Boo Blues and Big Blue News

Northwestern's Boo Buie suffered a wrist injury early this week; meanwhile, Kentucky added yet another player to its 2023-24 roster. We talk those plus more.

Author

Mike Miller
August 02, 2023

The Pac-12 reportedly is banking on streaming subscriptions to meet its revenue goals with its newest media deal. No wonder Arizona, Arizona State and Utah are thinking about bolting. They know making money off streaming is a tall order, even if you do focus on sports.

So let’s focus on some college hoops, shall we?

1. Boo to this injury

It’s not often Northwestern enters a college hoops season with one of the Big Ten’s best players on its roster. But under Chris Collins, the Wildcats have made two NCAA Tournaments, and they flirted with a conference title last season behind all-league guard Boo Buie.

But nothing’s ever easy in Evanston.

Buie injured his hand during practice and had surgery on Monday. The athletics department says he’s “expected to be back for the start of practice in the fall.” He’s now wearing a plastic brace.

Am I ratcheting up the drama for what appears to be an injury that won’t derail his season? Maybe. But I’m of the opinion that anything that affects your team’s best player — who also happens to be one of the Big Ten’s best players — isn’t a small thing.

I mean, there aren’t many first-team All-Big Ten players who averaged 17.3 points and 4.5 assists last season. And they rarely play for Northwestern. We’ll see how Buie progresses in his recovery.

2. Big Blue Nation now a little bit bigger

Kentucky fans woke up to big news on Tuesday. How big?

The 7-foot-kind.

Even if the Wildcats weren’t hurting up front — big men Aaron Bradshaw and Ugonna Onyeneso are both recovering from injuries this summer — Ivisic would still play a significant role this upcoming season.

He’s 20 and viewed as one of Europe’s top prospects. He is mobile, shoots from outside, and could play alongside Bradshaw or Onyenso once those two are healthy. At the recent FIBA U20 World Championships, Ivisic averaged 11.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 blocks while hitting 34% from 3 in 19 minutes per game.

The Croatian rookie sounds excited about the prospect of playing in Lexington, too. It’ll be a mutual feeling now that John Calipari’s roster has filled out to the point that it’ll be an SEC contender. At the start of June, there were only freshmen on the roster (granted, mostly 5-star freshmen). Then it filled out with experience (super seniors Antonio Reeves and Tre Mitchell), and now, it added more size.

Kentucky’s a bonafide Top 25 squad, with the potential to ascend higher as its freshmen adjust to the college game. And with plenty of size up front, it’s got balance as well.

Summer’s never quiet anymore…

3. Did Creighton just land a Korver clone?

Before Ryan Kalkbrenner and Ryan Nembhard, Marcus Zegarowski and Mitch Ballock, and even Doug McDermott, Creighton was the place where Kyle Korver lit it up.

A 6-8 forward who can hit a 3 from various spots and scenarios? That was Korver (the NBA certainly remembers).

That’s just my way of doing a double-take with Tuesday’s commitment news.

McAndrew is a 6-9, sweet-shooting forward who chose the Blue Jays over Notre Dame, Xavier and Wisconsin, among others. He’s currently rated as a Top 100 recruit, but his strong summer that included an impressive Peach Jam should make him a Top 50 recruit once the latest rankings are released later this month.

He hit 45% of his attempts from beyond the arc during the EYCL season and is viewed as one of the elite shooters in his class. Scouts also applaud his mobility and court sense, making him more than just a guy who’ll spot up in the corner.

He’s the second player in the class of 2024 to commit to Creighton, joining combo guard Ty Davis.

To the Point

Alan Huss spent a decade as a high school basketball coach before moving to the college ranks as an assistant, where worked at New Mexico and Creighton. How did those stops influence his coaching approach? And how will it inform his first D-I job at High Point this season?

Links as you pour one out for the Mets’ massive payroll.

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