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Illinois Fighting Illini’s Brandon Paul may not be the most highly rated guard in the 2013 NBA Draft, but he still has a lot of talent. With that said, let’s take a look at his stock.

Although Paul had a great season with Illinois, there is a chance that he will go undrafted. Currently, he is being projected to go very late in the second round. However, there are mocks out there that don’t even have him being picked up.

Still, Paul managed to score 16.6 points per game on the year, which shows that he can produce on the offensive side of the ball. It helps that he also played in the Big Ten, which was one of the best conferences in college hoops.

There are many other guards that are supposed to go before Paul, but that does not mean that he won’t go late in the second round. He is a very talented player and he helped the Fighting Illini make the 2013 NCAA Tournament.

If he does not get drafted, he should still get signed after the draft, since his stock is right around pick No. 60–the last pick in the draft.

Paul was not the most efficient shooter in his senior year, but 32.5 percent from behind the arc is not terrible and that percentage did lead to 78 made threes on the season.

If a team is in search of a shooting guard late in the draft, Paul would be the perfect pick. However, we will just have to wait and see if his name will actually get called, because at this point, it could really go either way.

If you’re a tweeter, feel free to follow me @TheTrevorLowry.

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Richard Pitino just took over the Minnesota program a couple of months ago, but he is already making big changes.

Joe Coleman, a major backcourt contributor, left the program a few weeks ago and Pitino has already added three transfers to the program. Minnesota is also losing their starting frontcourt of Trevor Mbakwe and Rodney Williams to graduation.

The Gophers will have a ton of roster turnover as Pitino molds the squad into his own. A great way to make the transition easier is to add top-level talent, and Pitino could be able to snatch some in the 2014 class in scoring guard Isaiah Whitehead.

This past week, Whitehead told CBS Sports’ Jeff Borzello about Minnesota’s interest in him, saying that the Gophers, along with Louisville and Syracuse, were the three schools recruiting him the hardest. Whitehead stated, “They’re just great programs” and “they have great coaches” in regard to three of his top suitors.

Whitehead is a 6-foot-4 guard from Brooklyn, who Rivals has as the no. 19 player in the country in the 2014 class. Known as a fantastic scorer, Whitehead can slash to the hoop, while also having a decent jump shot.  He has a terrific first step and will continue to develop in his senior season as he plans to continue to move up in national rankings.

“All the guys out here that’s ranked higher than me, I’m just going at them and showing everybody that I’m better than them,” Whitehead told Borzello.

Now, just because Minnestoa has a lot of interest in Whitehead does not necessarily mean it is mutual interest. Although he praised Minnesota, they are still huge underdogs to land the Brooklyn guard as they are going up against Louisville and Syracuse, as well as other big programs like Kentucky.

Nevertheless, for Minnesota fans, it should be encouraging to see new coach Pitino already making waves in national recruiting along with bringing in transfers.

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Last season, Purdue had an anemic offense that paved their way to a disappointing 16-18 season.

The Boilermakers averaged just 63.8 points a game in Big Ten play and shot the third-worst field goal percentage at just 45.8 percent. They also made the fewest 3-pointers and had just one effective scorer, Terone Johnson, and even he shot just barely over 40 percent from the field 62 percent from the free throw line.

So, will this terrible offense continue next season for Purdue, or can they turn it around?

The good news is that Purdue has three very good recruits coming in net fall, two in the top-70 from Rivals and a third who is in the top-120. The trio is lead by Kendall Stephens, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Illinois who is the no. 61 player in the 2013 class and no. 19 at his position. 

Joining Stephens in the backcourt is point guard Bryson Scott, from Indiana, who is no. 75 in the country and the 16th best point guard. Closing things out is lanky, athletic small forward Basil Smotherman, also from Indiana.

Now, I am not saying that these three, who comprise the no. 24 class in the country according to Rivals, will be world-beaters offensively from day one.  However, they should be expected to produce, especially Stephens, who is already known for his impressive all-around offensive skill set.

Purdue had no punch on offense this year. For their sake, hopefully this new wave of talented freshmen will be able to change that next season.

You can follow Alex Dale on Twitter at @alexdalecbb.

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Michigan and 2015 point guard prospect Jalen Brunson are beginning to show mutual interest in each other.

Brunson is a 4-star point guard from Stevenson High School in suburban Chicago who is ranked as the no. 45 player in 2015 by Rivals. He is expected to plan a visit to Ann Arbor soon as he said they have been recruiting him hard recently.

