It’s not easy to exceed huge expectations, but over the past few weeks, that’s just what Miami’s Wooga Poplar has been up to. The rising youngster started making a significant impact for last year’s veteran squad as the Hurricanes went on a run to the Final Four. All summer, the hype for Poplar’s star turn grew, with experts mocking him into the lottery of next year’s NBA Draft. Now that the new season has gotten underway, Poplar has set about confirming the consensus belief in his extraordinary talent – and providing plenty of excitement for Canes fans.
Poplar is one of many young players in the Atlantic Coast Conference who are enjoying more of the spotlight than ever before due to their excellent play to start this new season. Now that we’re a month into the festivities, it’s time to take a look at the players who have spent the past few weeks breaking out. Whether they’re new to their teams, new to a significant role, or newly-come to true stardom, these are some names you really ought to know!
Wooga Poplar – Miami (FL)
16.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.8 apg, 0.8 spg – 53.7% 3FG
A Philly product who gets his buckets from all over the court, Poplar has stepped forward as Miami’s leading scorer so far. On a team which returned a pair of proven scorers and added a third via the transfer portal, that’s been no small feat. It certainly helps that Poplar has been absurdly efficient. Poplar shot 37.5% from the land of trey last year, providing hope that he would be a balanced scorer in a larger role, and he has kicked things into almost unsustainably high gear over the past month. He’s already knocked down 22 triples across the Hurricanes’ first eight games – and he’s done so at an outstanding 53.7% rate. Additionally, Poplar is taking tremendous advantage of his trips to the charity stripe, sinking 87.0% of his tries so far. His strong dribble-drive game is a key piece of Poplar’s offensive repertoire, as he can either get all the way to the rim or pull up to splash mid-range looks. He’s also a strong defender, and makes great use of his premier quickness and explosiveness to guard people and to make plays on that side of the ball. Poplar can be a dangerous shot-swatter on the wing, and has shown off an impressive two-way game. With the Canes looking forward to a third consecutive deep run in the NCAA Tournament, Poplar’s sweet shooting and ability to help out in lots of ways should see him continuing to make an unmissable impact right through the end of winter.
Lynn Kidd – Virginia Tech
15.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.2 apg, 0.7 spg – 68.9% FG
After the departures of star bigs Grant Basile and Justyn Mutts this offseason, most folks around Blacksburg weren’t quite sure where the Hokies’ post scoring was going to come from this year. The veterans had accounted for 29.7 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 6.3 assists as a pair last season, and up until a few weeks ago, it appeared that Virginia Tech would go with something of a committee approach in the paint. Turns out, Lynn Kidd was getting ready to seize a starring role, so the Gobblers needn’t have worried. After spending his first two years as a deep reserve, first at Clemson and then after transferring to Tech, Kidd became a solid part of the rotation last year. He’s bigger than either Mutts or Basile, and clearly took to heart the things he learned last winter when called upon to function as the Hokies’ part-time pivot. This year, Kidd has emerged as Tech’s leading scorer. He’s cashing in his attempts around the rim to the tune of a sensational 84.4%, per Bart Torvik, thanks in no small part to plenty of quality feeds from playmaking guards Hunter Cattoor and Sean Pedulla. It’s not to say that Kidd is just some dunker, though, even though he’s thrown down 21 slams through nine games – that’s just padding the percentages. Kidd has observably grown his game; he’s more assertive with the rock in his hands, and has improved his footwork both under the rim and moving to his spots for in-between looks – which he’s sinking at a solid 44.8% so far. Kidd is also getting to the foul line nearly five times per game, and converting a cool 85.0% of those attempts. Though he’s not a high-end rim protector, Kidd’s value is as a clever positional defender, and both his rebounding and assist rates have jumped up this season with his larger role. Now that the Hokies know they’ve got an impact player inside, head coach Mike Young & Co should see things settle into place as the Hokies look to contend in ACC play.
Carlton ‘Bub’ Carrington – Pittsburgh
14.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 6.2 apg, 0.4 spg – 42.9% FG
Pitt lost an immense amount of production from last year with the graduations of playmakers Jamarius Burton and Nelly Cummings. Head coach Jeff Capel knew he was going to end up going young at the point this winter, as a result. Turns out Pitt has gone young and is still outstanding at the spot. Rookie Carlton ‘Bub’ Carrington is a versatile newcomer who’s proven that he’s a triple-double threat any time he’s on the court. In fact, he accomplished the feat in the first college game he ever played. A big guard with real agility and quite a bit of play-at-his-own-speed savvy, Carrington is a very difficult matchup even for veteran defenders. He sees the floor and the action developing around him extremely well, and consistently makes creative plays happen for his buddies. Already very effective running the offense in the pick-and-roll, Carrington is great at gliding to his preferred spots when he’s not tossing clean passes. He often doesn’t get all the way to the rack as a go-to approach; Carrington instead relies upon a smooth mid-range game and deeper jumper to do most of his scoring. He’s knocked down three or more triples in four games, scored in double figures in all but one game, and Carrington has handed out at least four assists in each of the Panthers’ first nine contests. Along with all of Pitts’ opponents, NBA scouts have taken quick note of the terrific freshman. “Some see him as a potential lottery pick due to his shot-creation ability, comfort in ball screens and passing skill,” Sam Vecenie reported for The Athletic recently, and Carrington’s stock should continue to rise as he adds experience to his repertoire. It didn’t take long for Carrington to prove that he could be trusted with the keys to Pitt’s offense, and he’s shown enough already to have Panther fans thinking about another successful March this season.
