Here’s an interesting way to look at this upcoming years team:
DISCLAIMER: I wrote a lot on this post I know!
Let’s start with returners.
We have continuity at the Point guard and Center which are widely seen as the two most important positions in college basketball. One of them is the national player of the year and the other is a Bob Cousy award finalist. You really can’t get better than that. We also have continuity at the 4 position assuming Jacob Toppin returns. Now I know Toppin hasn’t officially announced he’s back, however Cal seems to think he’s back and everyone else is confident about him returning for his junior season. We should expect an announcement (which will probably be pretty low key) in the coming weeks with the June 1st deadline approaching for players to take their name out of the NBA draft. While Toppin didn’t start I think most people would agree that him and Keion Brooks were pretty similar in talent even though they brought different things to the table. In fact, the only thing I think Keion was better at this year was mid-range shooting. Jacob has far better defense, more athletic, and I think you can give him the edge with scoring in the paint. Also don’t discount Toppin’s shooting. He shot 74% from the free throw line, 40% from 3 (under very few attempts yes I know), and nearly 56% from the field. We saw him make some mid ranges, and threes towards the end of the year which leads me to believe that he’ll be significantly better than Keion was last year because he adds that stellar defense and athleticism. The other two returners (not counting CJ Frederick) are Lance Ware and Daimion Collins. Having two bigs returning off the bench is HUGE for us next season. Especially when one of them is a high flying/shot blocking former 5 star recruit, and a fundamental big in Lance Ware who can make a spark play off the bench whether that’s a clutch rebound, a dunk, or a block. Now with that being said I don’t think Ware will take this huge jump from his sophomore to junior year line we’ve seen with Nick Richards and Willie-Cauley-Stein, but I do think there will be some significant development during the off-season which could come in handy when Oscar is in foul trouble or has an injury (GOD FORBID). Collins on the other hand has the potential to be very very good. I think he’s a weight room away from being the lottery pick we all thought we would become at some point. There’s obviously some fine tuning on the offensive end that needs to happen, but the athleticism is there and he sure has the raw talent to give Toppin a run for his money for that starting position at the 4. Having him this year will be lethal with a productive off-season. Needless to say, I think all of these players will improve because that’s how college basketball works; it’s not the NBA where your fall out of your prime. 2022 Jacob Toppin is an upgrade from 2021 Keion brooks in my opinion, and everyone else I spoke of will be playing their same role in which they will improve in.
Incoming Recruits (Transfers/Freshman/Redshirts):
Now, the i’ve been thinking of comparing this years incoming players to this last years departing players is by pairing them with the departing players and their roles. This consists of:
Tyty and Cason
Kellan and Antonio
Davion and Cj
Keion and Chris
and of course Adou Thiero will be filling the shoes of a Dontaie Allen or Bryce hopkins. And yes I do still think we’ll get another wing which actually adds more depth that last years team didn’t really have.
Before I get any criticism I want to stress the fact that I don’t think these players have the same play style, I just think they will play a very similar role to the corresponding player. I’m fact if we were comparing play style I would pair Kellan and CJ together because of their catch and shoot consistency. With Cason Wallace I think he’s a better defender, a better finisher at the rim, and far more athletic. Tyty takes the edge in scoring because of his mid range shooting and 3 point ability. However Cason does have a very underrated shot, and it will only get better. Time will only tell who is better in their Freshman season but it makes you wonder if Cason is indeed an upgrade from Tyty. Antonio reeves and Kellan grady are both similar in the sense that they were both 20 ppg scorers at a Mid-Major school but that’s really about it. Kellan was a knockdown catch and shoot specialist who could finish the occasional floater or layup if the defense overcommitted to a pump fake. He was a decent defender, and an above average free throw shooter. the reason I think Antonio reeves is an upgrade is because he is more explosive than Kellan off the first step and is very capable of getting to the rim or settling for a floater. Yes Kellan is better of the catch and shoot, but is Reeves better off the dribble. If you’re curious you can go back and look at Antonio’s type where you can find countless 3’s off the dribble whether it’s a step back or a pull up. Again, time will tell who will be more effective for us but I think Reeves will be a better scorer, and his athleticism should help him on the defensive side(something that a Kellan didn’t really have). CJ Frederick is the best three point shooter in college basketball in my opinion. He will make up for a lot of the open jumpers Davion missed last year, and he’ll