Yahoo Actualités 
Five programs poised for a fall entering the new season
Our 2016-17 season preview continues with a look at five programs poised for a fall. Check back every day for more college hoops preview content.
NEBRASKA: When Nebraska returned the core of a team that reached the 2014 NCAA tournament two years ago, it seemed as though the Huskers were a program on the rise. They’ve instead fallen backward in the Big Ten pecking order, a decline that appears likely to continue this season. Having graduated leading scorer Shavon Shields and lost co-star Andrew White III via transfer, Nebraska will rely heavily on senior guard Tai Webster and an unproven collection of freshmen and sophomores. Webster has been inconsistent in college, but he might be poised to bust out after averaging 16.3 points and 9.7 rebounds for New Zealand last summer at the Olympic qualifying tournament. He’ll be joined in the backcourt by promising sophomore point guard Glynn Watson, former Samford guard Evan Taylor and Louisville transfer Anton Gill. The frontcourt returns some sophomores who were part of the rotation last season, but watch for talented freshmen Isaiah Roby and Jordy Tshimanga to emerge by midseason. All in all, it’s a roster with longterm promise, but one that may struggle in the Big Ten again this season.
PROVIDENCE: A drop-off from last year’s 24-win season is inevitable for Providence after stars Kris Dunn and Ben Bentil left for the NBA, taking their 37.5 points, 13.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game with them. How steep the decline is will depend on whether the players they leave behind can assume bigger roles. Four rotation players return from last season, but junior swingman Rodney Bullock is the only one who averaged double figures. He’ll almost certainly be the team’s go-to scorer, while junior Kyron Cartwright will get the first crack at replacing Dunn at point guard, sophomore Ryan Fazekas will stretch the floor with his outside shooting and junior Jalen Lindsay will score in transition, defend multiple positions and try to demonstrate the consistency he has previously lacked. Former Indiana forward Emmitt Holt will have a chance to be the team’s primary big man despite standing just 6-foot-7. Providence was projected ninth in the Big East preseason poll, ahead of only lowly DePaul. That seems a spot or two low if new leaders emerge, but the Friars are likely still headed for a rebuilding season.
SAINT JOSEPH’S: The only downside to Saint Joseph’s extraordinary 28-win season last year was that it served as the collegiate finale for so many of the Hawks’ key players. Do-it-all wing DeAndre Bembry entered the NBA draft last spring and co-stars Isaiah Miles and Aaron Brown graduated, making the Hawks the lone Atlantic 10 team not to return at least one double-digit scorer. Their departures will make it difficult for Saint Joseph’s to finish in the upper half of the league this season, let alone repeat last year’s brilliant postseason surge that included an Atlantic 10 tournament title, a thrilling NCAA tournament win over Cincinnati and a near miss against Oregon in the round of 32. For Saint Joseph’s to be competitive in the Atlantic 10, new leaders must emerge. Point guard Shavar Newkirk is a steady floor leader and capable distributor, while fellow guard LaMarr Kimble and swingman James Demery both appear capable of shouldering a greater portion of the scoring load. Whether they get any help from the frontcourt may determine how far Saint Joseph’s falls in the Atlantic 10 pecking order.
TEMPLE: Overshadowed by SMU, Cincinnati and UConn entering last season, Temple won the American Athletic Conference outright and made the NCAA tournament despite being picked sixth in the league’s preseason poll. The oft-undervalued Owls were projected sixth again this year, but this time that evaluation feels accurate, if not generous. Not only did Temple graduate three of its four leading scorers from last season, the Owls also may be without key returners Josh Brown and Trey Lowe. Brown, a playmaking point guard, is still hoping to play at some point this season despite surgery to repair a torn Achilles on May 25. Lowe, a big guard who can score, will medically redshirt while recovering from upper body injuries suffered in a Feb. 28 car accident. What’s left is a ton of unproven players surrounding rapidly blossoming forward Obi Enechionyia. Sophomore Levan Alston and freshman Alani Moore will inherit ball-handling duties for as long as Brown is sidelined. Versatile swingman Daniel Dingle can defend multiple positions and forward Mark Williams and center Ernest Aflakpui will both be part of the frontcourt rotation alongside Enechionyia.
UNLV: Even though UNLV missed the NCAA tournament each of the past three seasons, the Rebels will likely get worse before they get better. New coach Marvin Menzies inherited just two returning scholarship players from last year’s 18-win team, neither of whom were among UNLV’s seven leading scorers. For UNLV to avoid a bottom-three finish in the Mountain West this season, sophomore guard Jalen Poyser will have to deliver a breakout season and some of the newcomers Menzies scrambled to pick up will have to make an immediate impact. Poyser is a capable ball handler, a gifted finisher and an improving shooter, but his efficiency numbers will suffer if he’s asked to do too much. San Francisco transfer Uche Ofoegbu and junior college transfer Kris Clyburn are the potential backcourt starters alongside Poyser, while returner Dwayne Morgan, St. John’s transfer Christian Jones and promising freshman Troy Baxter will form the nucleus of an undersized frontcourt. Are the Rebels ready for a non-league schedule that includes Duke, Kansas and Oregon? Uh, no. Could they mesh in time for a middle-of-the-pack Mountain West finish? That’s the best-case scenario.
– – – – – – –
Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him atdaggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
