College Hoops Top 50

Last Year: 24-10; 17-3, Big West regular season champions, lost in the first round of the NIT

Head Coach: Russ Turner (15th Year; 289-180 at UC Irvine, with 2 NCAA Tournament appearances)

Projected Starting Lineup

G Justin Hohn-Mack – 6’2″, 185 5th-year Senior

G Andre Henry – 6’4″, 185 5th-year Senior

G Myles Che – 6’2″, 190 Sophomore

F Devin Tillis – 6’6″, 215 5th-year Senior

C Bent Leuchten – 7’1″, 265 Senior

Experienced Reserves

G Langston Redfield – 6’4″, 185 Junior

W Ofure Ujadughele – 6’4″, 215 5th-year Senior

F Kyle Evans – 6’10”, 215 Junior

F Elijah Chol – 6’11”, 185 Sophomore

Freshmen

G Torian Lee – 5’10”, 158

G Tishan Ahir – 6’0″, 150

G Jovan Jester, Jr – 6’3″ 180

G Ben Egbo – 6’4″, 200 (Redshirt)

G Jurian Dixon 6’4″, 195 (Redshirt)

It’s been a great 14 years for UC Irvine under head coach Russ Turner, and the good times sure appear to be rolling on. The greatest coach in Anteaters history and a four-time Big West Coach of the Year, Turner has established a standard of consistent excellence in Irvine. 

Turner’s team is coming off of back-to-back Big West titles – for the third time. They also have four starters back from last year boasting a wealth of winning experience, and they’re looking to chase down an elusive NCAA Tournament berth. 

The one starter the Eaters have lost is a doozy, as Pierre Crockrell, II is out of eligibility. The first-team All-Big West point guard ranked 13th nationally in assists per game last season, and drove the vast majority of UCI’s offense last winter. Now, his quartet of experienced buddies must figure out how to run the offense alongside themselves. If they can figure things out, and get some help from a few up-and-coming faces, Irvine will be in position to think about a three-peat. 

Fifth-year guards Justin Hohn-Mack and Andre Henry are back as the proven co-stars in UCI’s backcourt, and are likely to share a great deal of the scoring duties. Their efficiency in running the attack in between finding shots of their own will go a long way toward keeping the Eaters at the top of the standings. 

Technically, this will be Hohn-Mack’s sixth year with the Anteaters. He redshirted in 2019-20, and steadily improved through last year, his breakout campaign. A combo guard who had been an effective secondary facilitator largely off of the bench, Hohn-Mack stepped forward as a scorer last winter and looked like a natural. The Sioux Falls, SD, native was named to the All-Big West second team after knocking down 61 triples, good for ninth in the league. Turner plays his whole rotation, and Hohn-Mack averaged just over 27 minutes per game, but he’s one of the conference’s top deep threats whenever he is on the floor. 

This year, Hohn-Mack will be at the controls of the offense while hunting his next look at a deep ball. How effectively he can transition to shooting as well off the bounce as he does when allowed to set up on the wing will be a key component of Irvine’s attack. Last season, 90.2% of the deep balls Hohn-Mack splashed were assisted baskets, as Crockrell attracted defensive attention and provided great setups. That he’s a reliable 43.7% shooter on mid-range attempts bodes well for Hohn-Mack, especially as more than 70% of them have come off the bounce. Coming into last season’s transition to a scoring role, Hohn-Mack had posted an 18.9% assist rate, and he makes the correct reads to manufacture clean scoring opportunities for others. If he can put it all together as the maestro of the Anteaters’ offense, Hohn-Mack looks a whole lot like the star Irvine needs to carry them forward. 

Henry made the transition from young reserve to a starter’s spot as Hohn’s running mate a season ago. Like so many UCI players before him have done, Henry learned the finer points of Turner’s system for a couple of years and then kicked into gear when called upon. A solid rebounder for his position, Henry plays with a bit of what can often be deemed necessary physicality for the Eaters. Like Hohn-Mack, he is a quality defender, and Henry uses his 6’4″ size to his advantage on the perimeter. Offensively, Henry hadn’t been much of a shooter – or scorer in general – through three seasons, but that all changed last year. He sank 48 triples in support of Hohn-Mack, and Henry knocked them down at a terrific 42.1% rate. He had scored in double figures just five times through his first three seasons, but Henry hit for 10+ in 17 different games a year ago. If Henry’s newfound shooting touch is for real, it will give UCI two of the league’s most dangerous shooters and provide great spacing for Turner’s impact veterans up front. 

