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Next year’s stars? A By the Numbers look

Who are the best scorers, rebounders, and assist men returning to college?

By Norman Rose
/ new
NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament-West Regional-Duke vs Oregon Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Looking forward to next season, we now take a look at some of the players coming back to major-conference basketball. In these lists, there are always sleepers, players who, given more time and minutes, emerge as stars.

Well, maybe.

Here are some returning players who take up a ton of possessions for their teams in conference play ONLY while playing at least 100 minutes in that time.

Best returning high-major scorers?

Player Class Pos Conference Team
G
MP
2PPct
3PPct
FTPct
PTS
eFGPct
FTr
TOVPct
USGPct
Jawun Evans FR G Big 12 Oklahoma State
9
258
0.488
0.500
0.833
140
0.525
0.42
19.5
31.5
Isaac Haas SO C Big 10 Purdue
18
229
0.577
0.702
145
0.577
0.485
13.1
30.6
Corey Sanders FR G Big 10 Rutgers
14
498
0.503
0.263
0.680
252
0.468
0.215
14.1
30.3
Norense Odiase SO C Big 12 Texas Tech
7
118
0.533
0.750
54
0.533
0.178
26.9
30.3
Dwayne Bacon FR G ACC Florida State
18
527
0.451
0.254
0.659
260
0.433
0.345
12.6
29.6
Kelan Martin SO F Big East Butler
18
576
0.440
0.333
0.785
316
0.457
0.35
8.0
29.5
Seth Allen JR G ACC Virginia Tech
18
536
0.421
0.333
0.775
250
0.452
0.54
18.8
28.8
Malcolm Hill JR G Big 10 Illinois
18
646
0.469
0.309
0.823
335
0.468
0.603
11.7
28.7
Ja'Quan Newton SO G ACC Miami (FL)
14
321
0.433
0.429
0.684
141
0.459
0.514
18.8
28.7
Nigel Hayes JR F Big 10 Wisconsin
18
646
0.418
0.343
0.765
301
0.448
0.618
13.4
28.4
Yante Maten SO F SEC Georgia
18
547
0.446
0.500
0.771
279
0.454
0.35
12.6
28.3
Jaron Blossomgame JR F ACC Clemson
18
669
0.516
0.457
0.825
373
0.563
0.402
11.6
28.1
Grayson Allen SO G ACC Duke
18
678
0.514
0.435
0.802
395
0.575
0.467
11.7
27.6
Maurice Watson Jr. JR G Big East Creighton
18
606
0.525
0.263
0.725
286
0.502
0.416
20.8
27.4
Dillon Brooks SO F Pac 12 Oregon
18
586
0.523
0.344
0.819
307
0.521
0.303
14.7
27.4

Rutgers' Corey Sanders - who wasn't bad given the state of the roster around him - is a highlight on this list, but the player who comes first is Oklahoma's Jawun Evans, who combined high usage and high free throw rates with some high assist rates as well. With so many guards gone from the Sooners, he has a chance to shine.

Grayson Allen of Duke and Jaron Blossomgame may defer to other players on occasion, but both are very efficient. Combined with being on a Duke team that should contend for the national championship, Grayson Allen looks to be viewed as college basketball's best returning scorer.

Best returning high-major rebounders

Player Pos Conference Team G MP 2PPct FTPct eFGPct FTr ORBPct DRBPct BLKPct USGPct
Josh Hawkinson F Pac 12 Washington State 17 603 0.544 0.757 0.545 0.374 6.2 29.6 2.8 21.8
Donta Hall F SEC Alabama 18 227 0.559 0.381 0.559 0.618 16.0 28.8 12.7 12.0
Tavario Miller F SEC Texas A&M 18 201 0.379 0.500 0.379 0.759 12.5 28.8 4.1 14.3
Caleb Swanigan F Big 10 Purdue 17 414 0.519 0.696 0.486 0.333 7.4 28.8 0.8 24.6
Ethan Happ F Big 10 Wisconsin 18 492 0.522 0.583 0.522 0.611 10.4 25.1 2.7 26.7
Cole Huff F Big East Creighton 18 390 0.471 0.809 0.487 0.315 3.5 24.6 1.1 23.6
Thomas Welsh C Pac 12 UCLA 18 476 0.600 0.800 0.600 0.185 12.3 24.4 3.5 16.2
Landen Lucas F Big 12 Kansas 18 351 0.607 0.681 0.607 0.839 16.8 24.3 5.2 14.2
Obinna Oleka F Pac 12 Arizona State 18 500 0.422 0.852 0.465 0.312 6.9 23.0 2.0 22.4
Chris Silva F SEC South Carolina 18 221 0.556 0.574 0.556 0.870 13.0 22.8 5.6 19.5
Derek Ogbeide F SEC Georgia 18 306 0.479 0.500 0.479 0.384 13.0 22.6 6.1 18.1
Kelan Martin F Big East Butler 18 576 0.440 0.785 0.457 0.350 6.6 22.1 2.6 29.5
Moses Kingsley F SEC Arkansas 18 537 0.547 0.597 0.547 0.740 9.1 22.0 8.0 26.0
Kameron Rooks C Pac 12 California 18 320 0.612 0.524 0.612 0.429 13.2 22.0 3.7 11.2
Sidy Djitte C ACC Clemson 18 268 0.589 0.700 0.589 0.714 13.7 21.6 4.1 18.3

