Around the ACC: Where does Louisville basketball’s frontcourt rank?
By Jacob Lane
No. 11 – Boston College
2020 Frontcourt: Steffon Mitchell (Sr.), CJ Felder (So.), Fred Scott (Gr.), James Karnik (Gr.) Kamari Williams (So.), Justin Vander Baan (Fr.)
Boston College loses Nik Popovic at center in 2020-21, but it has done what it can to tread water in the frontcourt. While the Eagles did not secure any instant-impact freshmen in the offseason, Jim Christian does add a graduate transfer to help soften the blow while the young guys get caught up to speed.
Steffon Mitchell is the top returnee for BC and instantly could become a double-double machine as the go-to guy, following his junior season in which he averaged 7.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, really developing into a solid contributor. Mitchell has played both the four and five during his career, and likely will continue to do that thanks to the versatility the Eagles have.
Frederick Scott, a graduate transfer from Rider and two-time All-MAAAC selection, may well step into a starting role in the frontcourt for the Eagles and will provide Christian with another experienced and capable scorer & rebounder. The one-time Depaul Blue Demon transferred to Chestnut Hill after averaging 12.6 points and 5.2 rebounds last season.
He’ll be joined by another graduate transfer who will compete for a starting role in former Lehigh big man, James Karnik. The 6’9, 225-pound big man will likely spend most of his time at the five, which will give Boston College another versatile option with Mitchell & Scott. Karnik finished second in scoring and first in rebounding for Lehigh, and posted six double-doubles on the year.
The true wildcard will be rising sophomore CJ Felder, who flashed the potential of being a star last year playing behind Jairus Hamilton, who has since left for Maryland. Now Felder will be given a much bigger role and he could easily become the best backcourt player the team has.
BC’s issue will be bringing up a group of young big men in Felder, returning sophomore Kamari Williams, and incoming freshman Justin Vander Baan. Can those guys step in and provide the same type of proven play as Scott, Karnik, and Mitchell? That, amongst other things, will determine if Jim Christian returns to Chestnut Hill in 2022.
No. 10 – Miami
2020 Frontcourt: Sam Waardenburg (RS Sr.), Rodney Miller (RS Sr.), Nysier Brooks (RS Sr.), Anthony Walker (Fr.), Matt Cross (Fr.), Earl Timberlake (Fr.)
Miami is one of the few teams in the ACC that returns its starting frontcourt and it’s a reason why they find themselves in the top 10. However, it’s also a reason they don’t find themselves higher, as last season both Sam Waardenburg and Rodney Miller were very okay players, averaging over 28 and 24 minutes respectively but only 5.9 and 7.2 points per game to go along with 6.0 and 5.5 rebounds per contest.
While that’s not bad by any means, you’d hope for more than 12 points and 11 rebounds per game out of your starting frontcourt. This season Jim Larranaga will hope to see his two experienced big guys take another step. If they don’t take their game to the next level, it won’t be long before they are watching more than playing with Cincinnati transfer Nysier Brooks becoming eligible and four-star recruits Matt Cross and Earl Timberlake.
More than likely Waardenburg and Miller will continue to carry the lion share of the minutes but look for the Hurricanes to get contributions out of Brooks in his one and only season on campus and rising sophomore Anthony Walker, which should make them better overall.
No. 9 -Georgia Tech
2020 Frontcourt: Moses Wright (Sr.), Khalid Moore (Jr.), Saba Gigiberia (Fr.), Jordan Meka (Fr.)
No team was more quietly impressive upfront last season than Georgia Tech.
During prep for Louisville’s home game against the Yellow Jackets in January, we wrote about how scary Josh Pastner’s team is because of the sheer amount of undervalued talent on that squad. Perhaps it’s because its Pastner and its tough to respect the babyfaced assassin on the sideline, but Tech hung right with the Cardinals on the road, and then beat Louisville wire-to-wire at home two weeks later.
