Early Storylines for College Basketball's Blue Bloods Part 2

You can find part one of this post here

Kentucky
What differentiates this year's recruiting class from last year's? (and the year before. And the year before. And the year before. And also the year before.)
Nothing.

At the season's start, the basketball product will be disjointed, spasmodic, and borderline ugly, as all of the new faces figure out their roles. The Cats will escape with a few wins over bad competition, lose to a mediocre team, and tumble down the rankings. Big Blue Nation will take to Twitter to express their ire, all the while forgetting that defeats suffered in December don’t mean much. Further proving that point, Kentucky will close out their non-conference schedule with a convincing victory over a top 10 team (probably Louisville). Sanity and hope will again resurface among their fan base. It's an annual tradition in Lexington.

By February, the squad will be surging and entering the sport's upper echelon. And everybody will remember "oh yeah, this team is super talented and well-coached." 

What I really believe will set this team apart from teams of the past is the return of sophomore point guard Ashton Hagans. Last season, the Georgia native racked up steals on and off the ball and often terrorized the opposing team's guard with full-court pressure. Although he is not much of a scorer, he boasts elite speed, good athleticism, and averaged over 4 assists per game in 2018-19. Most notably, for the first time since the 2014-15 season, Kentucky will not have a first-year starter running the offense. Experienced guards are a godsend in March, and Hagans' presence alone gives me reason to buy into the Cats as a legit national title contender.

As far as their recruiting class goes, this group of incoming freshmen may be the most skilled since the 2016-17 class (which featured three lottery picks in De'Aaron Fox, Malik Monk, and Bam Adebayo, who all had their season ended by Luke Maye in the 2017 Elite 8). 

Guard Tyrese Maxey, ranked 10th in 247Sports composite rankings, is the perfect complement to Hagans--he can score in the lane and drain pull-up jumpers, and he’ll also serve as the secondary playmaker. On the wing, Kahlil Whitney, 12th in 247Sports composite rankings, will provide explosive finishing (read: lots of dunks) on offense, and Keion Brooks, 23rd in 247Sports composite rankings, will bring defensive versatility. Four-star guard/wing Johnny Juzang gives off some serious Tyler Herro vibes with his ability to shoot both off the catch and off the dribble. 

This class may not be finished either--John Calipari is trying to court Virginia Tech grad transfer Kerry Blackshear to the Bluegrass State. The Second Team All-ACC big man averaged 14.9 points (50% FG, 33% from 3) and 7.5 rebounds for the Hokies last season.

Duke
See the above storyline for Kentucky, but add some snark and cynicism because it's Duke.
It's kind of funny how much this year's version of Kentucky parallels this year's version of Duke. Both will reload their teams with highly touted recruits and both will feature defensive-minded sophomore point guards, Duke's being Tre Jones. 

Despite his smothering on-ball defense, the 2019 NCAA Tournament exposed Jones's inability to shoot. Teams sagged off of him like a teenager distancing himself from his parents in public. Just look at this video of 7'6" Tacko Fall "defending" Jones in Duke's second round win over UCF. 

However, similar to Calipari with Hagans, Coach K has surrounded Jones with capable scorers. Freshmen big man Vernon Carey, Jr. is a 6'10" back-to-the-basket center who will step out and hit a three pointer every so often. Fellow-freshman Matthew Hurt projects to be the next in line of high-impact stretch 4s in Durham. In an interview on why he chose Duke, Hurt revealed that the coaching staff compared him to Brandon Ingram and Jayson Tatum as part of their pitch. 

...I don't really see it. Tatum once dunked on the GOAT and Hurt is a white guy with braces. Anyway, I digress...Duke will be good, no shocker there. While they lack the talent and star power of last year's team, I believe the roster as a whole will work more cohesively. However, I'm gonna go ahead and make an unfounded claim and predict that they'll struggle to guard anybody, outside of Jones.

UNC
Big-name recruits and grad transfers make up a restructured roster...but how will they play together?
In his poem "The Waste Land," TS Eliot writes, "April is the cruelest month." But this year, April was quite friendly to the Tar Heels. After losing 76.5% of last season's scoring to graduation and the NBA (per C.L. Brown of The Athletic), North Carolina restocked its cupboard in a matter of weeks. 

In August of 2018, five-star big man Armando Bacot committed to the Heels; but to the chagrin of Carolina fans, the program didn't land a single recruit between September and March. However, early morning on April 23rd, Cole Anthony, the nation's top ranked point guard, announced that he was heading to Chapel Hill. His decision broke the levy that a stagnant recruiting cycle constructed.

Later on that same day, four-star combo guard Anthony Harris chose UNC. Three days later, Charleston Southern grad transfer Christian Keeling committed. The 6'4" shooting guard averaged 18.7 points (38% from 3) and 6.7 rebounds for the Buccaneers last year. 

Lastly, on May 2nd, William and Mary grad transfer Justin Pierce rounded out the class. Pierce will play the hybrid forward position for Roy Williams, and he can do a little bit of everything. The 6'7" two-time All-CAA teamer averaged14.9 points (32% from 3), 8.9 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game last season. 

So the Tar Heels should boast the depth to play a variety of styles. They can run a traditional two-big, inside out offense with Bacot and junior power forward/center Garrison Brooks. They can go small with Pierce at the "4," and let him facilitate in a Theo Pinson-esque role. They can employ a line-up with a ton of length when 6'7" sophomore guard/wing Leaky Black spells Anthony at the point. 

With so many new pieces, Roy has plenty of work to do to make this team gel. His motion offense and his pressure defense aren't always easy for players to just pick up and execute. I'm preeeetttttty sure that Carolina will get blown out in a late November/early December game.

Yet the Heels have a ton of talent. Bacot should provide the Heels with legit rim protection for the first time in two years, and transitioning from Coby White to Anthony should go smoothly. I expect Carolina to be among the nation's elite by February. 



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