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College Basketball: Top 5 returning players to watch in 2016

By Cody Williams

Feb 11, 2016; Berkeley, CA, USA; Oregon Ducks forward Dillon Brooks (24) controls the ball against California Golden Bears forward Ivan Rabb (1) during the second half at Haas Pavilion. The California Golden Bears defeated the Oregon Ducks 83-63. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 11, 2016; Berkeley, CA, USA; Oregon Ducks forward Dillon Brooks (24) controls the ball against California Golden Bears forward Ivan Rabb (1) during the second half at Haas Pavilion. The California Golden Bears defeated the Oregon Ducks 83-63. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 19, 2016; Providence, RI, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Grayson Allen (3) reacts after scoring against the Yale Bulldogs during the first half of a second round game of the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Dunkin Donuts Center. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 19, 2016; Providence, RI, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Grayson Allen (3) reacts after scoring against the Yale Bulldogs during the first half of a second round game of the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Dunkin Donuts Center. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Grayson Allen, G – Duke (Junior)

You need to watch Duke junior Grayson Allen just to be sure he hasn’t stuck his leg out to trip you—kidding, of course. The Blue Devils guard enters his third year in college basketball coming off a marvelous sophomore campaign that left many thinking he could head to the draft. Instead, he’s back taking residence at Cameron Indoor and the rest of the country should be very afraid.

Allen absolutely torched the hoops world last season for an admittedly disappointing Duke team that fell short of expectations. As a sophomore, the Jacksonville native scored seemingly at will from anywhere on the floor. He finished the season averaging 21.6 points per game with tremendous efficiency. Allen converted on 46.6 percent of his field goal attempts overall and 41.7 percent of his shots from three.

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What’s going to be interesting is to see how Allen co-exists with the crop of freshman coming into Duke. The Blue Devils have a ridiculous class coming in with Giles, Jayson Tatum, Frank Jackson, and more. Allen still led the way for Coach K’s group last season alongside Brandon Ingram, the eventual No. 2-overall pick in the draft. Thus, it’ll be interesting to see if that remains the case with a deeper cast of freshman around. As long as he doesn’t—uh—trip up, Allen should again be among the most exciting players in the country.