help with spacing A LOT. CJ is also an underrated scorer inside the arc. He can take a guy on if they anticipate his shot, and finish with a floater or layup in the paint. He’s a great free throw shooter just under 80% which is an improvement from Mintz. The only thing Mintz has over him in my eyes is defense and athleticism. Davion Could also run the point if we need to, but with no he depth of Sahvir, Cason, and Adou; we won’t need CJ to do anything point guard related. His sharp shooting and Basketball IQ will be key for us this year and I think he will be a more effective 6th man than Mintz was. Finally, Chris Livingston. I know I compared Keion with Jacob Toppin earlier but Jacob can’t be compared to really because he’s returning. This one is pretty simple though. Chris is a 6’6, 200 lbs BEAST with a high motor, a fair three point shot, and has the ability to drive in from the three point line and make a play. He’s also a stellar defender just like Cason Wallace and his upside is just tremendous. He’ll spread the floor more than Keion did, and I just feel as if his game is deeper than Keion’s in terms of how many different ways he can score, and what he’s capable of doing off the ball. He’s a really exciting player, and like the other newcomers, time will tell whether this is an upgrade, but in my opinion it will be. I’m not going to compare Adou to Bryce Hopkins or Donatie Allen because their roles were very small and had little to know impact on the team outside of the LSU game @ Rupp. I do think Adou will be a nice piece in a year or two, and he has the potential to be very good. I saw a tweet the other day saying that he’s the player Cal and the rest of the staff will be begging to enter the transfer portal in a couple of years and I 100% agree
Anyway I know this was a lot, and I really appreciate anyone who read the entire thing. With that being said I think there are a lot of upgrades to this team in comparison to last years. Besides the final few weeks of the season this team looked like the #1 team in the country before a plantar fasciitis Kellan grady, an injury prone Tyty Washington, and a high ball screen magnet in Sahvir wheeler. However, if that team could be as great as they were, who knows what this team could be with one more elite transfer Wing, and an off-season with a plethora of development. Thanks for reading, and let me know your thoughts.
DISCLAIMER: I wrote a lot on this post I know!
Let’s start with returners.
We have continuity at the Point guard and Center which are widely seen as the two most important positions in college basketball. One of them is the national player of the year and the other is a Bob Cousy award finalist. You really can’t get better than that. We also have continuity at the 4 position assuming Jacob Toppin returns. Now I know Toppin hasn’t officially announced he’s back, however Cal seems to think he’s back and everyone else is confident about him returning for his junior season. We should expect an announcement (which will probably be pretty low key) in the coming weeks with the June 1st deadline approaching for players to take their name out of the NBA draft. While Toppin didn’t start I think most people would agree that him and Keion Brooks were pretty similar in talent even though they brought different things to the table. In fact, the only thing I think Keion was better at this year was mid-range shooting. Jacob has far better defense, more athletic, and I think you can give him the edge with scoring in the paint. Also don’t discount Toppin’s shooting. He shot 74% from the free throw line, 40% from 3 (under very few attempts yes I know), and nearly 56% from the field. We saw him make some mid ranges, and threes towards the end of the year which leads me to believe that he’ll be significantly better than Keion was last year because he adds that stellar defense and athleticism. The other two returners (not counting CJ Frederick) are Lance Ware and Daimion Collins. Having two bigs returning off the bench is HUGE for us next season. Especially when one of them is a high flying/shot blocking former 5 star recruit, and a fundamental big in Lance Ware who can make a spark play off the bench whether that’s a clutch rebound, a dunk, or a block. Now with that being said I don’t think Ware will take this huge jump from his sophomore to junior year line we’ve seen with Nick Richards and Willie-Cauley-Stein, but I do think there will be some significant development during the off-season which could come in handy when Oscar is in foul trouble or has an injury (GOD FORBID). Collins on the other hand has the potential to be very very good. I think he’s a weight room away from being the lottery pick we all thought we would become at some point. There’s obviously some fine tuning on the offensive end that needs to happen, but the athleticism is there and he sure has the raw talent to give Toppin a run for his money for that starting position at the 4. Having him this year will be lethal with a productive off-season. Needless to say, I think all of these players will improve because that’s how college basketball works; it’s not the NBA where your fall out of your prime. 2022 Jacob Toppin is an upgrade from 2021 Keion brooks in my opinion, and everyone else I spoke of will be playing their same role in which they will improve in.
