Your College Basketball Weekend Opener Prospect Viewing Guide

After months of wait, it is finally that time of year again.

The NBA may have satiated my desire for high-level basketball, but not until college basketball season picks up is my appetite for scouting truly met. This weekend’s games aren’t the type of prospect vs. prospect duels we can look forward to in the coming weeks — no top 25 teams are playing against each other — but, nonetheless, they offer the scouting community a great chance to continue re-evaluating our opinions on this year’s crop of prospects.

Every single team is making their debut this weekend, so I will try to aim my focus on the top prospects and teams that have a number of high-level guys. I’m following the simple rule that you can’t effectively flip between more than two games at once, but if you are an incredible multi-tasker, adjust your schedule accordingly.

Friday

5:00 PM ET— No. 7 Iowa State vs. Colorado

This is the first game of the day that involves a top-60 prospect: Iowa State point guard Monte Morris. He’s not the type of dynamic athlete that typifies the point guard position, but he’s a smart player on both ends of the floor who makes up for his mediocre scoring ability with his passing, outside shooting and defense. He’s currently projected as a second rounder, but he’s one of my favorite sleepers in this year’s class and I wouldn’t be surprised if he jumps into first round discussions.

7:00 PM ET — No. 3 Maryland vs. Mount St. Mary’s

Maryland is going to be a must-watch team for scouts all year, as Diamond Stone, Melo Trimble and Jake Layman all look like future NBA draftees. Layman is a senior wing who can shoot the ball from outside and use his athleticism to make plays attacking the rim, but he’ll need to show more understanding of the game on both ends this year. Trimble is a sophomore point guard who uses his bulldog strength in conjunction with his pull-up shooting to score from all over the floor. If he can flash more as a distributor he could easily be a late first rounder. Stone is a freshmen big guy who’s garnering some lottery hype due to his advanced offensive game around the rim. I’m slightly pessimistic on his future due to his lack of athleticism on the defensive end, though.

7:30 PM ET — No. 19 Notre Dame vs. St. Francis (PA)

There are a lot of other great prospects playing at this time, but most of them play again later in the weekend, while this is the only chance to see the Fighting Irish in action. Explosive junior point guard Demetrius Jackson should be the center of attention — seeing how he adapts to a larger role in the Notre Dame offense will be a fascinating story to watch all season long. Senior power forward Zach Auguste is also worth keeping an eye on. If he can add some defense to his strong play as a roll man on offense, he would become a pretty intriguing prospect.

9:00 PM ET — No. 21 LSU vs. McNeese State

Arguably the most interesting game all weekend for scouts, as freshman combo forward Ben Simmons should be must-see TV all year long. His combination of athleticism and incredible passing vision in a 6-10 frame doesn’t come around very often and he should be in the No. 1 pick conversation all year long. Pay attention to his outside shooting and his defense. We know the playmaking is there, but how he performs in other facets of the game will make or break his season.

Additionally, guards Antonio Blakeney and Tim Quarterman both make for potentially interesting late first round/second round prospects if they can play to their potential.

9:30 PM ET — No. 22 Baylor vs. Stephen F. Austin

The amount of first round prospects playing thins out by this time of the night, but popular draft sleeper Taurean Prince should make for some exciting late night viewing. The Baylor wing is a prototypical 3-and-D guy, who shoots the ball well from deep and uses his athleticism and energy level to be a difference maker on the defensive end. He doesn’t offer too much else in terms of shot creation or handles, but he’s got good basketball instincts and excels in his role. I’m all aboard the hype train with him due to the modern NBA’s need for 3-and-D wings and wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a top-20 pick come June.

10:30 PM ET — No. 16 Utah vs. Southern Utah

Hopefully by this time the LSU game will be enough of a blowout that Simmons is on the bench and you feel comfortable turning the channel. Austrian big man Jakob Poeltl comes into the season with potential lottery pick hype and he’ll look to show he can maintain his incredible offensive efficiency without Delon Wright while continuing to improve on his already well-rounded defensive game.

