NCAA Basketball: Under-evaluated headlines of the week (Bradley Hayes out for four games)
Mar 16, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Fresno State Bulldogs forward Karachi Edo (4) finishes off a ball during a practice day before the first round of the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
What news, notes and stories were under-evaluated this week in the world of NCAA basketball?
Guess what? It’s finally November and there are only six days to go until the start of the regular season. The excitement is in the air as teams continue to take part in exhibition battles and secret scrimmages across the country. But nothing will be more entertaining than when the squads throughout the nation take the floor on November 11.
Just think, very soon we will be evaluating teams on the court and players will begin to either stand out or become bust material.
We cover all the major headlines and preview the world of college basketball here at Busting Brackets, but every week there will be under-evaluated storylines that need some extra attention.
Sure, they may not be breaking news stories, similar to a monster commitment or a surprising transfer, but they are important in terms of tracking your favorite recruit, team, player or even coach.
With the off-season coming to close, our last edition of these under-evaluated headlines of the week will consist of four stories, including a Georgetown big man that has to sit out for the first four games of the season, a Fresno State big who has been suspended for the entire fall semester, a five-star recruit who cut his list down and a potential breakout player who will not participate in Virginia’s first game of the season.
Mar 11, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Bennett directs his team in the first half against the Miami Hurricanes during semi-finals of the ACC conference tournament at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
4. Mamadi Diakite to miss season opener
One of the top team’s in the ACC will be missing a key bench player in their season opener against UNC Greensboro on November 11.
Redshirt freshman power forward Mamadi Diakite will be unavailable to play due to a joint evaluation of his amateur status that happened last fall.
The ultimate findings of the evaluation were not revealed, but there are multiple student-athletes who are held out of games and forced to pay money to charity on a yearly basis because of amateurism issues.
While the 6’9″, 214 pound native of Guinea, Africa redshirted during the 2015-16 season, Diakite has loads of upside and potential. He is a four-star recruit who was ranked 37th in ESPN’s top 100 for the class of 2015. Diakite has terrific athleticism for his size, has great length, can the the floor with ease and will be an impact defender because of his lateral quickness.
Missing one game against a UNC Greensboro team that is losing their top two scorers, is not a big concern. However, Virginia does need Diakite to make strides in 2016-17.
Without Anthony Gill and Mike Tobey, the Cavaliers only have Memphis transfer Austin Nichols, Isaiah Wilkins, Jay Huff, Jarred Reuter, Jack Salt and Diakite in the front court. Nichols and Wilkins are expected to start and Huff will play quality minutes as a four-star freshman, but both Reuter and Salt played less than seven minutes per game last year and are unknown commodities.
Nichols, who is suspended for one regular season game for a violation of team rules, will also miss the season opener, so Greensboro could take advantage of the Wahoos missing two of their top four big men. Either way, Tony Bennett’s squad should survive for one night.
Mar 16, 2016; Des Moines, IA, USA; A general view of the March Madness logo during a practice day before the first round of the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament at Wells Fargo Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
3. Hamidou Diallo down to six schools
The 11th best player in the class of 2017, Hamidou Diallo, cut his list to six schools earlier this week.
The five-star shooting guard from Queens, NY is down to Arizona, UConn, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky and Syracuse.
Final 6. pic.twitter.com/tQD7XaBmvx
— Hamidou diallo (@Diallo1Hamidou) November 1, 2016
The 6’5″, 188 pound guard is a terrific athlete, a dynamic transition player and a tremendous offensive talent.
Diallo could seriously be a college superstar in the making, but there has been talk about him potentially dashing for the NBA before even playing a second of college basketball.
Diallo, who is playing a post-graduate high school basketball season this year, could opt to take the Thon Maker-route and not expose himself to NBA scouts at the college level.
At this point though, Diallo is leaning towards playing college basketball, as there are definitely areas of his game that he could work on. Diallo is not the most consistent shooter from beyond the arc in the class of 2017. He’s a fantastic attacker, a solid ball handler and has the potential to guard multiple positions defensively, but he needs to be able to shoot the three ball to reach his next level potential.
