Scary Players Can Trick or Treat

Tipoff

During my conversation with Terrence Oglesby (see Four Point Play, below), we discussed what it was like to be known as a shooter and how the 3-point shot has taken over basketball at all levels. Terrence mentioned something during that talk that I can’t quite shake. While everyone wants shooters, it’s really the threat of the jump shot that makes the pace and space revolution so potent.

Villanova head coach Jay Wright has exemplified this principle with more acclaim than any other coach in men’s college basketball. The 2018 National Title-winning team was filled with shooters at all positions. Center Omari Spellman was second on the team in 3-point shooting percentage that season. That team could really shoot it, but Wright knew that getting to the lane was key. We all remember Dante DiVincenzo draining jumper after jumper in the National Title game. We may forget, though, that he shot more from inside the arc and at the free throw lane than he shot from 3-point land. It was his ability to fly into the lane with all that space that made him and his teammates so efficient at scoring the ball.

Being a threat works on both ends. Think of Anthony Davis and his 4.7 blocks per game during the 2012 season for Kentucky. Not only did Davis lead the nation in blocks, his mere presence was a threat, poisoning the minds of would-be offensive players with thoughts of contested layups or floaters. The shots had to come quicker or arced higher to get over Davis, increasing the degree of difficulty. The threat posed by particular players is what I’ll be watching this season. With Halloween right around the corner, we should all be thinking about which player is the scariest on the court.

The Mixtape 

The Field of 68 team puts out lots of great content each week. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights.

• The Field of 68 continues its rundown of the preseason top 50 team. Each preview includes an interview with the head coach and insiders that follow the team. The countdown continued with #44 Florida, #43 St. Johns, #42 Wichita State, #41 San Diego State, #40 BYU, #39 Loyola-Chicago, #38 Mississippi State, #37 Louisville, #36 Texas Tech, #35 LSU, #34 Colorado State, and #33 Arizona. In a shocking display of disregard for sleep and personal wellbeing, Rob Dauster somehow found the time to sit down with former Clemson standout Terrence Oglesby and Wake Forest legend Randolph Childress to do a full conference preview on the ACC.

• You’re crazy. Yes, you, and all your friends, too. Whenever one of our basketball personalities talks about certain teams, the twitter trolls come out of the woodwork. Sometimes, you even crowd around the sidelines to heckle poor Rob Dauster for having the audacity to write an article that was mildly skeptical of your favorite team’s tournament chances. So what is the craziest fan base in college hoops? Rob, Terrence Oglesby, and John Fanta shared their experiences dealing with rabid followers of college ball.

• The Field of 68 is constantly breaking news. Last week, our own Terrence Oglesby had the exclusive interview with one of the top players in the high school class of 2022, Julian Phillips. The South Carolina forward came on the Field of 68 with his family to announce his college commitment. Choosing between Florida State, LSU, Tennessee, and USC, Phillips announced his commitment to the Bayou Bengals and LSU. He broke it down and why he will be playing for Will Wade next season.

The Field of 12

The college football season is in high gear and the Field of 12 is on the scene. Here is a brief sample of the new network from the makers of Field of 68.

• Field of 12 After Dark | GEORGIA’S the new title favorite! Texas A&M beat Alabama! Oklahoma beat Texas! Iowa beat Penn State!

• Ted & Yogi’s Pac-12 Adventure | Who are the Heisman FRONTRUNNERS?

• One on Ones with Cory Sensabaugh & Harry Douglas | The ACC is a mess! Which surprise team is actually still shining in this conference?

Four Point Play

Each newsletter throughout the summer, we’ll check in with one of our podcast hosts and see what they’re up to besides producing compelling content for us at The Field of 68.

This week, we checked in with Terrence Oglesby, co-host of the Dauster, T.O. & Fanta! podcast (Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you access podcasts).

1. You are an ACC guy, having played at Clemson. You also have posted your own team previews for the ACC teams on twitter, under the hashtag #TOsACCPreview. This is an interesting season for the conference, having lost Roy Williams to retirement last year, going through Coach K’s final season this year, and likely losing Jim Boeheim in the near future. At some point, Leonard Hamilton will show his age (he’s 73 years old, if you can believe it), too, and call it a career. Oh yeah, Jim Larranega at Miami is right behind Ham and celebrated his 72nd earlier this month. Are you concerned at all about the future of the conference?

• Not particularly. A lot of the replacements are put in already. Hubert Davis has been a coach-in-waiting for the past few years [at North Carolina]. For the other teams, they are going to get the pick that they want to replace their head coaches. I’m not concerned about it too much. The ACC is usually a top 1, 2, or 3 conference most years. The fan support is so awesome and there is so much tradition.

1. Rob Dauster, former Wake Forest standout Randolph Childress, and you just recorded a long preview of the ACC for the Field of 68. Few know the conference better than you. Which team is a dark horse in the conference and which is overrated for this season?

• A dark horse to look at is Wake Forest. Steve Forbes is a heck of a coach. They are big, old, and really talented. [Indiana State transfer] Jake Lavaria is a heck of a player. An overrated team might be Duke. We fall in love with the talent level. Paolo Banchero is a top talent. Even with guys like them every season, they haven’t been able to capture the National Title [since 2015]. The other question for them is around shooting. Can Wendell Moore and freshman Trevor Keels shoot it enough? I had Duke picked #1 in my previews but can pick holes in why that might not be the case.

1. You were a great shooter during your time at Clemson and overseas as a professional for 8 seasons. The sport, in both college and professionally, is moving more and more in the direction of being all about shooting. Do you find that over-emphasis on shooting is good for the sport? If so, are there downsides to it that can or should be exploited by savvy coaches?

• The downside is that everyone tells their guys to shoot the 3 when not everyone should shoot it. Shooting is at such a premium because there are so many guys in the United States that can get to the rim when they want. North Carolina last year is the epitome of the problems you’ll have when you don’t have shooting. Caleb Love is one of those guys that can get to the rim, but the lane was full with Armando Bacot, Day’Ron Sharpe and others. This year, they have more shooting around Love, which should open up the lane. When I was playing, it was common to have 2 big men with their backs to the basket. That isn’t as common anymore. There is a trickle down movement from the professionals down to college in that regard.

And one!

1. In my research for this interview, I learned that you are Norwegian with dual citizenship and played professionally in Norway as well as other places overseas. Norway, as we’ve all learned through the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is the mythical home of Odin and his sons, Thor and Loki. Odin was known for his wisdom, Thor for his strength, and Loki for being mischievous. If you could be wise, powerful, or mischievous on the basketball court, which would you be and why?

• I am going to go with wisdom, simply because I had to be wise in order to get shots over bigger players. In order to create more opportunities for myself, I needed to be wise. I’m half-Norwegian. My mother is Norwegian and socialist-left and my father is Southern Baptist conservative. It is something I am very proud of, having both those be a part of me.

Stay tuned for upcoming episodes of the Dauster, T.O. & Fanta! podcast with Rob Dauster, Terrence Oglesby, and John Fanta. Terrence will also be part of the Field of 68 After Dark livestream show at 11:00 p.m. Eastern during the season.

Around the Rim

This section highlights some of the best writing on college basketball to hit the web. Consider these your extra credit assignments for fall semester.

• Heat Check CBB | Shaw’s Sleepers: San Diego State’s Matt Bradley is a breakout transfer candidate

• Busting Brackets | NCAA Basketball: Top 30 frontcourt players for 2021-22 season

• Making the Madness | Predictions for each conference’s player of the year winner.