There are two good ones coming back to the post for Turner to balance things out, and a full, healthy campaign from the bigger of them may make the biggest difference of all. German pivot Bent Leuchten is one of the few proven, dominant forces returning to the Big West this year. Thing is, he’s had knee injuries the past couple of years, and endured a surgery, and his health will be an unresolved question mark for UCI until Leuchten can prove otherwise. Everything about his game comes with the caveat of ‘when he’s healthy’, but when Leuchten is healthy, he is very good. 

A genuine seven-footer, Leuchten is a strong, wide-framed dude and a pretty irresistible force under the basket. He’s not exactly a bruiser, but Leuchten’s size and awareness make him a very good rebounder. Though Leuchten hasn’t been as mobile as he would be with two completely healthy knees, he’s been an effective rim protector. He can tip and deflect caroms and loose balls towards his teammates, and Leuchten makes as many plays with his length and savvy in using it as he dies via raw athleticism. His shooting range extends out to the three-point arc, and Leuchten has splashed 22 triples over his 55 games played the past two seasons. An excellent target in the paint, Leuchten is also a reliable play-finisher in more traditional post role. He owns a reliable hook shot and Leuchten has a good overall feel for scoring inside, as his 53.1% career field goal percentage indicates. Irvine fans are sick of ‘if’ when it comes to their standout big man, but if Leuchten can stay healthy all year, his play will change the narrative. 

At forward, Devin Tillis has been a steady, versatile presence. At times, he also steals the show. In his second year with the Eaters, Tillis turned in his second straight campaign full of career-bests, and this fall he is clearly going to be relied upon from the get-go. A wonderfully efficient offensive player, Tillis checks a lot of boxes all over the floor. He can score, distribute, set screens, hit three’s, and defend a variety of opposing forwards, and Tillis can juggle those skills depending on what’s needed from the lineup around him. He doesn’t play above the rim, but Tillis is more effective as a post scorer than many who do. 

A wonderfully efficient offensive player, Tillis checks a lot of boxes all over the floor.

Last year, he made 72.3% of his attempts near the hoop without flushing a single dunk, per Bart Torvik. Like pretty much all of the Anteaters, Tillis can also shoot the ball. His quick, slick repertoire in the halfcourt is made more dangerous by the 53 triples (37.9%) that Tillis has knocked down in 66 games at UCI, and he showed that off by converting a sensational 55.1% of his 49 mid-range looks. He’s also a very smart passer who makes life easier for Leuchten and also Irvine’s shooters. If they so choose, the Waters can run bits of their halfcourt offense through Tillis. He posted a 14.9% assist rate last year, and Tillis works well feeding it inside from the elbow and faking the defense into over-committing. Now that it’s his turn to be a focal point, Tillis has the range of competencies needed to assume a vital place in UCI’s attack. 

The Anteaters thought they had found their fifth starter for this year in last year’s 6th man, Turkish rookie Derin Saran. Unfortunately for Irvine, Saran’s freshman year was so good that he jumped in the portal and will play for Stanford now. Still, Turner landed on his feet by adding a different youngster who made a strong first impression last winter. The new guy who will be stepping into the majority of Crockrell’s minutes, if not exactly his role, is Myles Che. A Los Angeles kid who was recruited by Turner and his staff out of high school, Che debuted at Chattanooga last year. He started 16 games as a freshman, and had been rolling along rather well before veteran star Trey Bonham became eligible and gobbled up a bunch of the Mocs’ prime minutes. Across the first ten games of his career – all starts – Che had averaged 10.6 points and 2.7 assists, and shooting 54.5% from the floor. 

With the Anteaters, Che will have the ball in his hands quite a bit from the first moment of the season. If he can become the team’s go-to playmaker, it will allow UCI’s other veterans to play to their greatest strengths, and Che will be able to put his considerable talents to use, as well. He’s a smooth ballhandler who can get to the rim in a hurry, and Che has the confidence in his handle and bravado to attack the paint against bigger players. He shot 58.3% near the basket last year, per Bart Torvik, but Che was even more dangerous just as he entered the lane. With runners and a high-arcing floater at his command, Che gets the defense to commit and then shoots his shot or finds the open man. He knocked down a fantastic 59.4% of his mid-range shots as a rookie, and that will be the foundation of the game he builds going forward. 

