Tag: UConn Basketball

Predicting which 15 college basketball stars will be All-Americans this season

Let’s examine 25 candidates to earn All-American honors in the upcoming 2024-25 college basketball season.

The 2024-25 college basketball season starts in exactly two weeks, with Texas and Ohio State squaring off in Las Vegas and Gonzaga and Baylor in Spokane the two headlining matchups on opening day.

College hoops is headlined this season by a handful of superstar freshmen – notably Duke forward Cooper Flagg and the dynamic Rutgers duo of Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey – as well as multiple fifth year standouts, like Mark Sears at Alabama, RJ Davis at North Carolina, and Caleb Love at Arizona.

The dynamic between young one-and-done caliber talent and aging stars who are nearly old enough to rent a car should make for an exciting season on the hardwood.

It also makes the competition to earn All-American nods this year extra interesting. The college game is arguably as talent-rich as it has been in decades, with many NBA caliber players opting to return to school thanks to the rise of NIL and the transfer portal.

Below is a look at College Sports Wire’s preseason All-American projections for the first, second, and third teams, along with five players who just missed the cut and five additional dark horse candidates:

First Team

(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Center Johni Broome – Auburn Tigers

Forward Cooper Flagg – Duke Blue Devils

Forward Alex Karaban – UConn Huskies

Guard RJ Davis – North Carolina Tar Heels

Guard Mark Sears – Alabama Crimson Tide

Broome was a beast for Bruce Pearl and the Tigers last year, and his developing outside shot and Auburn’s strong roster continuity should keep him in the national conversation all year long, enough to earn First Team honors.

Flagg is one of the most heralded freshmen to hit the college game in years, and his well-rounded game and versatile skill-set makes him a very likely All-American barring a surprising fall from grace.

Karaban is the lone returning starter for the back-to-back national champion UConn Huskies, and he should take on an even bigger role for Dan Hurley’s team as they look to make it three titles in a row in Storrs.

Davis and Sears are fifth year guys who have dominated the college basketball game for many years, and there’s little reason to assume either won’t be on this team – in fact the National Player of the Year is very likely one of these two diminutive guards.

Second Team

Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Center Ryan Kalkbrenner – Creighton Blue Jays

Forward Hunter Dickinson – Kansas Jayhawks

Guard Kam Jones – Marquette Golden Eagles

Guard LJ Cryer – Houston Cougars

Guard Braden Smith – Purdue Boilermakers

Kalkbrenner is a three-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year, who has also led the conference in field goal percentage each of the past three seasons. Greg McDermott’s team is once again going to be a national championship contender, and it’s about time Kalkbrenner gets his due as an All-American.

Dickinson has been an All-American twice already, once at Michigan and last year with Kansas, but is hoping to make it three in his fifth and final season. The Jayhawks should be better than last year, and as long as he performs like he has for the last half decade he will be honored once again.

Jones averaged 15+ points per game each of the past two seasons at Marquette, and with Tyler Kolek and Oso Ighodaro out the door for Shaka Smart’s club it puts even more pressure on him to put the ball in the hoop. 20 per game in the loaded Big East, especially if Marquette finishes top 20, easily lands him on one of the All-American teams.

Cryer has also averaged 15+ each of the past two seasons, doing so at two different Big 12 programs. Houston lost Jamal Shead to the NBA and will rely heavily on Cryer to shoulder the load offensively in 2024-25.

For Purdue to avoid falling off a cliff in the post Zach Edey era, junior guard Braden Smith will need to take on a bigger role scoring the rock. There’s little reason to think he can’t do that, however, which has him in this conversation.

Third Team

Zachary BonDurant-USA TODAY Sports

Forward Norchad Omier – Baylor Bears

Forward Graham Ike – Gonzaga Bulldogs

Guard Hunter Sallis – Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Guard Johnell Davis – Arkansas Razorbacks

Guard Caleb Love – Arizona Wildcats

Omier averaged a double-double in each of his four previous college basketball seasons, including the last two with the Miami Hurricanes. He adds a tough frontcourt present to a Baylor team that desperately needed it.

Ike shook off some early season rust after missing the entire previous season with a foot injury to dominate down the stretch for Mark Few and Gonzaga, and a full season of health and familiarity with the Zags system should put the big man in the All-American conversation.

Next is a former Zag in Hunter Sallis, who exploded last season for Steve Forbes and the Demon Deacons. It was a surprise to see Sallis, who averaged over 18 per game on 40% shooting from three, return to school rather than stay in the NBA draft process, but another season like that will have him earning All-American honors.

Johnell Davis was one of three big time Florida Atlantic stars to transfer this offseason, ultimately ending up in Fayetteville to join John Calipari’s new team at Arkansas. Antonio Reeves thrived transferring to Kentucky to play for coach Cal, and Davis could be even better for the Hogs.

