A week in Las Vegas is a long time. I wound up spending several hours at the blackjack table, caught Gladiator II (it was just OK), a mentalist show and, oh yeah, plenty of hoops.
I took in three days of action at the brand new Players Era Festival event, which featured eight teams playing three games each. I also managed to sneak away for the heavyweight matchup over at T-Mobile on Tuesday night between Kansas and Duke. Here are my impressions of the 10 teams:
KANSAS
This is the second time I’ve seen the Jayhawks in person. I thought they looked better against the Blue Devils than against Michigan State in the Champions Classic. Bill Self told me that his transfer additions — Zeke Mayo, Rylan Griffen and AJ Storr — are nowhere where he expects them to be in a month. I don’t love the fact that there’s not a ton of spacing on the floor when Self puts his three vets of Hunter Dickinson, KJ Adams and Dajuan Harris Jr., out there, but Kansas has flexibility and depth this year, something Self was lacking a year ago. Mayo and Griffen are both proven perimeter shooters, and Storr is the X-factor. There’s also the ability to utilize athletic freshman big man Flory Bidunga as a defensive stopper and lob threat, something we saw after Dickinson got ejected midway through the second half of the win over Duke. I fully expect to see Kansas in San Antonio come April. The pieces may not fit perfectly, but there’s talent, experience, depth and a Hall of Fame coach.
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Kansas forward KJ Adams (with help) did a nice job limiting Blue Devils stud freshman Cooper Flagg (13 points, 5 rebounds, 5 turnovers). Still, Duke had a chance to win despite off-games from both Flagg and fellow freshman Kon Knueppel, who missed all eight of his three-point attempts, most of which were uncontested. The good news for coach Jon Scheyer is that Tyrese Proctor looks more comfortable and has been more effective playing off the ball. Duke has a nice blend of talented freshmen and experienced role guys coming off the bench. I also love the fact that two of their freshmen, Flagg and 7-foot-2 center Khaman Maluach, are elite defenders. The lone missing piece for me is a guard who can take the pressure off Flagg, especially down the stretch in close games.
OREGON
It’s nice to see Dana Altman and the Ducks healthy as we enter December, because Oregon has been ravaged by injuries early on the last couple of years, and it cost them any chance for an at-large berth. Altman has much-needed depth and a bunch of guys that are capable. Big man Nate Bittle is finally healthy, and he made the biggest play of the event, a follow dunk in the final seconds to help knock off Alabama in the title game. Coming into the season, it appeared as though sophomore Jackson Shelstad would be the guy, but there’s been far more balance as TJ Bamba is having a bounce-back season after a tough year at Villanova. Stanford transfer Brandon Angel has been a huge addition, and Keeshawn Barthelemy is bringing scoring punch off the bench. Oregon has gotten off to a surprising 8-0 start, with three wins over Texas A&M, San Diego State and Alabama in Vegas.
ALABAMA
I’m not worried and neither is Nate Oats. “We played this schedule to find out what we need to do to improve,” he told me after the loss to Oregon in the Players Era title game. The biggest issue right now for Alabama is taking care of the basketball. The Crimson Tide are the deepest and most talented team in America, although that might have taken a hit if Latrell Wrightsell Jr. has suffered a torn Achilles, which Oats feared was the case after the game. The good news, though, is that South Florida transfer guard Chris Youngblood should be back soon, maybe even for Wednesday’s game against North Carolina, but more likely on Dec. 14 against Creighton. Alabama still hasn’t put together a complete game, but Oats has everything he needs: shooters, big men, a go-to guy in Mark Sears, and NBA caliber players. It’s just going to take some time for him to figure this group ou— and also for Sears to get adjusted to having all this talent around him.