Regardless, any of these six programs would be lucky to have Diallo in their uniform next season. He anchor a team on the offensive end of the floor by playing either on or off the ball. 247sports’ Crystal Ball is currently leaning towards the Kentucky Wildcats.
Mar 12, 2016; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Fresno State Bulldogs forward Karachi Edo (4) wears a championship hat after defeating the San Diego State Aztecs in the Mountain West Conference Tournament at Thomas & Mack Center. Fresno State won 68-63 Mandatory Credit: Joshua Dahl-USA TODAY Sports
2. Karachi Edo suspended for fall semester
If Fresno State has any chance of building a strong resume before Mountain West Conference play tips-off, they will have to do it without the services of their leading returning scorer, Karachi Edo.
Edo was suspended for the entire fall semester a week ago as he failed to achieve the NCAA’s continuing academic eligibility standards.
“He’s a great kid, a kid that takes his education very seriously,” coach Rodney Terry said. “He had a setback last spring, but he’s turning it into a positive. He’s off to a great start this semester and he has every intention of graduating this spring.”
The 6’6″, 235 pound forward averaged 10.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game in 2015-16. He also shot a solid 56 percent from the field.
Edo was especially valuable down the stretch of the season, where he scored in double figures in eight of the Bulldogs’ final nine games. The then-junior dropped 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds in a Mountain West Conference Tournament victory over Colorado State, and he recorded 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the team’s first round NCAA Tournament loss to Utah.
His presence on the glass, ability to score at the rim and shot blocking skills on defense make him a true asset for the Bulldogs. He’s a poor free throw shooter and doesn’t have much range beyond the paint, but he is the leader of this team without Marvelle Harris and Torren Jones in the fold.
Losing four of their top five scorers is tough enough. Having to deal with the loss of their only double digit returning scorer from last year and the team’s top rebounder, will put a major dent in Fresno State’s chances of reaching the NCAA Tournament in 2016-17.
Jan 30, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Providence Friars guard Kyron Cartwright (24) leaps to pass around Georgetown Hoyas center Bradley Hayes (42) during the second half at Verizon Center. Providence Friars defeated Georgetown Hoyas 73-69. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
1. Bradley Hayes out for the first four games of the season
Georgetown is looking for a bounce back season after finishing under .500 for the first time since 2003-04.
They will have center Bradley Hayes back in the front court after the NCAA granted him a fifth year of eligibility this off-season. But as part of that extra year of eligibility, Hayes must sit out the first four games of the 2016-17 campaign.
“I don’t know if I would call it an agreement, but that’s what the NCAA told us,” Thompson said to the Washington Post at Georgetown’s team media day.
Hayes, a redshirt senior, applied for a waiver based on his freshman campaign. He played only 14 minutes all season as he dealt with the passing of his father.
The seven-footer from Jacksonville, Florida never averaged more than five minutes per game in a single season until the 2015-16 campaign. Hayes was a breakout player at the beginning of the year, as he was scoring around rim, rebounding on both ends of the floor and showing more energy than we’ve seen in his four years on campus.
He averaged career highs in all categories (8.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.0 blocks) and he shot 51 percent from the field overall. However, Hayes’ play trailed off significantly in conference play. He scored in single digits in his first nine Big East games, and then broke his hand and missed six games from the middle of February to the beginning of March.
This season, Georgetown will still use Hayes on a nightly basis, but they also have a plethora of other options in the front court. John Thompson III’s team will be able to play numerous different styles because of the presences of Jessie Govan, Marcus Derrickson, Akoy Agau and Isaac Copeland.
Even though Hayes will be missed in the first four games, it’s not like the Hoyas don’t have any depth to help them in the paint and on the glass.
On the downside, Georgetown is playing Maryland and Oregon in two of their first four outings. Having all hands on deck against two of the top 25 teams in the country would’ve certainly been beneficial, but the pros out weigh the cons in this scenario. Hayes gets an extra full year of eligibility and all he had to do was swap out four early season games.
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