Around the ACC: Where does Louisville basketball’s frontcourt rank?
By Jacob Lane
No. 15 – Wake Forest
2020 frontcourt: Isaiah Mucius (Jr.), Ody Oguama (So.), Ismael Massoud (So.), Tariq Ingraham (RS Fr.)
It’s going to be a rough year in Winston-Salem. Steve Forbes is eventually going to get Wake Forest back to being a competitive player in the ACC, but it’s going to take a lot of time. Kudos to him for landing the pieces he has thus far, including three graduate transfers, but losing nearly ever commitment held in the class of 2020 and multiple players to transfer, including star big man Olivier Sarr, is going to lead to growing pains.
While options are limited, there is promise with returning forward Isaiah Mucius who was one of the most improved players on the team last season averaging seven points and nearly five rebounds per game in a little over 22 minutes per night. He’ll play in tandem with a few other unproven players including Ody Oguama, Ismael Massoud, and Tariq Ingraham, all of whom are inexperienced and have yet to prove they can play at this level.
They’ll grow as the season goes on, but they’ll be playing behind the eight ball all season long.
No. 14 – Virginia Tech
2020 frontcourt: John Ojiako (So.), Keve Aluma (RS Jr.), David N’Guessan (Fr.), Cordell Pemsl (RS. Jr)
Much like Wake Forest, Virginia Tech lost several important pieces from last season’s team to transfer, including top frontcourt player’s Landers Nolley II, who was more of a wing than a low-post player and versatile forward PJ Horne.
Left behind is a group of young and unproven players who will be charged with taking another step forward in the rebuilding process in Mike White’s second season as head coach. The lone frontcourt returnee, and likely the team’s starting center, John Ojiako didn’t play much last season but did get enough valuable reps to at least step in and be serviceable. At 6’10, 240-pounds Ojiako was a late commitment who reclassified in 2019 and spent the majority of the year playing in short doses as he learned the game of college basketball.
This season more of the rebounding and defensive omen will fall on him as will it fall on former Wofford transfer, Keve Aluma, who will be eligible after sitting out in 2019-20. Aluma will provide White with a familar presence on the floor, having coached the big man during his two seasons at Wofford, as well as an efficient scorer around the rim (64 percent from the field as a sophomore).
White will also look to get the most out of incoming freshman David N’Guessan, who has plenty of potential as a versatile forward, as well as graduate transfer Cordell Pemsl, who comes to Tech having played a minor role (when healthy) at Iowa each of the last few seasons.
The options are limited for White and Virginia Tech in the frontcourt and because of that, the backcourt will have to carry this group through the ACC.
No. 13 -Pittsburgh
2020 frontcourt: Terrell Brown (Sr.), John Hugley (Fr.), Max Amadasun (Fr.), Abdoul Karim Coulibaly (So.), Noah Collier (Fr.)
Although Pitt boasted a talented roster in 2019-20, its last-place finish in the ACC Conference is indicative of just how hard it is to win in the ACC conference.
Jeff Capel is finding out the hard way that life is not so easy in Oakland in the post-Jamie Dixon era, and keeping talented players at Pitt is not as easy as it seems. Kevin Stallings, Capel’s predecessor, struggled mightily during his short stint with the Panthers, and though Capel seems more than capable of executing a turnaround, it is going to take a heckuva coaching effort to climb the ACC ladder in 2020-21.
In the frontcourt, Terrell Brown is the only returnee with any sort of relevant experience at the college level. Brown started 12 games for the Panthers last season, and in 18 minutes per game, he averaged 4.9 points and 3.5 boards.
The good news for Pitt is that there is a ton of incoming talent from a top 25 recruiting class, led by No. 88 overall player John Hugley. The true freshman is likely to get the starting nod for the Panthers next season, and he and Brown should be able to hold their own down low.
Outside of that, however, there are still a lot of questions for a Pitt team that needs help in a hurry.
No. 12 – Notre Dame
2020 frontcourt: Juwan Durham (RS Sr.), Nate Laszewski, F (Jr.), Matt Zona (Fr.), Tony Sanders (Fr.), Elijah Taylor (Fr.)
A famous man once said, “John Mooney is not walking through that door.” Okay, so Mooney wasn’t the name used but you get the point. After 19 long seasons (it was really only four, but damn they felt so long) at Notre Dame, including his senior season where he averaged 16.2 points and 12.7 rebounds per game despite Mike Brey’s missing the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season.
Replacing one of the best low post players in recent program history won’t come easy for Brey, but thankfully he’ll have the services of former UConn transfer Juwan Durham for one more season, and will welcome back rising junior Nate Laszewski, who could very easily be one of the most improved players in the ACC by seasons end. Ths Irish will have to lean on Laszewski to be the team’s primary scorer for the first time in his career, but having players prepared to make big jumps in between their second and third year’s has been a specialty of Brey during his time as head coach.
The duo will bring a unique pairing down low, that matches rim scoring, athleticism, and rim protection with outside shooting and versatile scoring capable of competing at a high level against really good ACC front-court.
Defensively and rebounding the crew will take a step back unless they can more than they expect out pf the freshman trio of Matt Zona, Tony Sanders, and Elijah Taylor. All three rank outside of the top 200, although all have promise as long-term players, so it’s unlikely they’ll be able to provide the necessary production right away that will be needed to get the Irish back to even the middle of the pack in the ACC.