Jamir Watkins – Florida State
13.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.6 spg – 47.2% FG
After two years marinating in the Havoc of Virginia Commonwealth, Jamir Watkins left after Rams coach Mike Rhoades departed for Happy Valley. Now that he’s headed down south to Tallahassee, Watkins is showing that there’s much more to his game than he showed in RVA. Watkins established his reputation at VCU as a strong, versatile defender and tough-bucket getter who could step out and splash a triple if given the opportunity. Since debuting at Florida State, though, Watkins has demonstrated that he’s also a skilled playmaker with a developing three-level scoring game. Watkins was terrific in back-to-back victories at the Sunshine Slam tournament in November, including an overtime win against Colorado. For his 37 points, 15 boards, 12 assists and four steals across the two contests, he was named the tournament MVP and Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week. At a strong and long 6’7″, Watkins has tremendous ability to make an impact all over the floor. His playmaking skills have shone through to the tune of 24.8% assist rate. He has shown more confidence shooting off the bounce thus far, and as his jumper continues to become a genuine threat, Watkins will be a legitimate do-it-all player who can operate on the perimeter or provide mismatch potential as an undersized 4-man. Florida State has had an up-and-down start to the season, but the team is learning to rely upon Watkins in all sorts of situations.
Markus Burton – Notre Dame
15.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.9 apg, 1.0 spg – 40.4% FG
It may be a rebuilding year in South Bend, but Notre Dame’s new point guard is wasting no time proving that his future is now. Last year’s Mr. Basketball in Indiana, Markus Burton began transforming into a big star prior to his senior season at Penn High School, and hasn’t stopped rising since. He’s small, but Burton isn’t afraid of driving in amongst the trees, and he makes all kinds of things happen for the Irish offense on his way through the lane. Burton has a veteran’s savvy with the ball in his hands, and knows how to lure defenders and create for his buddies just as smoothly as he gets his own looks. Burton does the majority of his scoring off the bounce, whether he gets all the way to the cup or gets defenders off balance with step-back and pull-up attempts after driving hard towards the paint. He’s not much of a three-point shooter just yet, and Burton has had some hiccups with turnovers, but that’s largely because he’s a true freshman playing the primary role of offense-driver on a team which lacks proven scorers. “He’s got to learn through mistakes, but he also has to learn during the game to play off two feet, to shot fake, to find other guys. He’s going to make other guys better,” new ND coach Micah Shrewsberry has said of his rookie playmaker. “When he figures that part out, he’s going to be a really, really good player because he can get by people to get in the lane.” So far, Burton has shown that he will indeed be a really, really good player, and with his talents and poise to build around, Notre Dame’s future is looking bright headed forward.
Hunter Sallis – Wake Forest
18.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.1 spg – 42.9% 3FG
When Hunter Sallis chose Gonzaga to begin his collegiate career, everyone in college basketball was excited to see what the rangy 5-star guard would do. Unfortunately, his time in Spokane saw more inconsistency than superstardom, and after two years, Sallis headed to the transfer portal hoping to find a situation which worked more seamlessly. Through a high-impact first month, it seems as though Sallis has found just what he was searching for. The most observable way in which Sallis has raised his game is as a shooter. After making just 25.8% of his triple tries as a Bulldog, Sallis has come out firing in his junior year, splashing a terrific 42.9% of his attempts. He’s doing so at legitimate volume, too; Sallis was in no particular hurry to launch from deep while in Spokane, but this year, he’s been ripping off more than six tries from distance per game. Always highly capable of using his dribble to explore opportunities around the lane, Sallis has also made a strong 47.8% of his many mid-range looks, per Bart Torvik. His defensive versatility and skill have also been on display, and he’s added a bit more strength in order to handle the variety of guards and some wings which call the ACC home. As a disruptor on that end and a slick ball mover when his team has it, Sallis has always been more than just a scorer. Now that he’s scoring at an all-conference clip, though, his ceiling is rising by the week.
Guys to keep on keeping an eye on
Skyy Clark – Louisville
Harrison Ingram – UNC
Baye Ndongo – Georgia Tech
Jaeden Zackery – Boston College
Chris Bell – Syracuse
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