Category: Men’s Basketball

Florida drops a spot in CBS Sports college basketball Top 25

Florida’s recent transfer portal movement has the Gators ranked inside CBS Sports’ Top 25, but other teams adding players is causing UF to dip slightly.

Florida fell one spot to No. 18 on the CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 on Wednesday when insider Gary Parrish made his most recent updates.

The top 14 remained stagnant except for No. 11 Creighton and No. 12 Purdue swapping places. Arizona’s most recent addition — Oakland star Trey Townsend — and a strong incoming high school class moved the Wildcats up three spots.

Arizona’s jump caused the three teams ahead of it — Ohio State, Marquette and Florida — to shift down to the Nos. 16-18 slots on the list.

“Todd Golden’s Gators returning six of the top nine scorers – everybody besides Zyon Pullin, Tyrese Samuel and Riley Kugel – from a team that secured a No. 7 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament,” Parrish wrote. “The transfer-portal additions of Alijah Martin (FAU) and Sam Alexis (Chattanooga) give Florida a pair of productive mid-major pieces, the former of whom helped Florida Atlantic make the 2023 Final Four.”

Texas is the other big mover on this list, up three to No. 21, but that didn’t affect the Gators. The full rankings can be found here.

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Duke star Paolo Banchero drops first 30-point playoff game against Cavaliers

Paolo Banchero won his first playoff game on Thursday night, and he did so in spectacular fashion with a 31-point double-double against Cleveland.

In his first career home playoff game, former Blue Devil Paolo Banchero put on a show for the Orlando Magic crowd.

In a Thursday win over Cleveland, Banchero scored 31 points and pulled down 14 rebounds. He added five assists and made four of his nine 3-point attempts for the game as the Magic beat the Cavaliers by 38 points.

After losing the first two games in Cleveland, Orlando ran away from the Cavaliers from the opening tip. They outscored Cleveland 31-21 in the opening quarter and scored 96 points in the first three quarters.

Thursday’s game was Banchero’s third career playoff game, too. So far in the first round, the Duke star is averaging 25.3 points per game. At 21 years old, he’s the second-youngest player in NBA history to score 20 points in each of his first three playoff games.

The youngest? LeBron James.

Banchero also didn’t turn the ball over on Thursday night, either. He became the youngest player in league history with 30 points, 10 rebounds, and no turnovers in a playoff game.

UPDATE: Dayton sharpshooter Koby Brea no longer visiting Duke

Dayton’s Koby Brea no longer plans to visit Duke next week.

After seeing more than nine players leave the program for the portal or professional opportunities since Duke’s season ended, head coach Jon Scheyer has been deliberate in the transfer portal.

However, it seems like Dayton shooter Koby Brea won’t be a part of those plans.

After a Friday report from national insider Jon Rothstein that Brea would visit the Blue Devils from Tuesday to Thursday of next week, The News & Observer’s Stephen Wiseman confirmed Brea would not take a trip to Durham.

Brea averaged 11.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game this past season while shooting an NCAA-best 49.8 percent beyond the arc for a Flyers group that posted a 25-8 record and reached the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 before ultimately falling to Arizona.

Duke does still have two transfers so far this offseason. Maliq Brown is officially a Blue Devil, and he adds defensive prowess and energy and is an elite finisher at the rim. Purdue transfer Mason Gillis, who also officially joined the program on Friday, is a sharpshooter who can guard multiple positions along the perimeter. He was the Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year and brings leadership, toughness, and range to hit big shots.

Purdue transfer Mason Gillis officially signs with the Blue Devils

Former Purdue Boilermaker and Duke transfer Mason Gillis made his commitment official on Friday after the team announced his signing.

Former Purdue guard Mason Gillis made his Duke transfer commitment official on Friday morning, the team announced.

Gillis, a 6-foot-6 graduate transfer, won Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year en route to the national title game with the Boilermakers. He averaged 6.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, and he connected on 46.8% of his 3-point attempts.

The former Boilermaker played 132 games over the last four years, starting 63 times in that span, and he’s averaged at least five points per game in every season.

Over the course of the NCAA Tournament, Gillis averaged 3.3 points per game. He scored a season-high 16 points against Nebraska when he made five triples. The flamethrowing shooter took more than 75% of his shots from beyond the arc as a senior in 2023-24.

Gillis became the second transfer commitment on Wednesday, aligning with head coach Jon Scheyer just two days after former Syracuse forward Maliq Brown.

Gillis and Brown join returning starters Caleb Foster and Tyrese Proctor in Durham next season as the team’s veteran leadership. The team also awaits Cooper Flagg and five other elite freshmen in the 2024 recruiting class.

Syracuse transfer Maliq Brown officially signs with the Blue Devils

Maliq Brown, the Syracuse transfer who committed to Duke on Monday, officially joined the program on Thursday morning.

