College Hoops Top 50

Last year, Xavier Johnson transferred to Carbondale from George Mason and had a really solid year. The young guard started 32 games for a 23-win team, became a key facilitator, led Southern Illinois in 3FG rate, and was named to the Valley’s All-Defense team. Over the summer, Johnson improved his game. So much so, it turns out, that he is not just leading Salukis in scoring and assists: Johnson has transformed into one of the best and most productive lead guards in the country. 

Johnson is one of many young players in the Missouri Valley 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!

Xavier Johnson – Southern Illinois

24.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 5.8 apg, 1.8 spg – 50.0% FG

It’s tough to find an established player anywhere in college basketball who has taken such a leap as has Johnson this season. Over his first four collegiate seasons, Johnson carried averages of 6.5 points, 2.9 assists, and 1.2 steals over his 114 games played. These days, Johnson has taken his next level to the next level. His scoring average of 24.1 ranks second among all Division I players, and he leads the Valley in assists per game. Head coach Bryan Mullins has seen fit to put the ball into Johnson’s hands and let him cook, and Johnson is proving to be a 4-star chef. He currently ranks fifth in the MVC in steals and made triples, and leads in free throw percentage as well as makes and attempts. It’s not always easy to be both a terrific shooter and earn a multitude of trips to the charity stripe, but Johnson has feasted from the land of trey and still made more than eight trips to the line per game. 

The Salukis lost an average of 30+ points when Marcus Domask and Lance Jones moved on up to the Big Ten, but Johnson is now leading an offense which is averaging more than 10 additional points each night over last year’s squad. Though they’re still playing at a slower pace, Southern Illinois is shooting top-50 percentages nationally from three and overall – a testament to Johnson’s individual production and his skill in creating great looks for his buddies. Despite his prodigious scoring pace, Johnson is also posting a fantastic 38.9% assist rate so far. What makes that figure all the more impressive is that Jarrett Hensley and AJ Ferguson – two of the Salukis’ other top five scorers – have missed more than half of the team’s tilts. If a teammate is on the floor, Johnson will manufacture an open look for them, and then find them with an even better pass. He remains a standout defender, and provides Southern Illinois with one of the truest go-to guys out there. With the savvy to make terrific reads and feeds while scoring 30+ points every couple of games and playing great defense, there’s almost nothing Johnson hasn’t done exceptionally well in his breakout season. As conference play ramps up, the folks around Carbondale can’t wait to see what he’ll come up with next. 

Robbie Avila & Isaiah Swope – Indiana State

Avila: 16.5 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 4.2 apg, 0.7 bpg – 46.9% 3FG – Isaiah Swope: 19.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.0 apg, 2.0 spg – 43.8% 3FG

With the meteoric rise of their spectacled star big man and his high-scoring buddies, Terre Haute is becoming Terredise indeed. Indiana State is scoring at a prodigious pace, and they’re doing so as smoothly and efficiently as you like. It’s a fun time to be a Sycamore, and with the hype building for a clash in East Lansing this Saturday, there are some excellent players to become familiar with before tipoff. We put the spotlight on rising head coach Josh Schertz’s crew a couple of weeks ago amidst their red-hot start. It bears repeating, though, how excellent playmaking post star Robbie Avila and sweet-shooting guard Isaiah Swope have been. The inside-out duo are keying an Indiana State crew that ranks among the top ten nationally in 2FG%, 3FG%, and points scored per contest. 

Avila wasn’t really on the radar for NBA scouts a month ago, but he certainly is now. The 6’10” sophomore is proving that his tantalizing rookie year was only a morsel of his full skillset. A strong jump shooter who has flashed NBA range on his three-point shot, Avila is growing into a scoring big who can threaten inside and out. He is highly coordinated and patient, and Avila has more quickness than it might seem around the bucket. His game is more cerebral than explosive, but there can be no doubt: Avila is a dangerous matchup. One recent example: against Tennessee State on Tuesday, Avila did not score in the first half. By the final whistle, Avila had 18 points and three made triples. Every team would love to have a post player who shoots a 57.6/46.9/78.3% slash line, and Indiana State just so happens to have such a guy. His passing takes things to another level, as Avila is being used as a primary facilitator for Sycamores, and he’s doing a wonderful job. Both his average of 4.2 helpers per game and 26.5% assist rate ranks fifth in the Valley so far, and Avila has shown the awareness, precision and unselfishness of a winning veteran so early in his career. 