Love is back at Arizona, hoping to help Tommy Lloyd’s club avoid what has become a trend of early exits in the NCAA Tournament. Love is an elite isolation scorer, albeit an inefficient one, but in his final season he should be an All-American for the second straight year.

Just Missed

James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

Guard Ryan Nembhard – Gonzaga Bulldogs

Guard Kadary Richmond – St. John’s Red Storm

Wing Payton Sandfort – Iowa Hawkeyes

Guard Tucker DeVries – West Virginia Mountaineers

Guard Tramon Mark – Texas Longhorns

There is a plethora of older but extremely talented guards in college basketball this upcoming season, and any number of them could contend for an All-American nod.

Nembhard averaged seven assists per game last year, and if he does that again for a potential top five Gonzaga team he should be in this conversation.

Richmond is a triple-double waiting to happen and should get fully unlocked under Rick Pitino at St. John’s. Sandfort pulled out of the NBA draft to bring his elite three point shooting back to Iowa, and a pair of transfers in Tucker DeVries – who followed his dad Darian to West Virginia – and Tramon Mark at Texas have the scoring prowess to contend for AA honors.

Dark Horse Candidates

Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Forward Robbie Avila – St. Louis Billikens

Forward Great Osobor – Washington Huskies

Forward Tyson Degenhart – Boise State Broncos

Forward Ace Bailey – Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Guard Jackson Shelstad – Oregon Ducks

Avila followed his coach, Josh Schertz, from Indiana State to St. Louis. ‘Cream Abdul-Jabbar’ was one of the most exciting players to watch last season, and should bring a jolt of energy to the A-10.

Osobor followed coach Danny Sprinkle from Montana State to Utah State, dominated in the Mountain West, and then followed coach Sprinkle again up to Seattle to play for Washington. The Huskies aren’t projected near the top of the standings in the Big Ten, but Osobor is too good to not be a dark horse in this conversation.

Degenhart averaged about 17 and 7 last year for the Broncos, and that was with his three point shooting taking a dip. If that returns to previous levels, and Boise State wins the Mountain West and hangs around the top 25, Degenhart could absolutely be in this picture, making him a name to keep an eye on.

Bailey and teammate Dylan Harper are projected to be just about everything for Rutgers this season. The dynamic freshmen duo are both top five NBA draft candidates, and one or both could ultimately end up in the All-American conversation.

Shelstad is among the strongest sophomore breakout candidates in college basketball. The Oregon guard should be among the best in the Big Ten and could lead Dana Altman’s team to a top three finish and a single digit seed in March.

Dan Hurley discussed his underwear and cursed in front of President Biden during UConn’s White House visit

Never change, Dan Hurley.

UConn men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley is unapologetically himself, no matter what. He reminded everyone while at the White House on Tuesday.

After winning his second consecutive collegiate men’s basketball national championship in 2024, the NCAA head coach was invited to celebrate his title at the White House with President Joe Biden.

Hurley had some highlights of his own during the celebration, including a moment in which he discussed his lucky dragon underwear. It wasn’t the talking point that many would have used if they had the opportunity to visit the White House, but it was what Hurley chose anyway.

Warning: The following is potentially not suitable for work.

Later in the visit, Hurley then spoke about the honor he had on that day.

According to the head coach, he thought it would get easier to speak at the White House this time around because it was no longer his first time there to celebrate a national championship.

Instead, however, he was it was “scary as [expletive]” before getting a big laugh from everyone listening to him speak.

Never change, Coach Hurley. You are perfect just the way you are.

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In Liam McNeeley, UConn has college basketball’s next villain

UConn Huskies freshman wing Liam McNeeley is set to be college basketball’s villain for the 2024-25 season.

After winning back-to-back national championships, Dan Hurley and the UConn Huskies have fully embraced being college basketball’s villains.

Hurley’s extreme reactions on the sidelines and “us against the world” mentality have helped build the villainy, and many of the players who come into the program are taylor made to be college basketball villains – with Rutgers transfer Cam Spencer filling the role admirably last season.

This year, Hurley already identified Spencer’s replacement as incoming freshman Liam McNeeley, the No. 10 ranked player in the 2024 recruiting class who is expected to be a day one starter and one-and-done player who gets taken in the lottery of the 2025 NBA draft.

Hurley spoke to the media on Tuesday and discussed McNeeley’s attitude and confidence, going as far as to say he thinks “opposing fan bases will find him to be an acceptable villain.”

McNeeley is from Richardson, TX and was a McDonald’s All-American who spent time at three different high schools. He originally committed to the Indiana Hoosiers before reopening his recruitment and joining the Huskies as they look for a third straight national title.

Fan bases in Texas and Indiana already have a reason to treat McNeeley like a villain, and soon the rest of the Big East will follow suit – particularly if he plays a big role in UConn continuing to win at an absurdly high rate in 2024-25.