Brunson already has offers from fellow Big Ten schools Illinois and Purdue and has also visited Iowa last fall.

 If Michigan could grab Brunson, it would continue John Beilien‘s major trend of trying to get an elite point guard every other year. Beilein brought in Darius Morris in 2009, who was a 4-star from Los Angeles. Morris started two seasons for Michigan, set the single season record for assists at the program and became a first-round NBA pick after two seasons. 

The year after Morris left, an unheralded three-star point guard from Ohio came into the Michigan program. His name was Trey Burke, and he became the best college player in America in his second year at Michigan, leading them to the national title game. 

Next fall, another freshman point guard will take over the reins for Michigan when four-star point guard, Derrick Walton steps into the program.  If the pattern holds, Walton will become a great point guard under Beilein and be a first-round pick in 2015, resulting in a PG from the class of 2015 taking the starting spot.

Now, patterns don’t always hold and Brunson might not even be the guy for Michigan (Walton might not be a star either), but it is fascinating to see a clear pattern of Beilein’s.  He grabs a top point guard every other year and ignores the position in recruiting classes in between. Will Brunson be the next point guard to enter the Michigan chain?

You can follow Alex Dale on Twitter at @alexdalecbb.

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After a stellar end to his freshman season, Michigan‘s  Mitch McGary has continued his fanfare into the summer. Sporting News recently ranked McGary as the top center in all of college basketball, citing his complete skill package and non-stop effort.

McGary was ranked above fellow rising sophomores Montrezl Harrell of Louisville and Willie Cauley-Stein of Kentucky.

It is tough to say that McGary is the best center in America, considering that he has such a small sample size of elite play. McGary was not dominant for the entire season last year, and only played really well for the final six games of the season, when he averaged over 14 points and 10 rebounds a game in Michigan’s fantastic NCAA Tournament run. 

McGary had shown the potential to be great all year and really throughout his highly heralded high school career as well, but he never actually produced at that level until the end of his freshman year.

He then turned down the NBA, where he was already being projected  as a potential lottery pick, to return for his sophomore year at Michigan along with fellow star freshman, Glenn Robinson III.

Now the pressure is on McGary to continue his terrific play for a whole year.  He must prove that his end-of-year tear was not just a flash of lightning, but his actual production level.  The praise is already there for McGary as shown by his flattering ranking by Sporting News — now he has to back that up with consistency next season.

You can follow Alex Dale on Twitter at @alexdalecbb.

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The Minnesota Golden Gophers had plenty of talent on their team in the 2012-13 college basketball season. Some of that talent will even be good enough to make a team in the NBA. One of those players worthy of that feat is Trevor Mbakwe and he has a good chance at getting drafted in the 2013 NBA Draft. So, let’s take a look at his stock.

Mbakwe will likely not crack the first round or anything like that, but mock drafts out there are saying that he will get picked up in the mid second round. However, some mocks have him going late in the draft, while others don’t even have him getting drafted.

Whether the case, he is definitely worthy of being picked up and he could really succeed at the next level.

In his final season in college hoops, he put up 10 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per game. Both were a decrease from his junior season, especially the points per game, where he averaged 14 points per game just a season ago.

This could have been a reason for Minnesota not being as good as it should have been this past season, but it is not right to just point the fingers at one player. Still, the Golden Gophers did manage to make the 2013 NCAA Tournament, despite not meeting expectations.

He had a great career in college and his ability, combined with his 6’8” stature, could lead to success in the NBA. First, we will have to wait and see where he lands in the draft, which should be somewhere in the second round.

If you’re a tweeter, feel free to follow me @TheTrevorLowry.

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The Big Ten/ACC Challenge will be great in the 2013-14 college basketball season–like usual. One of the lesser known matchups will be played between the Northwestern Wildcats and the North Carolina State Wolfpack.

Although this matchup is not all that intriguing, it is still a game that will help decide the winner of the challenge.

Unfortunately for both teams, they will likely be near the bottom of their conference standings. Drew Crawford will be returning to Northwestern, but he may not even be good enough to help this team compete in the Big Ten. There will also be a new coach on the sidelines and it will be interesting to see how Chris Collins will fare in his first season.

If this matchup took place this past season, Northwestern would have likely been blown out. However, the Wolfpack will look much different in the upcoming season, so really either team could win.

Northwestern lost last season to the Maryland Terrapins in the challenge.

Although the ACC could very well enter the season as the best conference in college hoops, the Big Ten will not be too far behind it. Both conferences will have good enough teams to compete for a national title.

