This article is part of our College Basketball Waiver Wire series.
A surprisingly busier than normal week across college basketball's waiver wire this week. We've got a handful of injuries creating new opportunity, and a solid list of players returning from injury to former roles.
Power Conferences
Cam'Ron Fletcher, F, Florida State 
The Seminoles are a mash unit at present, with Caleb Mills (ankle) the most recent to go down. He didn't return Saturday at UNC, appearing to be in quite a bit of pain, and I think it's reasonable to expect him to miss at least some time. Fletcher was the beneficiary of Mills' absence, as he put up 16 points,10 rebounds and four steals. The outing gave Fletcher consecutive outings with usage rates north of 30 percent, a trend that figures to continue so long as FSU is shorthanded.
Frank Anselem, F, Syracuse 
Anselem is now a starter following Jesse Edwards' season-ending wrist injury. He saw 37 minutes Saturday against Virginia Tech in his first game with that role, and pulled down 15 boards. Anselem took only six shots and had a meager 9.8 percent usage rate, so he's not likely to help much in scoring. But the Orange's bench saw only 13 total minutes, so we know Anselem will stay on the court, producing by default.
A.J. Hoggard, G, Michigan State 
Hoggard is someone to target if you need a late-season push in assists. He's been great in that column all year, averaging 5.0 across just 19.3 minutes, and is coming off of an
A surprisingly busier than normal week across college basketball's waiver wire this week. We've got a handful of injuries creating new opportunity, and a solid list of players returning from injury to former roles.
Power Conferences
Cam'Ron Fletcher, F, Florida State
The Seminoles are a mash unit at present, with Caleb Mills (ankle) the most recent to go down. He didn't return Saturday at UNC, appearing to be in quite a bit of pain, and I think it's reasonable to expect him to miss at least some time. Fletcher was the beneficiary of Mills' absence, as he put up 16 points,10 rebounds and four steals. The outing gave Fletcher consecutive outings with usage rates north of 30 percent, a trend that figures to continue so long as FSU is shorthanded.
Frank Anselem, F, Syracuse
Anselem is now a starter following Jesse Edwards' season-ending wrist injury. He saw 37 minutes Saturday against Virginia Tech in his first game with that role, and pulled down 15 boards. Anselem took only six shots and had a meager 9.8 percent usage rate, so he's not likely to help much in scoring. But the Orange's bench saw only 13 total minutes, so we know Anselem will stay on the court, producing by default.
A.J. Hoggard, G, Michigan State
Hoggard is someone to target if you need a late-season push in assists. He's been great in that column all year, averaging 5.0 across just 19.3 minutes, and is coming off of an impressive outing in his first start of the year, posting 14 points, eight assists, four rebounds and a steal. I'm not confident the rotational change is permanent, but it worked for the Spartans so it could continue in the short term, and if so, perhaps Hoggard gets a boost in the scoring column down the stretch.
Trey Galloway, G, Indiana 
Galloway was inserted into the Hoosiers' starting five last week, and the results were mixed. He had a usable 13 points, five boards and three assists against Northwestern, but struggled against Michigan State, missing all six of his field goal attempts in route to just one point, one board and three assists. Still, Galloway played 68 minutes combined, and it's rare we can find many changing roles this late in the season, making him worth at least a speculative grab where the Big 10 features prevalently.
Flo Thamba, F/C, Baylor 
Thamba has started every game for the Bears this season, but was averaging just 17.8 minutes. That changed Saturday however following the season-ending knee injury to Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua, as Thamba played a season-high 31 minutes and responded with 12 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. The scoring figures to be sporadic, but Thamba should provide rebounds and defense consistently.
Jalen Terry, G, DePaul 
The Blue Demons have been down to seven scholarship players of late, and there doesn't appear to be a clear return date set for Javon Freeman-Liberty, who's missed seven contests with a groin injury. Perhaps Terry has already been plucked off waivers, as he's started the team's last nine games. But his production was a big inconsistent out of the gates, failing to make him a must-add. While he probably still isn't there, the role seems secure and he's been more stable of late, averaging 12.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and a steal while seeing an obviously unsustainable 41.0 minutes across his last three.
Drew Peterson, F, Southern Cal 
Peterson is no more than a one-week streaming option, as we'll assume Isaiah Mobley isn't out a prolonged period due to a concussion. But Peterson was a monster in Mobley's absence, posting 27 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and five blocks against UCLA, making him very appealing in all formats for as long as the Trojans remain without Mobley.
Jordan Shepherd, G, California 
Shepherd has been a decent scorer all season, but has really came on over the past five games in the absence of Andre Kelly, averaging 15.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals, taking 15.0 shots in 33.2 minutes over the Bears' last five games. Surely, Shepherd is rostered in Pac-12 heavy formats, but in larger player pools, his production likely wasn't previously big enough to merit his usage. That's changed, and with Kelly not due back this year, Shepherd should close strong.
Keyshawn Bryant, F, South Carolina 
I don't like having repeat names here often, but Bryant's inconsistent season has made him the exception to that. After averaging 14.4 points and 5.4 boards last year, he's labored to just 8.6 points and 3.5 boards this season. But he's coming off of a terrific week, and there's hope he can finish the year strong. Bryant put up a total of 40 points, 20 rebounds, four steals and two blocks while taking a big 29 shots in games against Georgia and Kentucky.
Javon Pickett, G/F, Missouri 
Pickett has returned from a two-game absence, and enjoyed a solid week last week, posting 29 points, seven boards, three assists and five steals in games against Vanderbilt and Mississippi. Those averages are above his season-long production, but he had scored in double-digits in six straight games prior to suffering a concussion, so he was trending favorably.
Tier 2
Landers Nolley, G/F, Memphis 
As noted in previous weeks, Memphis can feature in this section on a weekly basis. This week's flavor is Nolley, who missed four games in late January, then returned for two off the bench before getting placed in the starting lineup over the weekend against Houston. Nolley responded with 20 points in 36 minutes, adding three assists, two boards and a steal. There's no way to predict this rotation nightly, but Nolley is a proven scorer and is well worth a speculative add to see if he can stay hot.
Brandon Suggs, G, East Carolina 
Suggs returned from a five-game absence due to an ankle injury last week, and seemingly picked up where he left off, averaging 10.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.5 steals in games against Tulsa and SMU. He didn't start either, but did get 31 minutes in his second game back, and a return to the first five is likely imminent. He can be a steady source of steals and assists as we come to the finish line.
Max Rice, G, Boise State 
Emmanuel Akot has missed three straight for the Broncos due to a knee issue, and had scored in double-digits just once in his previous four games when healthy. Rice has gotten starts in Akot's absence, seeing at least 30 minutes each time out. He's only had one standout showing, going for 17 points and eight boards against Colorado State, but the minutes make him worth a look for as long as Akot remains out.