Stephon Castle wore an awesome castle chain piece to the 2024 NBA Draft

Alright, this is fantastic from Stephon Castle.

As he was being drafted by the San Antonio Spurs with the fourth-overall pick on Wednesday night, former UConn standout Stephon Castle made sure to dress in style for the occasion.

Castle wore an incredibly sharp suit to the 2024 NBA Draft’s first round, complete with an outstanding castle chain piece to complete the outfit.

Obviously, this is the perfect pick for a chain piece for Castle, and we hope he breaks this out sometime during his rookie season for his pregame look.

As far as accessories go for NBA draft outfits, Castle’s castle chain piece easily takes the cake to us.

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Dan Hurley denied ‘conspiracy’ that he leveraged the Lakers to get more money from UConn

UConn’s Dan Hurley called this one of the worst takes he ever heard.

UConn Huskies men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley said there was no conspiracy theory about his interest in the Los Angeles Lakers gig.

While it was initially shocking news that Hurley had emerged as a serious candidate for the Lakers, the college coach eventually said no to the NBA opportunity Los Angeles. During an interview on Dan Le Batard Show, he called it a “gut-wrenching decision” before he made his choice.

But then it was simply business as usual for the Huskies once Hurley eventually made his decision to defend his back-to-back collegiate national titles.

According to Hurley, it is a bad faith argument to suggest that he was trying to use negotiations with the Lakers against UConn for a contract extension:

“One of the worst takes I’ve heard is this was a leverage play by me to improve my situation at UConn. I don’t need leverage here. We’ve won back-to-back national championships at this place. This was never a leverage situation for me. I’ve had a contract in place here for a couple weeks and the financial part in terms of salary has been done for a while. There are some other parts like NIL and staff salaries and some different things that I want adjusted that I’m not comfortable with. But the sense that this was some conspiracy to get me a sweeter deal at UConn is lazy.”

The coach was reportedly offered $70 million over six years by the Lakers.

Hurley said he had already figured out the financials on his next deal with the university, who recently announced a contract extension for UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma.

He argued that anyone who viewed this saga as a way to sweeten the pot for himself in negotiations with UConn was being lazy.

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UConn had a perfectly calm reaction to Dan Hurley turning down the Lakers’ massive offer

It’s just business as usual now that Dan Hurley will not leave for the Lakers.

It was no secret the Lakers wanted to hire UConn men’s basketball head coach Dan Hurley. But the two-time collegiate national champion is staying put.

After winning March Madness in back-to-back seasons, Hurley is going to try for a three-peat. He would become the first men’s basketball coach who accomplished as much since John Wooden did as much for UCLA.

Hurley was an enticing but risky candidate for Los Angeles and now, the Lakers will go back to the drawing board as they look to replace Darvin Ham (now an assistant coach on the Bucks). Most likely, JJ Redick will once again emerge as the favorite.

Meanwhile, despite a few days of drama, the Huskies are back to business as usual in Connecticut. After some brief chaos and frenzy, Hurley met with his team on Monday and informed them that he is not leaving.

UConn Men’s Basketball account had a casual reaction to the developing story, tweeting that their 2:00 p.m. practice had begun.

It was a perfectly nonchalant way of describing what happened, which is that nothing has changed but the day on the calendar.

Hurley was reportedly offered $70 million to leave the NCAA but he gets to defend his championships instead. It is easy to imagine that all of the players on the roster felt pretty fired up after the announcement and that the practice had tremendous vibes.

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The Lakers are reportedly targeting Dan Hurley as coach and fans were stunned at the turn of events

So is JJ Redick the next Lakers coach or not?

The Los Angeles Lakers coaching search appeared to be over. After weeks of rumors that J.J. Redick was the leader in the clubhouse, The Athletic’s Sham Charania gave the news his stamp Wednesday with yet another report that LA was zeroing in on Redick as the frontrunner.

One day later, and that no longer seems to be the case. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Thursday morning that the Lakers are actually targeting UConn head coach Dan Hurley for the position.

Maybe this is why Redick said he would be addressing Charania after the NBA Finals?

According to Wojnarowski, the Lakers are preparing a massive long-term offer to the back-to-back national champion Hurley. And not only have they already had preliminary talks with the coach, he’s been at the forefront of their search the entire time.

Fans didn’t see this coming

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Geno Auriemma said he feels Caitlin Clark is being ‘targeted’ by other WNBA players

Geno Auriemma said he feels that Caitlin Clark is being “targeted” by other WNBA players.

Legendary UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma shared his feelings this week that Indiana Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark is being “targeted” by other players in the WNBA.

The discourse surrounding Clark has taken over the sporting world since Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter checked her with a hard foul on Saturday.

The takes on the foul have varied from quite considered to scorching hot, and Auriemma is siding with the idea that Clark has been treated unfairly by the WNBA veterans who may be envious of how the spotlight is firmly on her to start her professional career.

