![]() The most notable change about Marquette in Year 1 under Smart is that it has a clear identity. Watch college basketball games online all season long with fuboTV: Start with a 7-day free trial! Shaka Smart, Marquette Meanwhile, Freeman-Liberty is the only player in the country averaging at least 20 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game, and he looks like an all-Big East guy in his senior season. Jones showed flashes a season ago after reclassifying late into the 2020 class but has blossomed in a major way under Stubblefield, averaging more than 17 points and eight rebounds per game while shooting 36% from deep. ![]() Stubblefield has also gotten the most out of a pair of returners in Javon Freeman-Liberty and David Jones. That’s been most evident at the rim, where center Nick Ongenda and Yor Anei have been among the nation’s most proficient at blocking and impacting shots. The Blue Demons play incredibly hard and scramble around on the defensive end, using their length and athleticism to bother opposing offenses. The biggest thing Stubblefield has brought is a competitive spirit and energy the program lacked under Dave Leitao. The Blue Demons head into a week with rivalry games against UIC and Northwestern at 8–1 on the season and so far have looked like a team that could play in the postseason despite being picked last in the Big East’s preseason poll. But the job Johnson has done to get the most out of this group and put together a disciplined, hard-playing team that has far exceeded expectations deserves a ton of credit.Īnother first-time head coach, Stubblefield has reenergized the DePaul program and is fresh off a signature early road win at Louisville. The path to the NCAA tournament is still an uphill battle, and this group has an extremely slim margin for error thanks to its lack of depth and top-end talent. The rotation has usually gone just seven deep, and the eighth man has been walk-on Will Ramberg. ![]() That player is Eric Curry, a sixth-year senior who had originally planned on being a graduate assistant this season before deciding over the summer to lace them up one more time. Johnson inherited a significant rebuild just one scholarship player who suited up last season for the Gophers has stepped on the floor this season. There’s no official preseason poll for the Big Ten, but Minnesota was the consensus pick to finish last. So far, he’s proving the doubters of that hire wrong and has his Golden Gophers at 8–1 after an impressive win at Michigan on Saturday. Johnson’s path to his current job is the most improbable: He was passed up for the Northern Illinois position in early March and less than a month later was named coach of a Big Ten team that also happens to be his alma mater. Combine that high-level tactical ability with the elite talent the Wildcats have, and there’s a reason Arizona, at 9–0, is so tough to beat. The Gonzaga influence is obvious in Lloyd’s X’s and O’s on both ends of the floor. Plus, he’s overseen huge strides in the development of Koloko and point guard Kerr Kriisa, who was huge in the second half against the Illini. But player retention is half the battle in the transfer portal age, and Lloyd deserves credit for keeping all this talent in Tucson. All five starters from the team’s win over Illinois played first under Sean Miller, including a pair of clear NBA talents in Bennedict Mathurin and Christian Koloko along with a high-level college PF in Azuolas Tubelis. ![]() Now, it should be noted that Lloyd inherited a far better situation than the others on this list did. The Wildcats have looked like the best team in the Pac-12 thus far and were incredibly impressive Saturday in a huge road win over Illinois. So far, that long education under Few looks like it has paid off. The Arizona job was too good to pass up for Lloyd, who had turned down opportunities across the country in the past in favor of staying at Gonzaga under Mark Few. Ron Johnson/USA TODAY Sports Tommy Lloyd, Arizona Tommy Lloyd claps during Arizona's game at Illinois.
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