Syracuse transfer Maliq Brown officially signed with the Blue Devils on Thursday morning, the team announced.

The move makes his commitment from Monday official.

“Maliq is a skilled, tough, and versatile forward who brings a competitive mentality to every game and practice,” Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said in a statement shared by the team. “Maliq takes pride in doing all the little things that impact winning.”

Brown averaged 9.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game with the Orange last season, and he finished with a field-goal percentage of 69.8% in both of his two Syracuse seasons. He also swiped 2.2 steals and added 0.9 blocks on the defensive end.

His efficiency gets even better with advanced metrics. Brown finished with an effective field-goal percentage of 71.3% last season, according to KenPom. No one else in the ACC finished above 61.8%. His 4.12% steal rate also led the conference.

Brown and former Purdue guard Mason Gillis are the only two transfers who have currently committed to Scheyer and the Blue Devils.

JJ Redick reportedly a ‘serious candidate’ for the Charlotte head coaching job

According to a Wednesday report from NBA insider Shams Charania, Redick could get a second interview with the Hornets for their open coaching spot.

JJ Redick might be an NBA head coach sooner rather than later.

After a Monday report that the 15-year NBA veteran interviewed for the Charlotte Hornets head coaching job, NBA insider Shams Charania said on Wednesday that Redick is truly in the running for the job.

“He could have another interview soon as well,” Charania said during FanDuel’s Run It Back show. “He’s a serious candidate.”

Redick is Duke’s all-time leader in career points, single-season scoring average, career free-throw percentage, and career 3-pointers made.

“JJ Redick has a strong desire potentially to move into coaching,” Charania said. “He’s been public about that, privately I’m hearing that as well.”

Charania, who reports for The Athletic, said if the Hornets don’t select Redick, he could interview for other openings later on this offseason.

Charania also listed off Lindsey Harding, the former Duke women’s basketball star, as an assistant who interviewed with the Hornets. Harding was the first Blue Devil taken first in the WNBA Draft and the first woman to be named the NBA G-League Coach of the Year.

New Duke guard Mason Gillis almost exclusively shoots 3-pointers

Across the last two seasons, Duke transfer Mason Gillis took 320 shots for the Purdue Boilermakers. 228 of those were 3-pointers.

New Duke guard Mason Gillis knows what he’s best at, and he isn’t afraid to revolve his game around it.

Gillis, a former Purdue Boilermaker who committed to the Blue Devils on Monday, spent four seasons in West Lafayette. Across his junior and senior campaigns, the 6-foot-6 sharpshooter took 320 total shots.

228 of those attempts came from behind the 3-point line. That’s a whopping 71.3% of Gillis’s attempts over the past two years.

Gillis isn’t just a volume shooter, either. He made a personal-best 46.8% of his triples last season, and he’s a career 40.7% 3-point shooter.

The tendency shows up in his shot chart, too. The Athletic’s Brendan Marks posted a picture of Gillis’s heat map, pointing out that he was KenPom’s No. 4 shooter among high-major teams.

Gillis’s volume and efficiency will be welcomed on a team losing Jared McCain, the presumed first-round pick who converted on 41.4% of his 3-point shots as a freshman.

LSU basketball’s Jordan Wright named to First-Team All-Louisiana squad

Jordan Wright was a major reason for LSU’s improvement this past season.

After an impressive season at LSU in his final season of eligibility, graduate student men’s basketball guard [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] has been named to the First-Team All-Louisiana basketball squad by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.

Wright, who came in this season as a transfer from Vanderbilt after playing four seasons with the Commodores, averaged 15.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.7 steals in 2023-24. The Waggaman, Louisiana, native who attended The Dunham School scored in double figures in 18 straight games at one point this season.

While it was another difficult season in Baton Rouge, Wright played a key role as the team improved from 2-16 to 9-9 in SEC play, earning a bid to the NIT in the process.

Here’s the full All-Louisiana team.

First Team

Shahada Wells, G, Gr., McNeese, Fort Worth, Texas

17.8 points per game, 4.7 assists per game, Southland Conference Player of the Year, SLC Newcomer of the Year, Major Madness First-Team All-American

Isaiah Crawford, F, Gr., Louisiana Tech, Fort Worth, Texas
16.3 points per game, 6.2 rebounds per game, Conference USA Player of the Year, CUSA Defensive Player of the Year, NABC All-District First Team

Daniel Batcho, F, R-Jr., Louisiana Tech, Paris, France
15.2 points per game, 9.8 rebounds per game, Conference USA Newcomer of the Year

Diante Smith, F, Sr., Nicholls, Fort Walton Beach, Florida
16.0 points per game, 6.2 rebounds per game, First-Team All-Southland Conference

