College Hoops Barometer: Risers & Fallers

Despite the Diamond Head Classic taking place on Christmas Day this season, it's been a relatively light week of games due to the holidays. That's all about to change, however, as conference play will soon be in full gear, with massive slates set to take place both New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. College football bowl season is also nearing its conclusion, so the hardwood is about to take center stage.

Some fantasy leagues don't even start up or draft until conference play, so I'll be doing my best Jesse Siegel impression this week to get you prepared. Here is a list of risers and fallers to keep in mind for both upcoming drafts and the second half of the season.

UPGRADE

Jalen Hood-Schifino, G, Indiana -- Not long ago, Hood-Schifino would have landed in the "Check Status" section of this column due to him missing three games with a back injury. He's since returned and has been ramping up his production, due largely to fifth-year senior point guard Xavier Johnson going down with a foot injury that will ultimately require surgery. Johnson is now out indefinitely, and Hood-Schifino has taken over the bulk of the ball handling in his stead. In two games without Johnson, the four-star freshman and No. 26 overall recruit (per ESPN) has logged 17 and 18 points on a combined 13-for-20 shooting. He's also putting up 4.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists for fantasy managers, with the latter number likely to continue rising.

Marcus Carr, G, Texas -- Carr underwhelmed with a 11.4 ppg average in his first season with the Longhorns after transferring from Minnesota, where he had been the focal point of the offense. Now, the fifth-year senior is leading Texas in usage rate (26.2 percent), scoring (17.8 ppg), minutes (29.8 mpg) and steals (1.8 spg), while tying Timmy Allen for the team assists lead (4.1 apg). Not surprisingly, he's also leading Texas in three-pointers made after cashing 10 in an effort that matched his career-best 41 points Tuesday night. His consistency, mixed with this type of ceiling, makes Carr a top-10 fantasy guard in power conferences once again.

Osasere Ighodaro, C, Marquette -- Ighodaro is one of the multiple Marquette players who has taken a massive second-year leap under Shaka Smart and is well on his way to some noteworthy end-of-season accolades. He posted his third double-double of the season Tuesday against Seton Hall and has reached double figures in five straight, averaging 14.6 points and 8.8 rebounds over that span. It's a rare treat in fantasy to see this caliber of passing from a big man, but he's averaging 3.4 dimes on the year while recording games with seven and six assists. Effectively, Ighodaro went from a player who didn't start a single game last season to one shooting up draft boards in leagues in which the Big East is featured.

Nelly Junior Joseph, F, Iona -- Rick Pitino's Iona Gaels picked up the win over Pepperdine on Christmas Day in the Diamond Head classic, and Junior Joseph was again the star of the show with 20 points and 13 rebounds. It's the fourth consecutive game he's reached 20 points while also posting averages of 8.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.3 blocks over that span. Iona will continue MAAC play with a New Year's Day showdown against Saint Peter's.

CHECK STATUS

Marcus Shaver, G, Boise State -- Shaver is the Broncos' leading scorer at 14.8 ppg, but the sixth-year senior has now missed three consecutive games with an undisclosed injury. Before the absence, Shaver had logged 30 or more minutes in all nine games this season. He had also been averaging a career-best 7.4 rebounds per contest -- not bad for a 6-2 point guard. The Broncos recently took a road loss to Santa Clara (ranked 101, per KenPom), illustrating how valuable his services are. They'll hope for a return for Mountain West play, which starts Wednesday at NEvada and continues into next Tuesday vs. San Jose State.

Dylan Disu, C, Texas -- Disu started at center for the first 11 games of the season, though the position was typically a timeshare with Christian Bishop. Disu suffered a knee injury a week against against Louisiana-Lafayette, however, and didn't take the court entirely Wednesday against Texas A&M-Commerce. It's entirely possible the team is playing it safe in relatively soft matchups with Big 12 play in full swing starting Saturday, but even when healthy, Disu is a far cry from the 15.0 ppg/9.2 rpg averages he was putting up with Vanderbilt. Those numbers are down to 6.6 ppg and 3.3 rpg this season with Texas, and his minutes -- while increased from last season -- are still barely half of the 31.7 mpg he saw with the Commodores.

Jayden Hardaway, G, Memphis -- Hardaway already had pretty low usage for a starter at Memphis, but the recent eligibility of Damaria Franklin could very well kill any fantasy utility the former had previously possessed. Franklin has averaged 8.3 points and 5.0 rebounds since his return and picked up the start last Wednesday when Hardaway was sidelined by an undisclosed issue. Even if that injury/situation turns out to be short-term for Hardaway, Franklin is a far more dynamic scorer (17.8 ppg with UIC last season) and should continue to eat into his minutes.

DOWNGRADE

Josiah-Jordan James, G, Tennessee -- James has missed seven games so far this season due to a knee injury. When actually in the lineup, he's functioned as a reserve that has seen just 20.0 mpg. Effectively, his points, rebounds and assists are all down from a season ago. Injuries will find you in college basketball, so there's no need to go chasing them. His rest-of-season outlook is grim until he can prove he's healthy, and the 10-2 Vols have functioned just fine with Tyreke Key in a starting role, with support from Zakai Zeigler off the bench.

Jose Perez, G, West Virginia -- Perez was a 18.9 ppg scorer last season at Manhattan who hit the transfer portal Oct. 30 following the surprise firing of head coach Steve Masiello two weeks before the start of the regular season.  It took him just five days to catch on at West Virginia, and while the NCAA did grant him an extra season of eligibility, the organization also ruled that he won't be able to take the court in the 2022-23 season. West Virginia will attempt to appeal, but without any recent updates, it seems likely the Mountaineers will have to wait until 2023-24 to utilize the high-scoring guard's services.

Efton Reid, C, Gonzaga -- After starting all 34 games last season at LSU, Reid has seen a massive downturn in playing time and production. Perhaps he thought Drew Timme wouldn't be returning, but Timme is back and commands the bulk of the center minutes as Gonzaga's best player. Meanwhile, Reid hasn't seen double-digit minutes since Gonzaga's second game of the season and has missed two games over that span, most recently due to illness. He even appears to have been beaten out by Ben Gregg for the backup center job. It seems the former five-star recruit will have to wait until 2023-24 to return to fantasy relevance, provided he even sticks around with the Zags.