8-10 boards and 3+ blocks is now capable of scoring 15-20, instead of hoping he dunks five times.
Early Season (unannounced) suspensions
I'd love to tell you how I really feel about the Wolfpack and the Yellow Jackets, and a lack of decent information before their respective season's tipped off. Unfortunately, writing for our sister football site, College Fantasy Football Insider, has taught me that athletic departments don't care about the realm of fantasy sports. Both NCST's C.J. Leslie and Georgia Tech's Glen Rice, Jr. served three-game suspensions as the year began, which were virtually unannounced prior to tipoff. Both are back, and are already building on solid 2010-2011 seasons. Leslie has shown a more polished offensive game and a willingness to not take ill-advised long range shots. Rice has gone from a complementary player who I worried wasn't capable of shouldering the load, to a guy who looks poised to become a "go-to" player. What you probably lost in the first week without these two you are likely to gain down the stretch as their growth continues.
Wake Forest's Scoring
If we are talking about the team's scoring...well, Wake is up from 67 to 75 points per game this year. But individually, the Deacs have two players averaging nearly 20 points after having no one put in more than 13 a season ago. Guard C.J. Harris leads the way at 19.5, while forward Travis McKie is nipping at his heels at 19.2, good for second and third in the conference respectively. Both are playing over 33 minutes, which tells me there won't be much slowing down here. Harris is clearly thriving with the departure of K.T. Harrell, and McKie is showing nice development in his second season in Winston-Salem. I've been pretty lazy with regards to praising guard Tony Chennault. The sophomore missed a good chunk of his rookie season due to a broken foot, but is playing eight minutes more this year and conveniently scoring eight points more as well. He gives Wake a third top 20 scorer in the ACC, not bad, my friends.
Rise of serviceable centers
DeShawn Painter, Daniel Miller, Carson Desrosiers...even Dennis Clifford. And that is without mainstays Tyler Zeller, Mason Plumlee, Bernard James, and Devin Booker. I really only feel good about Miller's long term prognosis, but that's honestly just a gut feel. The ACC suddenly has a decent amount of big bodies, and we're no longer happy taking five points and six rebounds out of the middle.
We'll wrap up tonight with a little name dropping. I tried to fill this "all-surprise" team with an actual lineup, instead of going for the patented Duke 4-guard lineup. Zing! Mixed in another anti-Blue Devil reference.
Early Season "All-Surprise" Team
P.J. Hairston, guard, North Carolina - Maybe I was right when I took Hairston in our ACC Mock Draft earlier this season. He's proving his worth to the 'Heels more every time he takes the court, and has scored 34 points in his last two games despite playing just 29 minutes. He's hit eight three-pointers in that stretch, and has a very, very bright future in Chapel Hill.
Lorenzo Brown, guard, North Carolina State - You are going to be hard pressed to find a player who's been more valuable across the board than Brown has in the early going: 13.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 3.3 steals valuable. As much as I love Kendall Marshall's passing, this is your All-ACC Fantasy Point Guard to date and it'll take an injury to change that.
Ryan Kelly, forward, Duke - Looking at Kelly, the ABDs (Anybody but Duke, myself included) think the junior fits every stereotype you can through out there about K's bunch. But just three summer's ago, Kelly was the highest rising prospect on the AAU circuit, and a coveted recruit nationally. He took some heat for shooting too often from deep towards the end of last year, but showed solid growth while the Devils toured Asia and has brought that success back stateside. He's not rebounding enough for a 6-foot-10 kid (insert Duke big man joke here,) but he's scored 17 in three straight, and is hitting 89.7% from the line. Only guard Seth Curry is hitting at a better clip amongst regulars, and the rest of the team is under 70%. Kelly will see plenty of free opportunities, and that will keep his scoring consistent.
Dorian Finney-Smith, forward, Virginia Tech - Someone in this lineup has to rebound. As inconsistently as Finney-Smith is scoring, he can still provide me some value here. His scoring has gone as follows: 1-14-2-10-11. His rebounding in that span: 7-10-7-14-8. You could double any other Hokies' rebounding averages and barely be within two boards of Finney-Smith. He's not nearly as raw, or the same player, as John Henson, so enjoy the rebounds and expect the points to follow sooner than later.
Xavier Gibson, forward/center, Florida State - I've already mentioned a handful of surprises in the middle, but Gibson gets the nod here for development and secondary stats. He's putting in just over seven points, and five boards to date, up from 4.7 and 3.7 from a year ago. More importantly, he's giving you 1.3 blocks and 1.6 steals. The thefts rank eighth in the conference, but first among non-guards. A very nice bonus.
Tanner Smith, guard, Clemson - Smith is starting for the Tigers, but gets my vote as a sixth man here. And that's simply because he does everything well and nothing great. He's the league's top rebounding guard (6.4) and he's giving us 9.8 points and 4.2 assists to boot. If he's coming off the bench for the above lineup...he can essentially play four of the five positions. Fantasy owners don't care about that, but they should care about those totals.