This article is part of our College Hoops Barometer series.
The Big 12 has a staggering seven schools ranked in the top 25 at the time of the writing of this article. Perhaps the biggest surprise amongst that group is Texas Tech. The Red Raiders were predicted to finish eighth of 14 programs in the new-look conference, which added Houston, Cincinnati, BYU and UCF. Yet Texas Tech is 15-3 overall, including 4-1 in conference play. The Red Raiders are led by sophomore Pop Isaacs, who averages 16.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists per contest. Transfers Joe Toussaint and Darrion Williams form a well-rounded backcourt with Isaacs, and seven-footer Warren Washington has been a force on the interior, especially with the season-ending injury to Devan Cambridge. A recent 23-point loss to Houston does cast some doubt as to the legitimacy of the Red Raiders' run, though. Upcoming clashes with fellow ranked squads in Oklahoma, Baylor, Kansas and Iowa State will provide a true litmus test for the strength of this Red Raiders unit.
Let's take a look at some players on the upswing, and others possibly on the downturn, in this edition of the College Hoops Barometer.
UPGRADE
Johnny Furphy, F, Kansas – On a team with big-name transfers like Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCullar, it's been the freshman Furphy that has led the charge in the frontcourt for the Jayhawks. Through the first 12 games of the season, Furphy averaged 5.3 points and 2.6 rebounds in 13.1 minutes per contest. By contrast, in his last
The Big 12 has a staggering seven schools ranked in the top 25 at the time of the writing of this article. Perhaps the biggest surprise amongst that group is Texas Tech. The Red Raiders were predicted to finish eighth of 14 programs in the new-look conference, which added Houston, Cincinnati, BYU and UCF. Yet Texas Tech is 15-3 overall, including 4-1 in conference play. The Red Raiders are led by sophomore Pop Isaacs, who averages 16.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists per contest. Transfers Joe Toussaint and Darrion Williams form a well-rounded backcourt with Isaacs, and seven-footer Warren Washington has been a force on the interior, especially with the season-ending injury to Devan Cambridge. A recent 23-point loss to Houston does cast some doubt as to the legitimacy of the Red Raiders' run, though. Upcoming clashes with fellow ranked squads in Oklahoma, Baylor, Kansas and Iowa State will provide a true litmus test for the strength of this Red Raiders unit.
Let's take a look at some players on the upswing, and others possibly on the downturn, in this edition of the College Hoops Barometer.
UPGRADE
Johnny Furphy, F, Kansas – On a team with big-name transfers like Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCullar, it's been the freshman Furphy that has led the charge in the frontcourt for the Jayhawks. Through the first 12 games of the season, Furphy averaged 5.3 points and 2.6 rebounds in 13.1 minutes per contest. By contrast, in his last three games, all starts for Kansas, Furphy is averaging 17 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest. That includes career-highs of 23 points and 11 rebounds en route to the freshman's first career double-double. Furphy's playing time is clearly on the rise, and unsurprisingly has resulted in a significant increase in production. While the Jayhawks are stacked up front, Furphy is more than holding his own of late.
Ta'lon Cooper, G, South Carolina – The Gamecocks surprisingly walloped Kentucky on Tuesday as Cooper tied his career high with 20 points in the 79-62 thrashing. Cooper has been more of a distributor than a scorer during his well-travelled collegiate career, though is having by far his best season in terms of shooting. He is hitting 50.4-percent of his shots from the field, including 42.2-percent from beyond the arc. Along with 4.3 assists per contest, Cooper is also grabbing 4.6 boards per tilt. Cooper has started at every game at a different school over the past three seasons. South Carolina is now 16-3 on the season, including 4-2 in a tough SEC conference.
Dylan Disu, C, Texas – Disu missed the first nine games of the season for the Longhorns, then spent his first five games with the squad coming off the bench. In his first start of the season against Cincinnati on January 9th, Disu exploded for 33 points, and he has not looked back since. Most recently, Disu notched his first double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday's triumph over Oklahoma. Disu flashed his versatile skill set in that contest, tallying four assists while also hitting two three-pointers. As long as Disu can stay on the court (both in terms of health as well as foul trouble), he should remain extremely impactful for the Longhorns.
