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Dribble Handoff: College basketball players who were snubbed from preseason Top 100 And 1 player rankings

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The first week and a half of college basketball season has revealed some truths about certain conferences, teams and individual players. Even with a small sample size worth of data, there are some conclusions to be drawn. Among those conclusions is the shocking revelation that the Top 101 And 1 players ranking compiled before the season by our staff through a rigorous voting process may have featured a few snubs.

Our writers hail from various regions of the country, focus on different conferences as we generate preseason content and each bring a different set of criteria to the selections process for the list. That diversity of thought ensures that the list is annually the best of its kind in college basketball. However, in a sport with several thousand players, projecting the 101 best is bound to be an imperfect exercise.

For this week’s edition of the Dribble Handoff, our writers are identifying the players they wish had made the list. In some cases, these players did receive votes — just not enough to make the final list. By the way, if you haven’t seen the list yet, click here to check it out. It may not be perfect, but it seems clear so far that having Drew Timme at No. 1 was absolutely the right call.

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Trevor Keels, Duke

Paolo Banchero, for various reasons, has received more attention than anybody else on Duke’s roster in this early part of the season. But it shouldn’t get lost that Trevor Keels’ college career is off to a really good and productive start. The 6-4 freshman got a game-high 25 points in the season-opening win over Kentucky and is averaging 14.8 points, 4.0 assists and 3.0 assists while shooting a respectable 38.1% from 3 through four games. He’s a super-strong, get-to-the-rim guard who is shooting the ball somewhat surprisingly well and gaining the attention of NBA evaluators. If we were starting our list of the Top 100 And 1 players in college basketball from scratch today, he’d have to be on it somewhere.  — Gary Parrish

Justin Bean, Utah State

Here’s the back-half of my list. My highest-ranked player to not make it was Colorado State’s David Roddy. I believed he was — and still have belief he can be — the Mountain West player of the year come March. But there’s another guy from that league who’s looking like a huge whiff for us. He didn’t even make my list. Eight days into the season, Utah State’s Justin Bean is an obvious oversight. The senior is averaging 24.5 points and 14.0 rebounds on 69.2 eFG% for the 1-1 Aggies under new coach Ryan Odom. Bean was an all-league player last season. Now he’s feeling top-50-good. Please accept our apology. — Matt Norlander

Itching for more college hoops analysis? Listen below and subscribe to the Eye on College Basketball podcast where we take you beyond the hardwood with insider information and instant reactions.

Taz Sherman, West Virginia

With Miles McBride and Derek Culver gone, Taz Sherman was expected to be the biggest beneficiary to the outgoing production — and indeed he has been. In two wins for West Virginia out of the gate, he’s averaging a team-high 17.5 points as well as 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. All the while, he’s making fewer than 20% of his 3-point attempts, a number almost certain to rebound as a career 30+% 3-point shooter. Sherman was in my own personal top 100 in the preseason but just missed our cut, and I’m regretting not having pined harder for him. Could be one of the Big 12’s breakout stars.  — Kyle Boone

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Jules Bernard, UCLA

Go ahead and roll your eyes at the inclusion of another player from a blue-blood, top-ranked program, but there is no denying that what Jules Bernard has done early this season is Top 101 And 1 caliber. The 6-foot-6 guard is averaging 19 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists, and came up clutch in the Bruins’ overtime win over Villanova. In the final 2:20 of overtime, he pulled down three rebounds and made 4 of 4 free throws. Also, the game may not have reached overtime without his tough 2-pointer with 30 seconds left in regulation that tied the score at 67. UCLA’s opponents have no choice but to focus their defensive efforts on Johnny Juzang and Jaime Jaquez Jr. When they do, however, Bernard is a lethal scoring option and a prime example of the Bruins’ depth. — David Cobb





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Former Player Offers A Solution To Justin Fields, Bears Drama

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(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

 

Heading into his third season as a member of the Chicago Bears, many expected quarterback Justin Fields to take the next step in his development and potentially even break out in a similar fashion to the way Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts did in 2022.

Through three games, however, Fields and the Bears are 0-3, and it seems like the young quarterback is actually worse than he was last season.