Much of that was due in part to one of my favorite ACC players last year, James Banks III. Although Banks graduated, his backcourt mate Moses Wright returns for his senior season and will provide Josh Pastner with a fourth experienced and capable starter. Additionally, wing Jordan Usher returns to the fold, and, in the absence of Banks, it would not be surprising to see Usher slide to the four more often in 2020-21, which is why we’ve listed him with both the guards and frontcourt.
The big question mark for the Yellow Jackets will be at center. It’s likely that Wright will slide over but should Pastner decide to go with an alternative option, the pickings will be slim. Freshman Saba Gigiberia comes to Atlanta with a ton of size (7’1), talent, and experience, having played overseas since the age of 14. He’s still raw, but his size makes him an intriguing option next to Wright
Like many of the teams on the bottom half of this list, Georgia Tech has some talent upfront, but they lack the depth needed to be a major threat down low. Still, Wright, Gigiberia, and Usher will be fun to watch once again.
No. 8 – Syracuse
2020 Frontcourt: Marek Dolezaj (Sr.), Quincy Guerrier (So.), Bouroma Sidibe (Sr.), Robert Braswell (Jr.), Jessee Edwards (So.), John Bol Ajok (RS Fr.)
The more I write about Syracuse, the more I realize they could be an underrated team in the ACC in 2020 even without star guard Elijah Hughes. A big part of that is the continuity they’ll have inside as Jim Boeheim returns all three of his top bigs from a season ago, including Marek Dolezaj, Bourama Sidibe, and rising sophomore Quincy Guerrier. They’ll be joined by newcomers Woody Newton and Frank Anselem, who bring even more athleticism and toughness to the fold as well as three “project bigs” who didn’t see the floor much or at all last season in Robert Braswell, Jesse Edwards, and John Bol Ajok – giving Boehim a ton of versatility and depth.
Syracuse hasn’t had a ton of dominant big men, especially lately, and while that trend will continue in 2020-21, they have guys who will excel at fulfilling a certain role (no matter how big or small) as well as others with a ton of potential that will combine to give them a lot of intrigue.
The Orange will desperately need big jumps from Dolezaj and Guerrier, both of whom play similar roles but bring completely different games to the table and will need Sidibe, Anselem, or even Edwards or Bol Ajok to develop into a consistently dominant rim protector and rebounder.
If the frontcourt of Syracuse can move past “potential” to “production” you could be talking about a team capable of surprising folks.
No. 7 – Clemson
2020 Frontcourt: Aamir Simms (Sr.), Hunter Tyson (Jr.), Jonathan Baehre (Sr.), Khavon Moore (Jr.), Olivier Maxcene-Prosper (Fr.), PJ Hall (Fr.)
While the backcourt ranked lower in the ACC, the Clemson frontcourt has the potential to be one of the best thanks to the return of senior big man Aamir Simms. If I had a list of players competing for ACC Player of the Year, Simms would make the shortlist coming off of his breakout season where he averaged 13.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.
Simms has it all and showed it last season, including shooting 40 percent from three, despite his team struggling throughout the majority of the year to keep up due to injury and youth. This season that shouldn’t the case and the frontcourt will have much more help to take the pressure off the Clemson big man. After spurning the NBA, Simms will come back looking to finish his career on a high note both individually and as a team, hoping to make a return trip to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017-18.
His running mate will likely be either Hunter Tyson, who returns after playing in 31 games (starting three) in 2019, or Jonathan Baehre, who will look to bounce back after a knee injury ended his season after two games. Tyson is more of a scorer, dropping 20-plus points on a few occasions last season, while Baehre would bring more defensive and rebounding focus to the floor and provide the brute toughness needed next to Simms.
There’s also the chance that incoming freshman and the top player in the state of South Carolina in 2020, P.J. Hall, is able to see the floor as a backup/role player or maybe even as a surprise starter. He brings strength and physicality to the floor and is very nice offensive player with his back to the basket and a more than capable passer. He’s a unique weapon, as is fellow incoming four-star freshman Olivier Maxcene-Prosper who will play both forward spots and rising junior Khavon Moore who is a versatile wing with great size.
Brownell has all the pieces he needs to get the team back to the NCAA Tournament but a lot of that is going to depend on just how big of a jump Simms makes and how much help they get from their other pieces.