Around the ACC: Where does Louisville basketball’s frontcourt rank?
By Jacob Lane
No. 5 – Florida State
2020 Frontcourt: Malik Osborne (RS Jr.), RaiQuan Gray (RS Jr.), Balsa Koprivica (So.), Quincy Ballard (Fr.)
Somehow over the last few years right when you think Florida State loses too much and will be in too tough a spot to bounce back the next year, they do just the opposite behind head coach Leonard Hamilton.
We saw that last season with FSU, in what many believed would be a somewhat down year, and even with the losses of graduate transfer Dominik Olejniczak and likely first-round draft pick, Patrick Williams in the frontcourt they should be in a good spot to win Jericole Hellems alot of games. As we’ve learned about the Seminoles over the years though, is there isn’t another program better at having players you’ve never heard of waiting in the wings to take over and sometimes even do more.
In 2020-21, Leonard Hamilton could once again have a team capable of competing for an ACC title and maybe even a run to the Final Four in part to what he returns in the frontcourt. Louisville got very familar with guys like Malik Osborne and RaiQuan Gray during the team’s two matchups with FSU, and what we saw in those games is exactly what those two guys bring to the table; rebounding, defense, and toughness.
Both players are solid and steady starters who will give Hamilton the defensive, rebounding, and scoring around the rim he needs aside his star-studded backcourt who ranked highly when we looked around the ACC. That starting five will be one of the most talented and experienced in the ACC, and when you add in Balsa Koprivica, who could be a sneaky most-improved player of the year in the ACC and another lottery NBA Draft pick for Hamilton. The former highly-touted four-star recruit big man played in 27 games (10.3 mpg) and averaged 4.7 points and 2.4 rebounds, scoring in double-figures on six occasions.
The ceiling for Florida State has a lot to do with the rising sophomore who showed flashes of being a special player with his unique combination of size and scoring. At 7’1, 260-pounds, Koprivica got time last year to play in small chunks as he adjusted to the college game, but this year he’s got all the tools to breakout.
Florida State will also welcome in another nice piece in 6’11, three-star freshman Quincy Ballard. While it’s likely that he’ll either play a minimal role or redshirt, as other bigs have done for Florida State, he’ll provide quality depth and an option that Hamilton can go to should injuries or foul trouble plague the Seminoles.
Louisville will once again have their hands full, as will the rest of the ACC.
No. 4 -North Carolina State
2020 Frontcourt: Jericole Hellems (Jr.), DJ Funderburk (RS Sr.), Manny Bates (So.), Ebenezer Dowouna (Fr.), Jaylon Gibson (Fr.)
Kevin Keatts has had a lot of talent during his time as the head coach of North Carolina State but hasn’t had much success in the grand scheme of things. This season he’ll need to change that if he wants to keep his job, and luckily for him, he may have one of his most talented and experienced teams yet. A big part of that will be because of the frontcourt.
It’s taken a few years of development to get to the point they’re at now, but the return of rising junior Jericole Hellems and star big man DJ Funderburk gives the Wolfpack one of the best duos in the ACC. Assuming that Funderburk decides to put the NBA off for one more year, the Wolfpack could potentially be a team that gains top four buzz within the conference. They’ll have scoring, rebounding, athleticism, shot-blocking, size, and toughness to go head-to-head with any of the teams ahead of them.
Hellems and Funderburk won’t be alone. Joining them in the starting lineup will be returning sophomore Manny Bates, who showed a ton of promise in his first season on the floor starting in 26 games. Averaging 5.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, Bates showed the ability to protect the rim at a really high-level breaking the NC State freshman record for most blocks in a season as well as provide spot scoring and toughness on the glass. With another year of development, he could develop into a James Banks III type player for NC State, giving them another weapon to go with their star duo.
That’s not it. Keatts will also welcome in two bigs from the class of 2020 including three-star center Ebenezer Dowouna, who already has the size to compete within the ACC, as well as recent Louisville target, Jaylon Gibson, who committed to Keatts after the firing of Danny Manning at Wake Forest.
Keatts has all the tools in the shed to be successful this year if they don’t make the tournament it’ll likely be the end of an era in Raleigh.
No. 3 – Virginia
2020 Frontcourt: Jay Huff (RS Sr.), Sam Hauser (RS Sr.), Kadin Shedrick (RS Fr.), Francisco Caffaro (RS. So.), Justin McKoy (So.)
Virginia loses veteran forward Mamadi Diakite, who gave the whole conference fits for the last few years, so naturally, they just replace Diakite with Sam Hauser. Because, of course.
A fifth-year senior from Marquette, Hauser is the rare case of a player who could have put his name in the draft after his junior year, yet opted to sit out a season and then play two years later. But this is Virginia and Tony Bennett, and if we’ve learned anything about the Hoos, it’s that they are going to go against the grain and annoy the crap out of you by being successful at the little things.
We say this out of respect, of course, but by now, even if it doesn’t look like UVA is going to keep the ball rolling the next season, they somehow end up right in the thick of the ACC title race. This season, however, there is reason to be scared from the jump.
Along with Hauser, Kadin Shedrick redshirted last season. The former top 75 player assuredly spent the last year and change learning Bennett’s mind meld defense and knows every old man post move in the game.
We didn’t even mention that the Wahoos return Jay Huff, another center who looks and moves like he’s a year overdue for retirement but drops 15 and 12 on you anyways. He’s still got his name in the NBA Draft at this point, but it’s almost a forgone conclusion that he’ll be back to drop 30 and 25 on Louisville next season.
In all seriousness, he provides the rebounding and inside/outside scoring that will compliment Hauser and make the team a National Championship contender. Virginia’s torturous defense is back yet again and the Cavs have replenished the front line of their roster with a group of players who will assuredly make us all pull our hair out.