Five Stats Which Tell The Tale (with national ranks)

46.4% – Opponent Effective FG Percentage (15th)

0.352 – Opponent FT Attempts Per FG Attempt (254th)

+ 7.8 – Average Score Margin (32nd)

6.2 – Steals Per Game (194th)

6.0 – Opponent 3FG Per Game (32nd)

Irvine has a quality core coming back as starters, but in addition to Cockrell and Saran, three other quality pieces of the rotation have also gone from last year’s team. That means Turner and his staff will lean heavily upon Ofure Ujadughele and Langston Redfield to lead the way for a reconfigured batch of reserves. Both veteran guards played in each of UCI’s 34 games, and both averaged at least 12 minutes per contest. Neither was looked to for scoring, but that will change this winter. A physical wing who defends at a high level and is pound-for-pound as good a rebounder as any Anteater, Ujadughele appears to have the most direct path to a larger role. Though he only made 20 baskets all year, Ujadughele plundered 28 steals in just 407 total minutes played as a senior. Now that he’s back to use his extra season of eligibility, Ujadughele’s strong build will be welcome on the wing. With a smaller three-guard lineup leading the way, Turner will need to call upon someone else in certain matchups, and Ujadughele seems ready to step up. A former walk-on, Redfield can shoot it a bit, handle it a bit, and will likely see some time running as a backup point guard. He’s played a quiet role so far, but the Eaters will need Redfield’s best this winter. 

As has been said, Turner likes to play his whole rotation, and that means he’s going to need a couple of guys to spell Tillits and Leuchten. It’s even possible that Colorado State transfer Kyle Evans could allow Tillis to slide over to the wing on occasion and give the Anteaters as big a frontline as any team in the Big West can trot out. He didn’t play much with the Rams, and Evans has been working to add strength to his wiry frame. He can score inside and out, though, and has the makings of a valuable face-up game to help space things out for Leuchten. Evans, who grew up just outside of Irvine, has the frame to succeed in the Big West, and could play serious minutes if he’s ready to roll offensively. 

Though he only saw the floor for 42 minutes as a freshman and then sat out last season, the Eaters haven’t seen too much of Eli Chol. Still, Turner really likes the young 6’11” forward’s potential, and the path is open for him to play a lot as Leuchten’s backup. The veteran center has never averaged more than 20 minutes per game, and Chol will bring exciting offensive skills off the bench. He’s quick and has some fluidity in the lane, and Chol has shown off a jumper in practice. If he’s ready to handle the strain of being tested by the biggest bigs on Irvine’s schedule, Chol could be a pleasant surprise this year. 

Five Out-of-Conference Games to Keep an Eye on

N Towson – November 30

@ Northern Iowa – November 10

@ Duquesne – December 21

@ Oregon State – December 14

N Kent State – November 29

With Irvine’s sustained success under Turner, the Eaters have established a culture of redshirting plenty of youngsters for a developmental year, and Chol is just the latest example. Chol did so between his sophomore and junior years, and Akiva McBirney-Griffin, Jurian Dixon, and Ben Egbo all redshirted last year, too. A Kiwi forward who plays hard and has some offensive skill, McBirney-Griffin could see more than a few minutes this year in UCI’s renovated frontcourt. He saw action in 29 games two years ago, and the former rugby player knows how to play with that sort of attitude inside. With just Redfield and Ujadughele back to provide backcourt support, Dixon and Egbo are going to get their chances, as well. 

Things in Irvine are rolling along nicely. The floor of expectations has risen high, but the Anteaters have become every-year contenders for an NCAA Tournament bid and Big West title. It’s tough to win both regular season and conference tournament title, though – just look at how many terrific UCI teams have had to settle for the NIT lately. To prep for the late-season matchups they hope to face down, Turner & Co have lined up a litany of difficult true road games, including tilts at Northern Iowa, Duquesne, and Oklahoma State, among others. 

The goal this winter is clear: to make it back to the promised land in March. With even slightly better health for Leuchten, the Eaters should be the most versatile and matchup-capable team in their league once again. The question mark at point guard is significant, but all of UCI’s players share the ball and try to avoid needless turnovers. There are always variables and things to prove, but until Irvine begins tripping over such hurdles, it’s hard to see them as anything but a truly high-end program.