He may stand a foot shorter than Avila, but Swope is a genuine threat in his own ways. Another highly capable passer – virtually all of ISU’s players can shoot and move the rock effectively – Swope is also the team’s leading scorer. After beginning his career as a productive scorer and playmaker at Southern Indiana, Swope has stepped out this season despite the step up in competition. He’s only scored fewer than 14 points in one of the 11 games he’s played as a Sycamore, and Swope is getting his buckets in highly efficient fashion. Not only are his 19.0 points per game the second-best mark in the league; Swope’s 39 makes from deep lead the Valley and rank 19th among all Division I players. He’s shooting 43.8% from the land of trey, and 49.0% overall, and Swope’s reliable deep threat spaces the floor very nicely to allow Avila & Co the freedom to play their best games. With 2.0 steals per game (third in the MVC), Swopes is also proving to be a problem when his team doesn’t have the ball, and the same quickness that earns him thefts allows Swope to get quickly to the other end for a layup or pull-up triple. Indiana State is much more than Swope and Avila, but the most visible Sycamores have led Schertz’s squad to one of the country’s hottest starts, and they provide the type of star power which should keep Indiana State in contention all year long. 

Cade Tyson, Ja’Kobe Gillespie & Malik Dia – Belmont

Tyson: 17.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.0 spg – 39.4% 3FG / Gillespie: 16.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.9 apg, 2.5 spg – 43.4% 3FG / Dia: 16.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 0.9 spg, 0.8 bpg – 51.9% FG

Belmont had come to rely heavily upon veterans like Ben Sheppard and Nick Muszynski the last couple of years, as they got set to transition from the Ohio Valley Conference to the MVC. Now, they’re established in the Valley, and there are new faces leading the Bruins. Head coach Casey Alexander has a trio of rising players who are each becoming stars in their own right, and Belmont figures to keep right on ripping off 20+ win seasons. Cade Tyson, Malik Dia, and Ja’Kobe Gillespie were all in Nashville last year. Dia was a Commodore, though, and now that the Vanderbilt transfer has switched addresses, the Bruins are resuming their roll. Tyson was named the Valley’s Freshman of the Year last season, as he immediately established a reputation as a dangerous scorer. The smooth forward is a quality deep threat, having already splashed 74 triples through 41 career games, and he owns a shooting line of 49.1/40.9/84.9% this season. With his great scoring instincts, length, and confidence with the ball in his hands, Tyson ranges around the halfcourt smoothly. He flows towards open looks and snaps off jumpers, and Tyson has the smarts and slick feet to dive inside or post up smaller players to balance out his repertoire. In his 41 career games, Tyson has only failed to score in double figures seven times, quickly making his name as a go-to guy who can cause matchup problems for a variety of defenders. 

Having debuted alongside Tyson, Gillespie led the Bruins in steals and ranked second on the team in assists last year. He was good enough to join Tyson on last year’s MVC All-Freshman team, and like his new buddy, Gillespie has taken a leap towards stardom this time around. Off to a highly efficient start, Gillespie is nearly keeping pace with Tyson as a scorer while conducting Belmont’s offense and bothering the heck out of people defensively. A physical and relentless defender who anticipates the action around him very well and makes educated gambles, Gillespie keys the action at both ends of the floor. Offensively, he’s playing the role of distributor well, and Gillespie has greatly improved as an outside shooter. Last year, he made 29.5% of his triple tries. This season, Gillespie is knocking down 63.2% of his two-point attempts, 43.4% from downtown, and he’s cashing in 85.7% of his freebies. Dia sought a better fit for his own sophomore year, and has found it across town. A skilled big guy who can shoot and score creatively, Dia has made nearly as big an impact as his new friends despite playing about ten fewer minutes per game. With stout freshman Brigham Rogers playing good minutes inside in rotation with Dia, Alexander has quickly found quality and versatility to replace veteran Even Brauns. A post player who moves with fluidity and shows very useful bounce and quickness, Dia is a great place for good entry feeds to end up. He’s got ten dunks already, and is shooting 67.1% around the rim so far. Just as excitingly – especially to his buddies as they roam the halfcourt – Dia is making a solid 42.1% of his mid-range tries, per Bart Torvik, and has shown a genuine threat from downtown. With legitimate high major size and athleticism, Dia’s improving polish and versatility make him a potentially devastating third option for Belmont. The Bruins may be younger than usual, but they’re clearly going to be capable of contending in a tough new league. 

