College basketball teams are now in the midst of their respective conference schedules, which mean that March Madness is just a few weeks away. It also means that now is a good time to assess players and see who among them are underperforming.
Before the season began, we gathered the picks and predictions of some college basketball experts on which teams they are picking to become conference champions for this year. See if your team made it to their list here.
[sc:MarchMadness ]Five Overrated NCAA Basketball Players of 2014-2015 Season
5. Rasheed Sulaimon (Duke)
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]Sure, Rasheed Sulaimon is no longer part of Duke, and will not be part of a Division I basketball team this season, but that’s no reason for him to be exempted from this list. In fact, his dismissal only adds to the reason of why he’s on this collection of underwhelming performers.
Sulaimon, who had a breakout freshman season, had been on a rollercoaster ride in 20 games with the Dukies this season. During that stretch, the junior shooting guard put up only 7.5 PPG—a sorely low output, especially for a player who was expected to be among the Blue Devils leaders this season.
4. Theo Pinson (North Carolina)
Pinson began his college basketball career with a lot of hoopla. Unfortunately, the supposedly skilled guard-forward youngster has failed to meet the standards set by his own hype. Pinson was a five-star recruit by the Tar Heels and was ranked No. 10 by ESPN 100—just a notch behind teammate Justin Jackson.
However, unlike Jackson, Pinson has been a disappointment for Coach Roy Williams, who is looking for the team’s freshmen to cover up for some of the scoring voids left by James McAdoo and Leslie McDonald. Pinson, who is currently on the Tar Heels’ injury list because of a broken bone in his foot, has averaged just 3.3 PPG and 3.7 RPG in 19 games played thus far this season.
3. Cliff Alexander (Kansas)
It’s a shame that the Jayhawks are now having problems at center. Last season, the Jayhawks have Joel Embiid, a destructive force on both ends of the floor. Today, Bill Self has Cliff Alexander, who is obviously having issues at the college level.
Alexander was labelled as a can’t-miss high school prospect and was even ranked third in the ESPN 100, but the freshman’s terribly inconsistent performance this season is dragging his stock (and the team) down. Take, for example, the kind of stretch he’s having right now. After averaging 14.0 PPG and 9.5 RPG in Kansas’ back-to-back games against ranked teams in Iowa State and Oklahoma in January, Alexander went back to his head-scratching ways by putting up just 4.5 PPG and 4.3 RPG over the succeeding four games. That includes the big fat egg he laid against Kansas State on January 31.
2. Kelly Oubre Jr. (Kansas)
Bill Self won’t like seeing two of his prized recruits on this list, although he can’t deny that Oubre and Alexander are having disappointing seasons. Like what Alexander is to Embiid, Oubre was expected to fill in the void of one-and-done star Andrew Wiggins, but he is having a tough time meeting all the hype that surrounded him as a five-star recruit coming into Lawrence.
Oubre had a slow start this season, averaging only 3.4 PPG in the Jayhawks’ first nine games. Oubre, however, is starting to show flashes of brilliance as of late, but the jury is still out for the former Findlay College Prep standout.
1. Chris Walker (Florida)
Billy Donovan is still waiting for Chris Walker’s promising talent and huge upside to fully blossom. However, Donovan and the Gators could only stay hopeful for so long.
The departure of Patric Young has given Walker room to show what he’s got, but the former McDonald’s All-American and five-star recruit remains a massively underwhelming player. Walker is averaging 4.9 PPG and 3.7 RPG, hardly star numbers. He’s scored in double figures just once in 10 conference games (12 points against Alabama). Perhaps none sums up Walker’s horrible season than his two-consecutive games of zero-point outputs against Vanderbilt and Kentucky, respectively.
The disappointments end with this list, however, as college basketball’s best and brightest continue to put on a show this season. Create a betting account now and cash in on NCAAB regular season games and futures as we get closer and closer to March Madness.
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