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Last week, Fields made some comments (that he then backtracked on) that hinted at Chicago’s coaches being part of the reason for his struggles this year.

Following those comments, former NFL All-Pro cornerback Charles Woodson believes the ball is now in Fields’ court to basically put up or shut up, via FOX Sports: NFL.

“For Justin Fields, you gotta play your way out of Chicago or play the coaches up outta there. That’s the way I see it. Either you’re going to play well in spite of the coaches, or you’re going to play really bad. This is your time to either say, ‘I want to be in Chicago’ or ‘I’m really that bad, and they’re going to get rid of me anyway.’”

Woodson is very familiar with playing for a poor-performing team as he was a member of the Raiders for multiple years when they failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Despite the Raiders’ lack of success during his tenure with the franchise, Woodson still continued to play at a high level, and it ultimately resulted in him landing with a much more stable organization in the Green Bay Packers.

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So it seems like Woodson is speaking from his own experience and attempting to send a message to Fields to keep striving to be the best, no matter how much the Bears struggle this season.

Will the quarterback find a way to bounce back from his early-season slump or will he give Chicago more reasons to consider moving on from him in 2024?

The post Former Player Offers A Solution To Justin Fields, Bears Drama appeared first on The Cold Wire.





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The Braves Joined A Powerful MLB Club This Week

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(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

 

The 2023 Atlanta Braves are one of the most prolific and consistently productive offenses in the history of MLB.

They have made their money by hitting home runs often.

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Very often.

In fact, on Tuesday, the team surpassed the vaunted 300-homer barrier in a single season.

“The 2023 #Braves are the third team in MLB history to hit 300 home runs in a season!” they tweeted.

They finished the day with 301, and now we are on record watch.

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The other two organizations to hit more than 300 round-trippers in a single year are the 2019 Minnesota Twins (307) and the 2019 New York Yankees (306).

As you probably remember if you are a hardcore baseball fan, 2019 was an oddly productive year for hitters because of the “juiced” ball that was used.

That makes the Braves’ feat all the more impressive.

With five games remaining on their regular-season calendar, Atlanta has a chance to tie the Twins for the top spot with six additional dingers.

It’s certainly doable, but the team’s priorities are making it through these last few games relatively healthy.

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They have already secured their playoff spot, and they don’t want to risk an injury.

Still, it’s something they can achieve even while not playing at full effort.

Amazingly, the Braves have seven different players with 20+ home runs: Matt Olson (53), Ronald Acuña Jr. (41), Austin Riley (37), Marcell Ozuna (36), Ozzie Albies (32), Sean Murphy, (21), and Eddie Rosario (21).

They have two more with 15+: Michael Harris II (18) and Orlando Arcia (17).

Long story short, anyone in the lineup is capable of sending one to the stands.

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They just need to average a little over a home run per game in the remainder of the 2023 schedule to be crowned as the new collective home run kings.

The post The Braves Joined A Powerful MLB Club This Week appeared first on The Cold Wire.





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Yankees Are Looking To Avoid Unfortunate History

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The New York Yankees have consistently been one of the best teams in baseball over the past few decades.

When you have a payroll like them, it is easy to compete for championships year in and year out.

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But, the Yankees took a major step back in 2023.

Not only will they not be in the postseason, but they are in danger of not having a winning record.

According to Bryan Hoch, the Yankees need just one win in their last five games to avoid a losing season.

That is important to New York because they have not been under .500 since 1992.

If the Yankees can get two more wins they will have a winning record for the 31st consecutive year.

While some fans may care about this streak, it does not mean much if they are not in the playoffs.

One of the main reasons for the Yankees’ downfall this year was due to injuries.

They lost Aaron Judge for a few months and got mostly nothing out of newly-signed starting pitcher Carlos Rodon.

It just seemed like everything that could go wrong for this team did.

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The only bright spot from this year is Gerrit Cole, who is in the driver’s seat to win his first AL Cy Young award.

Cole has been dominant and is proving to be well worth the massive contract the Yankees gave him a few years back.

Even in a lost year like this, the Yankees can take a few positives.

The pitching of Cole is one along with finishing the season with a winning record.

The post Yankees Are Looking To Avoid Unfortunate History appeared first on The Cold Wire.

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