Whether if that will actually be the case or not, this matchup may seem like a pointless one, but it brings bragging rights to the winner and could play a role in who wins the 2013 Big Ten/ACC Challenge. If Crawford can have a big enough game, the Wildcats very well could win this contest.

If you’re a tweeter, feel free to follow me @TheTrevorLowry.

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The Michigan State Spartans will pretty much have their entire team back for the 2013-14 college basketball season, but one player that will not be back is Derrick Nix. Nix was a senior this past year and although he will likely not get drafted, can he make an NBA team?

Nix had his best season yet this past year, scoring 9.9 points per game and averaging 6.6 rebounds per game. It helped that he saw the court more during the season than he did in his previous three seasons with the team. Although Nix was a great asset to the Spartans this past season, his inability to score the ball and 6’9” stature will hurt his chances at making an impact in the NBA.

Nix is undersized for his position to say the least. However, at 270 pounds, he has a big body that can move people around and he plays some physical basketball. Who knows if that alone will be enough for him to land on a team.

If Nix can get on the right team and have the right role, than he could clearly make a roster and make an impact. He was a pretty good player this past season and he played for Michigan State, who was one of the best teams in the Big Ten.

Getting drafted is probably out of the question, but if a team is in search of a big body that can rebound and score every now and then, Nix could get signed after the draft. There is a still a lot of value in Nix and he could very well be playing for a pro team in the upcoming season. However, it will be interesting to see what role he plays if that does in fact happen.

If you’re a tweeter, feel free to follow me @TheTrevorLowry.

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Illinois lost a player Saturday, when Myke Henry announced that he is transferring out of the program.  Henry, who would have been a junior next season, will be staying local and join DePaul‘s program.

Henry announced the decision on his Twitter account Saturday night, saying,  “DePaul here I come.”  Henry will have two years of eligibility remaining at DePaul but will have to sit out the 2013 season before he can step on the court for the Blue Demons.

He will be returning to his hometown to play for the Blue Demons.  Henry was a top 100 prospect in the 2011 class, after being a star at Orr High School and Mac Irvin Fire, a top AAU team.  Once rumors of Henry’s potential transfer started, Depaul seemed like a likely option.

Despite being a highly rated recruit heading into Champaign, Henry was never really able to get a lot of minutes under either Bruce Weber, who recruited him, or during John Groce’s first season.  Last year, the 6’6” small forward, averaged just under 11 minutes, playing on the wing.  With Brandon Paul and Tyler Griffey both now gone, it is likely Henry would have seen more minutes next season at the small forward position.  Henry wanted out anyways, seeing DePaul as a better opportunity.

Groce will now have to look at who will fill in the gap that Henry will leave.  As I mentioned, Henry was going to have an increased role next season with the departure of of other forwards and wings so now Groce has the dilemma of filling in those minutes.  A likely answer to that question could be the no. 62 freshman in the country, according to Rivals, Malcolm Hill.  Hill is a long 6’6” wing, whose stock has now risen with the departure of Henry.

You can follow Alex Dale on Twitter at @alexdalecbb.

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Friday night, D’Angelo Russell gave Ohio State a huge boost with his commitment to the program.  Russell is a 6’5” shooting guard from Florida and currently ranked no. 22 in the 2014 class by Rivals.

Russell chose the Buckeyes over other offers, including Michigan State, Louisville and North Carolina. On his choice, Russell stated:

“I have been going through the recruiting process for a long time but never cut my list down. I know Ohio State is where I want to be, so I made my decision.”

Russell adds a lot to the Buckeyes’ 2014 class.  Ohio State’s current starting guards, Aaron Craft and Lenzelle Smith Jr. will both have graduated when Russell steps on campus.  Therefore, the highly regarded shooting guard will have plenty off opportunity to contribute immediately.  Russell is known for his dynamic scoring ability, which he should be able to showcase as a freshman.

But before Russell even steps on the floor for Ohio State, he could make a huge contribution.  That would be if Russell can help the Buckeyes nab the top player in the 2014 class, Jahlil Okafor from Chicago.  Russell did say he would help recruit the massive Okafor.  Whether Russell can sway Okafor is hard to know, but Okafor does have definite interest already in Ohio State.  The Buckeyes were on Okafor’s final list of eight schools, which he released just last week.

The Buckeyes made a big splash with the addition of D’Angelo Russell to the 2014 class.  If Russell could entice Okafor to join him in Columbus, however, that splash will become a tidal wave.

You can follow Alex Dale on Twitter at @alexdalecbb