Jordan Wright, F, Gr., LSU, Waggaman, Louisiana
15.1 points per game, 5.2 rebounds per game

Player of the Year: Shahada Wells, G, McNeese
Newcomer of the Year: Shahada Wells, G, McNeese
Freshman of the Year: John Awoke, Bossier Parish Community College
Coach of the Year: Will Wade, McNeese

Second Team

Kobe Julien, F, R-Jr., UL Lafayette, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
17.3 points per game, 4.8 rebounds per game, Second-Team All-Sun Belt

Kevin Cross, F, Sr., Tulane, Little Rock, Arkansas
17.5 points per game, 7.3 rebounds per game, Third-Team All-American Athletic Conference

Christian Shumate, F, Jr., McNeese, Chicago, Illinois
12.1 points per game, 9.5 rebounds per game, Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year

Nick Caldwell, G/F, Sr., Southeastern Louisiana, Prairieville, Louisiana
15.4 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game, First-Team All-Southland Conference

Kintavious Dozier, G, Jr., Grambling, Lanett, Alabama
13.0 points per game, 3.0 rebounds per game, First-Team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference

Third Team

Kashie Natt, G, Jr., LSU-Alexandria, Rayville, Louisiana
17.4 points per game, 10.1 rebounds per game, Red River Athletic Conference Player of the Year

Jordan Johnson, G, Sr., New Orleans, Memphis, Tennessee
21.3 points per game, 3.8 steals per game, Second-Team All-Southland Conference

Jamal Gibson, F, Fr., SUNO, New Orleans, Louisiana
21 points per game, 15.8 rebounds per game, Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Year

DJ Richards, F, So., McNeese, Houston, Texas
11.4 points per game, 45.1 3-point shooting percentage, Southland Conference All-Tournament Team

TJ Jones, G, 5Y, Xavier, Opelousas, Louisiana
14.0 points per game, 4.8 assists per game, First-Team All-Red River Athletic Conference

Seth Thomas, F, Sr., Centenary, Kilgore, Texas
16.2 points per game, 7.9 rebounds per game, First-Team All-Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

Honorable Mention (Appeared on at least 25 percent of ballots)

CJ Carpenter, G, Sr., LSU-Shreveport, Natchitoches, Louisiana
Joe Charles, F, Jr., UL Lafayette, Carencro, Louisiana
Tra’Michael Moton, G, Gr., Grambling, Shreveport, Louisiana

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Khaman Maluach officially signs on with the Blue Devils

South Sudanese star Khaman Maluach, one of the top players in the Class of 2024, made his Duke commitment official on Wednesday.

Duke commit Khaman Maluach officially signed with the Blue Devils on Wednesday, the team announced through social media.

Maluach first committed to head coach Jon Scheyer back on March 6. The five-star South Sudanese center is the No. 3 player in the Class of 2023, according to 247Sports. The 7-foot-2 center played against future teammates Cooper Flagg and Isaiah Evans at the Nike Hoop Summit earlier this month.

“I am really excited to welcome Khaman Maluach to Duke,” Scheyer said in a statement shared by the team. “His vocal leadership, the energy and enthusiasm that he plays with, and his commitment to winning above individual statistics stood out to me when watching him throughout the recruiting process.”

Maluach recently made a handful of standout plays for the City Oilers in a Basketball Africa League game.

Maluach is the sixth and final freshman from the Class of 2024 to sign on to the Blue Devils. He’ll play alongside Cooper Flagg, the top recruit in the country. The other four members of the class all rank inside the top 51 on 247Sports ranking, with three inside the top 20.

North Carolina’s RJ Davis coming back for a fifth year? One report says yes

Another year of RJ Davis in Chapel Hill? Say it ain’t so! One CBS writer says the All-American has already made up his mind.

Duke fans might have accidentally got two pieces of bad news in quick succession on Tuesday afternoon.

North Carolina guard Seth Trimble announced he’d withdrawn himself from the transfer portal. In response to the news, CBS senior writer Matt Norlander said that All-American guard RJ Davis is expected to make the same decision to stay in the coming days.

Davis started 118 games across the last four years for the Tar Heels, but with the one-year extension due to COVID-19, he could still exercise a fifth year if he wants. He’s yet to officially say he’ll be back in 2024-25, but Norlander said the decision’s already been made.

The First Team All-American and ACC Player of the Year last season, Davis averaged 21.2 points per game along with 3.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists. The Blue Devils managed to hold him in check, however, as he averaged 13.0 points per game and shot 34.6% from the floor against Duke.

If he’d decided to forgo his extra year for the NBA, all four double-digit scorers from last year’s UNC team would leave the program this offseason. Armando Bacot and Cormac Ryan are already out of eligibility, and Harrison Ingram declared for the NBA draft.

Davis’s official announcement is expected by the end of this week.