During Tuesday’s UConn Coaches Road Show, Auriemma voiced his concern that Clark is indeed being “targeted” because of who she is and what she represents.

“Every rookie has to go through the growing pains of being a professional basketball player,” Auriemma told reporters. “The more attention you get, and [in] today’s world, attention is number one, and attention brings money. So, is she facing the rookie challenge, the rookie hardships that are inherent with being a rookie? Yes. She’s also being targeted.”

Auriemma went on to mention all-time great NBA players like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird and how, despite elevating the game and getting lots of attention, he feels they weren’t targeted for it (which is, of course, very debatable).

To Auriemma, people shouldn’t blame or treat Clark unfairly just because she’s the primary catalyst for a seismic moment of visibility for the WNBA and is getting a lion’s share of the attention.

“Appreciate the fact that now’s the time. I get it; I get it. It’s long overdue. Why are you blaming that kid?” Auriemma said. “It’s not her fault because you would trade places with her in a minute, but you are not there. You’re not her.”

You can hear his full response near the end of the video.

Whether or not you agree or disagree with Auriemma may not matter as Clark continues to adjust to the WNBA.

The most likely outcome of Carter’s hard foul will be the leagues’ referees watching Clark like a hawk and making sure she’s not taking too hard of fouls (and whistling them harshly when they happen).

The WNBA cannot afford her to get injured, particularly in a moment like this, so she’s probably going to get special treatment with the eyes of the sporting world on her game-in and game-out. Other WNBA players will also most likely be cautious on how they guard Clark as to avoid serious fouls.

However, it’s more than fine to feel Auriemma’s comments are a bit sensationalized, that Clark being given an extra focus by opponents might just be how you guard a generational player, not a point of jealousy.

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The latest 2024 NBA mock draft from Fox Sports has Donovan Clingan to the Rockets at No. 3

Is this the big man of the future in Houston?

Now that we know the order of the 2024 NBA Draft, we can better predict where players like UConn’s Donovan Clingan will play next season.

After winning back to back NCAA men’s basketball national championships, the big man is one of the most intriguing prospects in this class. He is likely one of the first players who will hear his name called in Brooklyn at Barclays Center next month.

He measured just short of 7-foot-2 in socks with a wingspan nearly 7-foot-7 at the 2024 NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. Both ranked as the top among all participants except for just Purdue’s Zach Edey, who Clingan defeated in the NCAA title game.

RELATED: A consensus shows how experts are projecting all of the top prospects

Although he is potentially a candidate at No. 1 overall to the Hawks, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the big man ranked at No. 5 overall in our first consensus mock draft after the lottery.

While that is fairly high for Clingan, he could go even higher. FOX’s John Fanta project the big man at No. 3 overall to the Rockets in his latest mock draft.

This would project Clingan as the big man of the future, alongside forward Alperen Sengun, for Houston. He would provide a solid young option for the Rockets, who recently acquired veteran Steven Adams.

RELATED: Full projections for the Hawks and the first round after the lottery

Our latest mock here at For The Win has Clingan potentially falling a bit and landing with the Grizzlies, though there are a wide range of outcomes for the UConn star on draft night.

Either way, though, Clingan is a promising big man with major upside on the defensive end of the floor.

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Geno Auriemma says changing the WNBA eligibility rules could ruin women’s college basketball

Geno Auriemma thinks WNBA eligibility rules should stay exactly as they are to preserve women’s college hoops.

Women’s college basketball is in a place of high interest right now after the careers of stars like Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, LSU’s Angel Reese, South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso and UConn’s Paige Bueckers.

In fact, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James spoke recently about how that familiarity has generated more star power for the women’s side than the men’s side of the sport.

However, the odds of losing one of those premiere talents after a year could ruin the women’s college hoops altogether, at least to UConn coaching legend Geno Auriemma told ESPN Radio’s “UnSportsmanLike” this week.

As of 2022, domestic women’s college players who are graduating seniors or are at least 22 years old can be eligible for the WNBA Draft. Meanwhile, men’s college basketball players only have to play for a year pre-NBA before turning pro.

To Auriemma, giving women’s basketball athletes the chance to leave after only a year could prove catastrophic.

“It depends whether you want the game to grow or you want to kill it,” Auriemma shared on the show. “If you want to kill it, then let the kids leave after freshman year.

“On the men’s side, it’s become transactional. Everybody’s a free agent. Everybody’s a mercenary. It’s not the kids’ fault. … To me, what helped the women’s game grow is the people in Iowa got to grow up with Caitlin Clark. The people of Connecticut got to grow up with all of my great players. There’s something to be said for that.”

While we’re not sure what the future holds for WNBA eligibility, we do know that Auriemma joins the group who feels things should stay exactly as they are.

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