Kevin Overton & friends – Drake

Overton: 13.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.2 apg, 0.4 spg – 48.5% FG

Drake has had a tall task to start this season. The Bulldogs are off to a strong start despite the fact that they had to replace 354 starts made by now-graduated star players from last year’s team. Luckily for the folks in Des Moines, Drake isn’t simply the Tucker DeVries & Darnell Brodie show. In what has become an annoying trend for the rest of the league, head coach Darian DeVries has unearthed more young talent, including a guy who has already proven that he’s ready to make a big impact. The Bulldogs have got a leading favorite for the Valley’s Rookie of the Year award in freshman guard Kevin Overton. The Bulldogs have had a contender each of the past five years, and don’t feel like changing their goals this winter. With scoring depth coming from new guys like Overton and Cal State Northridge transfer Atin Wright chipping in, Drake can keep on dreaming big. A rookie from Oklahoma City, Overton has made this whole college thing look easy so far. He’s long-armed, moves smoothly, and seems to already know where to be when his team needs him there. Many freshmen get sped up and end up making mistakes, but Overton’s deft, controlled movements belie his age. So does his savvy cutting towards the rim and working for good looks inside the arc. While most of his attempts so far have been deep heaves, Overton is making 72.0% near the rim and an outstanding 65.0% from mid-range, per Bart Torvik. 

As he continues to effectively bomb away from deep, Overton’s clever approach and efficiency inside should only be enhanced. He’s made multiple triples in five games already, and has the length and fluidity to continue getting great looks even as defenders start to press closer upon him. Overton has scored in double figures in nine of the Bulldogs’ 12 games to start the season, and has hit for 15+ in half of the dozen. As a quality defender whose size and versatility on each end of the floor makes Overton an easy player to keep in the game in any situation, he hasn’t just started each game of his career: he’s been playing more than 31 minutes per contest. Meanwhile, Wright already proved that he could get buckets on the west coast, and has been a reliable scorer for Drake as well. Fellow freshman Colby Garland has stepped quickly into an important role and played well, while sophomore Conor Enright is familiar with head coach Darian DeVries’ system and executing it smoothly. The Bulldogs may have lost an immense amount of quality and experience, but the talent level in Des Moines hasn’t dipped much, and with improving young players like Wright, Garland, Enright and Overton, the present is as bright as the future. 

Ben Humrichous – Evansville 

16.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.4 bpg – 55.6% FG

There aren’t many success stories in the country this year more impressive than what Ben Humrichous has been up to in Evansville. Though a good portion of the strength of this year’s group of Purple Aces rests in their depth and versatility, their veteran transfer has demonstrated that he is the straw that stirs head coach Dave Ragland’s drink. A native of Tipton, IN, Humrichous played his first couple of seasons of college ball at Huntington (IN) University. Competing at the NAIA level, Humrichous averaged about 12 points, 5 boards, and a couple of blocks per game. This season, he’s made the jump to the Valley – and grown his game in virtually every way. A good outside shooter in the past, Humrichous has been outstanding for the Purple Aces. He’s torched the nets to the tune of a 48.4% rate from downtown – best in the MVC – and his 30 makes rank second in the league so far. Humrichous also sits fourth in the Valley in blocked shots and FG%. The guy who finished third on his own team in scoring last year at the lower level of competition is now a clear go-to guy for Evansville – and he’s the ninth-ranked scorer overall in the MVC. Humrichous is clever on both ends, and has learned to work for and take good shots. His productivity and reliability are translating into wins, too. The Purple Aces went 5-27 last season, winning just a single game in conference play. This year, they’re already 10-2, and with such a savvy, experienced star on their side, Evansville fans can’t wait to see how much higher the team can rise. 

Guys to keep on keeping an eye on

Alston Mason & NJ Benson – Missouri State

Nate Heise – Northern Iowa

Darius Hannah – Bradley 

Isaiah Stafford – Valparaiso 

Isaiah Rivera – Illinois-Chicago