SAN DIEGO STATE
After the loss to Gonzaga at Viejas on Nov. 18, a lot of people wrote off the Aztecs. Coach Brian Dutcher showed why that’s not a smart move. San Diego State won two of three in Vegas, including a victory over Houston which highlighted not only the Aztecs’ overall toughness, but also their emerging young talent. Dutcher and his predecessor, Steve Fisher, always put together teams meshed with transfers and also players developed within the program. That’s not going to change even in the current climate. FAU transfer Nick Boyd has added a swagger, sophomores Miles Byrd and BJ Davis have both embraced their new roles and young big men Magoon Gwath and Pharaoh Compton showed glimpses of what Dutcher needs from the Aztecs up front.
TEXAS A&M
When Wade Taylor IV is efficient, the Aggies are a Top 25 team. He has been better this season, and now he has a little more help with the addition of another guard who can make plays off the bounce in SMU transfer Zhuric Phelps. The bottom line with Buzz Williams’ group is that they always play with toughness and rebound as well as just about any team in the country. Texas A&M started the event with a loss to Oregon but bounced back and beat Creighton and Rutgers to go back to College Station with a 2-1 mark. I would expect Texas A&M to get some big-time wins and also have some surprising losses once league play comes around, largely due to the heavy reliance on its unpredictable guard tandem.
HOUSTON
This isn’t the same team Houston has been in the past, and it’s because of one person: Jamal Shead. The do-it-all point guard provided leadership, toughness and the ability to both consistently make his teammates better and score when necessary. He was arguably the most impactful player in the program since Kelvin Sampson took over, and it’s a brutal to ask Oklahoma transfer Milos Uzan to follow. He’s not even close to being the same player, and it’s exposing some of the other role players. Sampson needs to find a go-to guy and LJ Cryer and Emanuel Sharp haven’t been that. Sampson may wind up going small in an effort to get Terrance Arceneaux on the court more, especially at the four, where he would be a difficult matchup. Then the question becomes rebounding. Right now Houston is 4-3 and a back-end Top 25 team, but it’s also difficult to discount Sampson — one of the nation’s top coaches — from being able to figure it out.
CREIGHTON
Greg McDermott’s team is banged up right now. Steven Ashworth missed a game with an ankle injury and wasn’t 100 percent in Las Vegas, Ryan Kalkbrenner missed the close win over Notre Dame with a lower body injury and Pop Isaacs was battling the flu against the Irish and has also been dealing with a lingering hip issue. If these guys are at full strength, they will be fine, especially in a Big East that looks wide open at the top. McDermott has also found something with freshman Jackson McAndrew, who could develop into a dead-eye shooter. But the key will be whether the Bluejays can shoot it better collectively (they are making just 31 percent from deep) and also get more consistent offensive production from Kalkbrenner. The guy who scored 49 points in the season-opener managed a total of 24 points over his last three contests.
RUTGERS
Dylan Harper was absolutely sensational the first two games and displayed a floor game and a poise seldom seen from a freshman point guard. During the final game, a loss to Texas A&M, Harper struggled, and it was fellow heralded frosh Ace Bailey who shined. Bailey will need to continue to work on his decision making, but his length and athleticism give him an opportunity to make tough, contested shots. The bottom line is that Steve Pikiell has two of the most talented and impactful first-year players in the country, but they will have their ups and downs and I’m not sure there’s enough talent around them for the Scarlet Knights to be a lock NCAA tourney team. Guys like Jeremiah Williams, Lathan Sommerville and Jordan Derkack are solid, but there’s just so much pressure on Harper and Bailey. Look for Rutgers to be a bubble team when it’s all said and done because the Big Ten is filled with old and experienced teams.
NOTRE DAME
The Irish went winless in Sin City, which was no surprise after Micah Shrewberry lost his standout point guard Markus Burton for a few weeks just a few minutes into the first game, an overtime loss to Rutgers. The Irish need all hands on deck, and Burton is the most important player on the team. If he can get back in a few weeks, it’ll be interesting to see what Notre Dame can do in an underwhelming ACC. Braeden Shrewberry has made a jump from his freshman campaign, Tae Davis is talented and is playing extremely well and Matt Allocco was a nice addition from Princeton.