Jamir Watkins, G/F, Florida State – The VCU transfer has led the Seminoles to a surprising 6-2 record in ACC Conference play. Perhaps his best game at Florida State occurred Tuesday at Syracuse, as he compiled 27 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and three steals in the 85-69 destruction of the Orange. It was the second double-double of the season for Watkins, who also tallied nine assists in a different game earlier this year. He has scored in double-digits in nine-straight contests for the Seminoles. FSU has won six of its last seven games, though a difficult matchup against North Carolina lurks this weekend, as the Tar Heels are undefeated in conference action.
CHECK STATUS
RaeQuan Battle, G, West Virginia – The transfer from Montana State had difficulty getting on the court to begin the season, but has shown he can really fill it up since returning to the hardwood. In eight games with the Mountaineers, Battle is averaging 19.5 points per contest. He has scored at least 20 points in five of those outings, including 23 points to go along with nine rebounds in last weekend's upset win over Kansas. While Battle is more of a volume scorer, it certainly appears as though he will get every chance to shoot his shot for the Mountaineers over the remainder of this campaign. In addition, he can provide some rebounding and also tallied seven steals in a two-game span late last month.
Elijah Hawkins, G, Minnesota – The leading assist man in the Big Ten has missed last week's game at Michigan State due to an ankle injury. The Howard transfer's shot has suffered with the step up in competition, his playmaking skills have not, as Hawkins has reached the double-digit assist mark in four contests this season, including a staggering 17 dimes in a blowout triumph over IUPUI. He tallied nine assists in four separate contests this season. Sophomore Pharrel Payne entered the starting lineup in place of Hawkins, but junior Mike Mitchell was asked to shoulder more of the floor general duties with Hawkins missing time. Hawkins was able to return to the lineup Tuesday against Wisconsin, accumulating 16 points, five rebounds and nine assists in the narrow 61-59 loss to the Badgers.
Noah Waterman, F/C, BYU – Waterman started the first 17 games of the season for the Cougs before missing a contest due to a concussion. Prior to the head issue, Waterman was averaging 10.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per tilt. The 6-11 senior leads the squad in rebounding, while being one of five Cougars averaging double figures in scoring. Junior Aly Khalifa posted his best game of the season in Waterman's absence Saturday in a loss to Texas Tech, tallying a season-high 21 points to go along with seven rebounds and three assists. Waterman did return to action in Tuesday's 75-68 loss to Houston, though, canning four three-pointers en route to a team-high 17 points.
Yves Missi, C, Baylor – The freshman from Cameroon has predictably experienced growing pains for the Bears, especially during Big 12 Conference play. In the first 10 games of the season, Missi averaged 10.8 points and 7.0 rebounds per contest. He notched three double-doubles during that span. However, in five Big 12 outings, he is managing just 6.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per clash. Foul woes have also been a key concern for Missi. The sample size is small, and Missi still has plenty of time to get acclimated to bigger, physical, more skilled opponents. That being said, inconsistency may be an offshoot of this process.
DOWNGRADE
J'Vonne Hadley, G, Colorado – The Buffs have proven to be a rather high-scoring, efficient, well-balanced team. Colorado currently has five players averaging double-digits in points, including Hadley. Hadley is also one of six Colorado ballers managing at least 1.9 assists per contest. Likewise, Hadley is the second-leading rebounder on the squad with 5.7 boards per tilt, but at least three other Buffs are averaging at least five rebounds per game. The depth made Hadley's absence last game much more tolerable. Hadley missed Colorado's last outing due to an undisclosed issue. It remains to be seen if he will miss any additional time. Still, Colorado is currently on a three-game winning streak, and the Buffs have shown the ability to combat adversity.
Chico Carter, G, DePaul – It has been a dismal season for the Blue Demons, whose coach was just fired after a 3-15 start to the campaign. Carter has been the leading scorer and assist man for the squad, averaging 11.8 points and 3.7 dimes per contest. However, he missed DePaul's last game for unknown reasons, leaving his status in limbo for the short term. The oft-traveled guard started 25 games at South Carolina last season, and began his collegiate career at Murray State. Sophomore Jaden Henley entered the starting lineup in Carter's absence, while senior Jalen Terry led the squad in scoring with 15 points in Saturday's 74-60 loss to Butler.
