What if we were to construct a college basketball team simply with players on the shelf this year?
Injuries, especially those of the season-ending variety, have been playing a huge role in this season. Countless contenders have seen one of their key players go down at a terrible time. It’s seemingly happening more this season than it has in years gone by. Whether an injury kills a team’s postseason hopes or simply stunts a challenger’s ceiling, various programs have had to adjust midseason to the worst of hands being dealt. So which teams have been hit the hardest? Who are the best players that have gone down? How would a team made up solely of injured players fare throughout the season?
Those questions have gotten me thinking. We have All-American teams and All-Conference teams, but why not give recognition to those who unfortunately have had their season cut short? Too often are injured players forgotten soon after they leave the public eye rather than lauded for what they did accomplish for their teams. That said, here are the best of the best that America was robbed of watching for a full season, our 2016-17 All-Injured Team.
Point Guard: Jordan Woodard
Team: Oklahoma
Stats: 14.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 3.1 APG
Jordan Woodard was the senior point guard responsible for carrying Oklahoma into the post-Buddy Hield era. The season hasn’t gone as planned, but Woodard is having a career year. The Sooners are a very young team and Woodard is doing a good job leading the way and showing them the ropes. He has taken over 28 percent of the team’s shots while on the floor, taking on a scoring load like he’s never had to before. That’s led to him having the highest scoring average in his career and on his team. On top of that, he leads the team with a 22.2 assist percentage. While he doesn’t get to the line often, he is fantastic at icing games. He shoots free throws at 85.7 percent, in the top 100 nationally. Overall, he has led the offense in a way many hoped he could.
He is a cunning, veteran presence on the other end of the floor as well. He uses great positioning to jump passing lanes, and has produced a 3.6 steal percentage (65th in the country). Oklahoma’s defense is significantly better than it’s offense, ranking 75 spots higher in Kenpom‘s adjusted efficiency margin. Woodard has gotten more help on that end, but it still hasn’t been enough. The team is just 9-18 and won’t make postseason play.
Losing Woodard for the year after just 20 games hurts the team in that he won’t be around for the stretch run to help teach his young teammates. Freshman Jordan Shepherd has been getting most of the minutes in his stead and is surely in for a steep learning curve.
Shooting Guard: Edmund Sumner
Team: Xavier
Stats: 15.0 PPG, 5.0 APG, 4.3 RPG
Completing the Big East backcourt, Sumner is a 6-foot-6 guard that did it all for Xavier. He was the Musketeers’ driving force on offense, owning a ridiculous 57 percent true shooting percentage. Using nearly a quarter of the team’s possessions, he converted at a high efficiency despite large volume. A big reason for that efficiency was his ability to get points with the clock stopped. Despite shooting a mundane 73.5 percent from the free throw line, he shot so many it didn’t matter. Drawing 6.2 fouls per 40 minutes led him to the 47th-best free throw rate in the nation, per Kenpom. Coupled with his high assist rate (30.6), that more than made up for his spotty outside shooting to make him a great offensive player.
Having such a large stature in the backcourt was beneficial to his defensive effort. A versatile defender, he is quick enough to guard smaller guards while having the length to contend with forwards. That showed in his numbers as he placed in the top quartile nationally in both steal and block percentage. Luckily, Xavier has the size to help make up for his absence on that end, with all the other guards standing 6-foot-4 or taller. Still, losing one of your best players on both ends is never easy for a team. Xavier has lost four in a row, but are still comfortably in the field. Not having their go-to guy in Sumner, though, will hurt them come March. They’ve lost his fearlessness in attacking the hoop and drawing lots of fouls, a big part of closer, slower tournament games.
Small Forward: OG Anunoby
Team: Indiana
Stats: 11.1 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 1.4 APG
Anunoby might be the biggest difference-maker on this list, but it doesn’t necessarily show in his counting stats. After he burst onto the scene after shutting down Jamal Murray in the 2016 NCAA Tournament, he was expected to be a major factor on a contending team this season.
Through mid-January that was all going to plan. While the Hoosiers battled some bouts on inconsistency, they were still 13-6 with some great wins. Since losing Anunoby, though, they have gone 2-7. While he didn’t provide a ton on offense, he was a solid piece on a team with countless other offensive threats. He moved the ball when he needed to and shot over 70 percent on 2-pointers.
