One allure of college basketball is the yearly rebuilding, the wondering who’ll be the next stars when the current batch moves on.
The elite programs always seem to have another star in waiting to take over the reins when the big man on campus is no longer on campus. Many times, there’s not just one guy behind the guy, there’s several.
The 2009-10 season was filled with star players who moved on – John Wall at Kentucky, Evan Turner at Ohio State, West Virginia’s Da’Sean Butler, to name a few – so there’s going to be plenty of programs relying heavily on understudies this season.
Some will be able to handle the pressure, as Matt Bouldin did for Adam Morrison at Gonzaga, others will flame out spectacularly. Here are six who’ll need to come through this season.
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Elias Harris for Matt Bouldin, Gonzaga. Bouldin was the Zags’ leading scorer and the focal point of their offense, but graduated last season, leaving a big hole in the Northwest. Gonzaga still has senior guard Steven Gray, who’ll likely handle the leadership side of things, but the sophomore Harris has the star quality. The 6-foot-8 forward from Germany had a stellar freshman season, averaging 14.9 points and 7 rebounds while shooting 54 percent, and is projected as a lottery pick in the NBA when he comes out. First, a shot at being The Man in Spokane.
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Tyshawn Taylor for Sherron Collins, Kansas. Collins was the Jayhawks’ undisputed leader, a key contributor to their 2008 national title and leading scorer last year after five players went on to play professionally. Kansas has plenty of talented players, including forward Marcus Morris and incoming freshman John Selby, but success this season will likely hinge on whether Taylor can handle running the team. The point guard has shown flashes of talent but just as much immaturity, so this is one understudy to keep an eye on.
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Tim Abromaitis for Luke Harangody, Notre Dame. Harangody has been the Fighting Irish’s leading scorer, rebounder, go-to guy when they needed a big shot. He’s now with the Boston Celtics in the NBA, so Notre Dame needs to find someone else to go to. Abromaitis could be that player. The 6-foot-8 grad student developed into a capable scorer for the Irish last season, averaging 16 points per game, but also benefited from Harangody drawing so much attention from opposing defenses. Now, Abromaitis gets to see if he can keep it up without the help.
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Keiton Page for James Anderson, Oklahoma State. Page and Anderson are completely different players, so this won’t be an exact fill-his-shoes swap. Anderson, last season’s Big 12 player of the year, is an athletic 6-foot-6 forward who can shoot from the outside and get to the rim. Page is a lean 5-9 guard who relies on a shooting range that reaches near halfcourt. Page averaged just under 11 points per game and is already in the Cowboys’ top 10 for 3-pointers made as a junior. He’s not going to do what Anderson did, but will need to pick up some of the slack in his own way.
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Kevin Jones for Da’Sean Butler, West Virginia. The Mountaineers lost three starters, but the biggest hole will be left by Butler, their leader in scoring and assists during a Final Four run last season. The good news for West Virginia is that Jones is back, 10 pounds heavier and believing he can handle the rigors of the Big East. The 6-foot-8 junior was West Virginia’s second-leading scorer last season at 13.5 points per game and will need to pick that up, along with the rest of his game, for the Mountaineers to have any hope of matching last year’s success with Butler gone.
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Shelvin Mack for Gordon Hayward, Butler. Hayward seemed to do just about everything for the Bulldogs last season, including the shot from halfcourt that nearly went in to give Butler an improbable national championship. The dynamic forward is gone to the NBA after being the school’s first lottery pick, leaving the Bulldogs’ fate in the hands of Mack. The 6-foot-3 junior guard can do a little bit of everything – 14.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.4 steals last season – and is already being eyed by NBA scouts. His scoring and leadership will determine whether the Bulldogs can back up last season’s improbable run with another.
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