Incoming Recruits (Transfers/Freshman/Redshirts):
Now, the i’ve been thinking of comparing this years incoming players to this last years departing players is by pairing them with the departing players and their roles. This consists of:
Tyty and Cason
Kellan and Antonio
Davion and Cj
Keion and Chris
and of course Adou Thiero will be filling the shoes of a Dontaie Allen or Bryce hopkins. And yes I do still think we’ll get another wing which actually adds more depth that last years team didn’t really have.
Before I get any criticism I want to stress the fact that I don’t think these players have the same play style, I just think they will play a very similar role to the corresponding player. I’m fact if we were comparing play style I would pair Kellan and CJ together because of their catch and shoot consistency. With Cason Wallace I think he’s a better defender, a better finisher at the rim, and far more athletic. Tyty takes the edge in scoring because of his mid range shooting and 3 point ability. However Cason does have a very underrated shot, and it will only get better. Time will only tell who is better in their Freshman season but it makes you wonder if Cason is indeed an upgrade from Tyty. Antonio reeves and Kellan grady are both similar in the sense that they were both 20 ppg scorers at a Mid-Major school but that’s really about it. Kellan was a knockdown catch and shoot specialist who could finish the occasional floater or layup if the defense overcommitted to a pump fake. He was a decent defender, and an above average free throw shooter. the reason I think Antonio reeves is an upgrade is because he is more explosive than Kellan off the first step and is very capable of getting to the rim or settling for a floater. Yes Kellan is better of the catch and shoot, but is Reeves better off the dribble. If you’re curious you can go back and look at Antonio’s type where you can find countless 3’s off the dribble whether it’s a step back or a pull up. Again, time will tell who will be more effective for us but I think Reeves will be a better scorer, and his athleticism should help him on the defensive side(something that a Kellan didn’t really have). CJ Frederick is the best three point shooter in college basketball in my opinion. He will make up for a lot of the open jumpers Davion missed last year, and he’ll help with spacing A LOT. CJ is also an underrated scorer inside the arc. He can take a guy on if they anticipate his shot, and finish with a floater or layup in the paint. He’s a great free throw shooter just under 80% which is an improvement from Mintz. The only thing Mintz has over him in my eyes is defense and athleticism. Davion Could also run the point if we need to, but with no he depth of Sahvir, Cason, and Adou; we won’t need CJ to do anything point guard related. His sharp shooting and Basketball IQ will be key for us this year and I think he will be a more effective 6th man than Mintz was. Finally, Chris Livingston. I know I compared Keion with Jacob Toppin earlier but Jacob can’t be compared to really because he’s returning. This one is pretty simple though. Chris is a 6’6, 200 lbs BEAST with a high motor, a fair three point shot, and has the ability to drive in from the three point line and make a play. He’s also a stellar defender just like Cason Wallace and his upside is just tremendous. He’ll spread the floor more than Keion did, and I just feel as if his game is deeper than Keion’s in terms of how many different ways he can score, and what he’s capable of doing off the ball. He’s a really exciting player, and like the other newcomers, time will tell whether this is an upgrade, but in my opinion it will be. I’m not going to compare Adou to Bryce Hopkins or Donatie Allen because their roles were very small and had little to know impact on the team outside of the LSU game @ Rupp. I do think Adou will be a nice piece in a year or two, and he has the potential to be very good. I saw a tweet the other day saying that he’s the player Cal and the rest of the staff will be begging to enter the transfer portal in a couple of years and I 100% agree
Anyway I know this was a lot, and I really appreciate anyone who read the entire thing. With that being said I think there are a lot of upgrades to this team in comparison to last years. Besides the final few weeks of the season this team looked like the #1 team in the country before a plantar fasciitis Kellan grady, an injury prone Tyty Washington, and a high ball screen magnet in Sahvir wheeler. However, if that team could be as great as they were, who knows what this team could be with one more elite transfer Wing, and an off-season with a plethora of development. Thanks for reading, and let me know your thoughts.