Where his biggest impact was felt was on the defensive end. Indiana was and is a team built around its offense, and Anunoby was the lynchpin of the defense. The 6-foot-7 wing is quick enough to hound guards and has a 7-foot-6 (!!!) wingspan that allows him to match up with bigs. He is the prototypical defender, being able to guard all five positions. Anunoby is one of eight players this season to average at least 1.3 steals and blocks per game in 15 or more games. That kind of versatility was huge for a team that could get it done on offense but struggled on the other end. The 2-7 stretch without Anunoby has plummeted Indiana out of the NCAA Tournament field. They will need a strong finish to make it, and with every passing game it gets clearer how important Anunoby was to them.
Power Forward: DJ Hogg
Team: Texas A&M
Stats: 12.0 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 3.4 APG
DJ Hogg has been one of the bright spots for a relatively disappointing Aggies team this season. After making the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament last year, they were expected to grow despite losing some key contributors. Hogg and several other young players were the reason for that. Instead, they have been marred by a logjam in the front court with little support from the guards. That pushed Hogg to play more small forward, a bit of an unnatural fit. He responded by expanding his playmaking, posting the best assist rate on the team. He also shouldered a much bigger load, posting the 2nd-highest usage on the team, up from sixth last year. All that combined with an uptick in his rebounds per 40 minutes, he was impressively productive in his time on the court.
Despite moving to a more perimeter-oriented position, he was also a very good interior defender this season. He saw an increase of a full block per 40 minutes as he averages an even 1.0 steals and blocks per game on the year. Playing next to one of the premier shot blockers in the nation in freshman Robert Williams, they have combined to form a potent rim-protecting front court. While A&M won’t make the tournament barring a cinderella run in the SEC Tournament, Hogg and many of their other players are set to return. Though he has only missed five games so far this season, the Aggies are 2-3 without Hogg and 12-10 with him. The sophomore forward can use his shortened season this year as a building block and should be set for a monster campaign in 2017-18.
Center: John Egbunu
Team: Florida
Stats: 7.8 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 1.4 BPG
Egbunu is probably the least talented player on this list. His impact could be felt more than any other come March, however. Egbunu didn’t do much on offense this year as his points per 40 minutes and field goal percentage dropped. Part of that was because he was asked to do less, though. His field goal attempts per game dropped by two, and the drop in efficiency has made his scoring look worse because of it. What he has done on the offensive end is draw fouls and rebound. Opponents are fouling him 5.9 times per 40 minutes, though his sub par free throw percentage (56.7 percent) makes capitalizing difficult. Additionally, he is rebounding his team’s misses at a 12.4 percent clip, the 80th-best rate in the nation.
For all he hasn’t done on offense, Egbunu has done more than enough on defense to make up for it. The 6-foot-11, 255-pounder was the anchor in the middle of one of the nation’s best defenses. The Gators have the fourth-best defense per Kenpom’s adjusted defensive efficiency, and Egbunu is a big reason why. He posts a huge 6.8 block percentage and is a general deterrent at the rim.
For all that Egbunu has done, his loss destroys Florida’s depth in the middle. They now start Kevarrius Hayes, a very good player, but one who has trouble staying on the floor. He commits 5.6 fouls per 40 minutes, and his backup is senior Schuyler Rimmer, who has taken 58 shots in his whole career. If Hayes can’t stay out of foul trouble or gets hurt, the Gators would be in big trouble.
Sixth Man: Chris Clarke
Team: Virginia Tech
Stats: 11.4 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 3.3 APG
Clarke is a do-it-all forward for a deep Virginia Tech team. Whether it was starting or coming off the bench, Clarke was good for a boost of energy to the Hokies’ side. With the third-highest usage on the team behind seniors Seth Allen and Zach LeDay, he was often a go-to on the offensive end. Making nearly 62 percent of his 2s on over 6 shots per game, he was efficient when scoring as well. Posting the 3rd-best assist rate on the team and the best defensive rebounding rate, he was everywhere. He also got to the free throw line often, with the 28th-best free throw rate in the entire nation. His bit-of-everything style made him perfect for a good Virginia Tech offense where he was not asked the be the focal point.
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A sturdy 6-foot-6 wing, he is a versatile defender as well. Quick hands led to 1.7 steals per 40 minutes, a solid mark for someone playing at forward. Clarke often matched up against the opponents’ best player unless he happened to be a point guard or center. That kind of loss obviously hurts a team on the bubble like the Hokies. Virginia Tech’s aforementioned depth means that Clarke’s absence won’t affect them as much as it might some other teams. That makes him perfect for the sixth man role on this team. Capable players like Ty Outlaw, Justin Bibbs, and Ahmed Hill will pick up the slack he left. Even if they do make the tournament, a shorter bench my not hurt them as much as previously thought.