If you're looking for big men/ defensive rebounders, Washington State's Josh Hawkinson is a talent on the glass. Auburn's Donta Hall also shined in his freshman year as a player willing to do the dirty interior work without demanding the ball. Butler's Kelan Martin also pops up here, as he did on the high-usage scorer list.

Best returning high-major passers

Player Class Pos Conference Team
G
MP
2PPct
3PPct
FTPct
PTS
eFGPct
FTr
PF
ASTPct
TOVPct
USGPct
Jawun Evans FR G Big 12 Oklahoma State
9
258
0.488
0.500
0.833
140
0.525
0.42
22
57.2
19.5
31.5
Maurice Watson Jr. JR G Big East Creighton
18
606
0.525
0.263
0.725
286
0.502
0.416
48
42.4
20.8
27.4
Chris Chiozza SO G SEC Florida
18
463
0.378
0.250
0.780
145
0.377
0.273
45
39.2
18.3
21.6
T.J. Dunans JR G SEC Auburn
5
146
0.371
0.125
0.682
44
0.337
0.512
21
38.4
23.0
23.1
Bryant McIntosh SO G Big 10 Northwestern
18
655
0.404
0.276
0.769
211
0.408
0.176
40
37.3
15.2
23.3
Traci Carter FR G Big East Marquette
18
429
0.408
0.350
0.645
102
0.461
0.348
58
36.6
28.8
17.1
Corey Sanders FR G Big 10 Rutgers
14
498
0.503
0.263
0.680
252
0.468
0.215
25
35.5
14.1
30.3
Nate Mason SO G Big 10 Minnesota
15
489
0.444
0.297
0.780
223
0.444
0.242
26
34.2
10.1
27.0
Kyron Cartwright SO G Big East Providence
18
479
0.341
0.342
0.730
122
0.396
0.308
39
32.6
16.9
16.7
JaQuan Lyle FR G Big 10 Ohio State
18
522
0.505
0.246
0.757
202
0.449
0.422
28
30.2
18.8
24.2
Franklin Howard FR G ACC Syracuse
16
174
0.368
0.125
0.500
23
0.315
0.444
16
30.2
36.8
15.8
J.J. Frazier JR G SEC Georgia
18
595
0.409
0.412
0.804
302
0.507
0.47
52
29.7
9.2
24.1
Travis Jorgenson SO G ACC Georgia Tech
13
134
0.300
0.200
0.750
12
0.300
0.267
7
29.3
41.5
10.9
Myles Davis JR G Big East Xavier
18
545
0.400
0.400
0.814
208
0.533
0.393
44
28.2
18.7
19.0
I.J. Ready JR G SEC Mississippi State
17
497
0.457
0.342
0.800
137
0.475
0.252
33
27.9
16.3
15.9

If passing is more your thing, Maurice Watson - who played heavy minutes last year - shines as a returnee. His assist rate isn't quite Kris Dunn's... it was actually better (42% of teammates' made shots vs. 40%). Auburn's TJ Dunans may not have gotten more than five games, but he was a dynamic, high-usage, high assist guard who could help elevate Bruce Pearl's program next season. Marquette's Traci Carter, despite his high turnover rate, was an excellent passer as a freshman.

Who do you think we missed?

Next Up In St. John's Red Storm men's basketball