11:30 PM ET — No. 14 California vs. Rice

If you’re willing to stay up this late, you’re in for a treat. This year’s Cal squad is loaded with potential NBA guys, starting with freshman wing and projected top-5 pick, Jaylen Brown. He’s an insane athlete with a well-rounded skill set, but he’ll need to show that he can put the package all together on a consistent basis. Fellow freshman Ivan Rabb is somewhat of a 4/5 tweener with questionable feel for the game, but he’s a super bouncy athlete and seems to have a semblance of a midrange game. Questions about his mentality place him late in the first round, but he seems to be one of the more volatile prospects in this year’s group. Finally, senior point guard Tyrone Wallace has a great opportunity to improve his scoring efficiency from last year and show more as a passer due to the talent around him.

Saturday

7:00 PM ET — Providence vs. Harvard

The main attraction for this game is Providence junior point guard Kris Dunn. He has NBA size and athleticism at the point guard position to go along with real playmaking ability both as a passer and a defender. He needs to cut down on the turnovers and show some more consistency with his outside shot, but his potential as a two-way force places him firmly in the top-10 pick range. This game has the added bonus of being one of the few potentially compelling games of the weekend.

8:00 PM ET — No. 5 Duke vs. Bryant

Duke also plays Friday night, but due to game congestion it makes more sense to watch their Saturday game against similarly bad competition.

Freshman wing Brandon Ingram has a Kevin Durant-esque frame to go along with serious shooting ability, handles and feel for the game. Seeing how much his complete lack of strength affects him at the NCAA level should be a big factor in determining whether or not he lives up to his top-5 hype, but he’s got so many standout aspects of his game that I’m optimistic. You’ve probably already heard enough about sophomore guard Grayson Allen, but watching how he progresses in a much larger role this season will tell us a lot about his NBA future.

It’s also worth monitoring freshman guard Luke Kennard. He doesn’t have much draft hype right now, but he was a McDonald’s All-American and has been a standout in Duke’s pre-season play. He’s a solid athlete who can really stroke it from outside and put the ball on the floor pretty well. Also, I’m a huge Duke fan and it is no surprise I managed to write the most about them.

8:00 PM ET — No. 2 Kentucky vs. NJIT

Like Duke, Kentucky plays Friday night at 7:00 PM, and if you’re purely looking for the most exposure to the top prospects they’re worth watching as much as possible. Freshman big man Skal Labissiere is a projected top-3 pick, freshman guard Jamal Murray a top-10 pick, freshman guard Isaiah Briscoe a first rounder, and Tyler Ulis, Marcus Lee, Alex Poythress and Isaac Humphries all potential second round guys.

How Calipari distributes the creating load between Murray, Briscoe and Ulis, and whether he can work his magic and turn Skal into an interior force are the two main prospect storylines to watch for them. At this stage, I’m mostly neutral on Skal and Murray, but not a fan of Briscoe’s game which relies too much on his overpowering strength.

Sunday

4:00 PM ET — No. 1 North Carolina vs. Fairfield

UNC lacks one prospect who demands your attention but has a plethora of potential late first/second round guys. Theo Pinson, Kennedy Meeks, Marcus Paige, Brice Johnson and Justin Jackson all have a realistic shot of declaring at year’s end. Sophomore wings Pinson and Jackson probably have the best chance at being first rounders — Jackson due to his smooth scoring ability and Pinson due to his athleticism, defense and surprising passing skill. Again, no individual is super exciting, but the collection of talent makes them well worth your time.

8:00 PM ET — No. 17 Wisconsin vs. Siena

Junior forward Nigel Hayes was the third musketeer of sorts next to Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker in Wisconsin’s frontcourt, but this season he comes in as an alpha dog of sorts. He’s got a diverse and heady game that allows him to help his team out on both ends and seems to be a perfect stretch 4 for the space-and-pace era of NBA basketball. If he shows that he has reliable creation skills to go along with his natural “fit” around other scorers, it’s going to be tough to keep him out of late lottery discussion.

There are some other games worth watching for potential second round guys, but this is a good starting point for fitting in as many potential first-round caliber prospects as you can this weekend. I know I’m super excited to get to scouting and can’t wait for the games to begin.