College basketball 2019-2020 week five

Jimmy Chitwood

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this thread is past due, since it’s now Saturday.

at any rate, here’s a quick update.

Iowa, a team whose top 8 players are White has been absolutely DECIMATED with injuries this season, but still they play their butts off and put a pretty good product on the floor. last night, despite being clearly overmatched they kept things interesting against #4 Michigan, before falling 91-103. the Hawkeyes were led by an All-American type performance from center Luka Garza. Garza finished with a career-high 44 points in the shootout loss.

on the flip side, it was a night to forget for talented wing Joe Weiskamp and sharpshooter Jordan Bohannon. both laid an egg. point guard Connor McCaffrey still doesn’t look for his own shot enough when teams leave him open to suit me, but he’s a terrific passer and defender. last night, he was the only Hawkeye besides Garza with double figures scoring (12). Fredrick played, but he was still obviously hampered by his quadriceps injury.

that being said, Iowa is still very much a team to pull for and enjoy watching. they simply have no quit in them. the Hawkeyes are now 6-3 on the year, and their only losses are to still-undefeated DePaul, still-undefeated San Diego State, and now-#4 Michigan. these injury-depleted “overachieving” “gym rats” are still my team this year.

and for those who haven’t seen Michigan play, first-year head coach Juwan Howard (of Fab Five and NBA fame) has them playing a very impressive brand of basketball. they are big, skilled, deep, and unselfish. for example, against Iowa every starter had between 13-18 points, and they had 26 points off the bench. all in all, they are fun to watch and could go VERY deep in the Tourney as things currently stand.

they start two White athletes: 7-footer Jon Teske and highflying, freshman, German wing Franz Wagner (call him the Red Baron perhaps? or the Luftwaffe?), the brother of current NBA player Moritz. they also bring two White bigs off the bench, including talented youngster Castleton.

Teske is an excellent low post defender and shot blocker and a versatile offensive threat, capable of spotting up out to 3-point range, passing from the high post, or scoring with his back to the basket. he has improved mightily over his time with the Wolverines.

for Wagner, the sky is (quite literally) the limit. he is a HIGH flyer, but he’s still trying to figure out his role on a consistent basis. he can slash, spot up, dunk on people, post up a little bit, and defend multiple positions. he’s a future pro.
 

Old Scratch

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Some great news for Mac McClung: James Akinjo, team cancer and ballhog extraordinaire is no longer on the Georgetown team
https://www.cbssports.com/college-b...fer-leblanc-faces-restraining-order-requests/
Georgetown's worst start to a basketball season since Patrick Ewing took over the program is quickly getting worse. In the aftermath of falling to 4-3 after a loss to UNC Greensboro at home on Saturday, the Hoyas confirmed Monday evening that James Akinjo and Josh LeBlanc -- the second and fifth-leading scorers on the team, respectively -- will not play again this season.
According to multiple reports, both players have entered the transfer portal. Georgetown provided no clarity on their transfer status, rather saying that both will not play for the team for the remainder of the season.

Ewing is still a horrid coach, but at least Mac has a chance to shine now
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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Oklahoma is not a team that we talk about much here, because they’ve been almost entirely non-White for decades. however, this year their leading scorer is Wichita State transfer, Austin Reaves.

a native of Arkansas, the long, lean, run-for-days 6-foot-5 point guard wasn’t recruited at all by the Razorbacks despite being a perfect fit for then-head-but-now-fired coach Mike Anderson. he played a lot for the top-25-ranked Shockers, before things went south at their program and he transferred.

now, he’s showcasing his overachieving blue collar for the Sooners, leading the team in minutes (34.6) and points (17.6) while hauling in 5.5 rebounds per game. he needs to clean up his assist-to-turnover numbers, but he’s got a lot of game.
 
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white lightning

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Mac McClung is the Big East Player of the Week, after averaging 26 points per game on
@GeorgetownHoops
’ two-game road trip this week. He shot 54.5% FG and 52.9% from three. This is Mac’s first Big East Player of the Week award of his career.
 
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