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Howard Basketball: Sophomore guard RJ Cole is the nation’s hidden gem

By Lukas Harkins

JERSEY CITY, NJ - MARCH 03: R.J. Cole #2 of the St. Anthony Friars grabs his ankle in the second half against the Monclair Immaculate Lions during the 2017 NJSIAA Boy's Basketball North B Tournament Quarterfinals at C.E.R.C. on March 3, 2017 in Jersey City, New Jersey.The St. Anthony Friars defeated the Monclair Immaculate Lions 66-52. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
JERSEY CITY, NJ - MARCH 03: R.J. Cole #2 of the St. Anthony Friars grabs his ankle in the second half against the Monclair Immaculate Lions during the 2017 NJSIAA Boy's Basketball North B Tournament Quarterfinals at C.E.R.C. on March 3, 2017 in Jersey City, New Jersey.The St. Anthony Friars defeated the Monclair Immaculate Lions 66-52. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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There are a lot of really talented rising sophomores in the country. Howard basketball’s RJ Cole is deserving of more attention as one of the best.

Four freshmen averaged more than 20 points per game during the 2017-18 college basketball campaign: Trae Young (Oklahoma), RJ Cole (Howard), Marvin Bagley III (Duke), and Deandre Ayton (Arizona). As you may have noticed, three of the players mentioned above heard their names called as top-5 picks in the 2018 NBA Draft. This leaves just one returning sophomore who put up over 20 points per game in his first season. Meet Howard basketball’s superstar guard RJ Cole.

Out of New Jersey, Howard was not a highly-touted recruit. Although schools like Texas Tech and Virginia were interested in the young guard, neither program offered him a scholarship. Ranked at No. 479 in the nation by 247Sports Composite, Cole did not receive a ton of love out of high school. Still, that did not stop his drive to become one of the best guards in the nation. On September 26, 2016, Cole committed to play for Howard basketball. Let’s just say that he did not disappoint in his first year on campus.

An electric scorer, Cole did not ease his way into college ball. In fact, he played a combined 73 minutes in his first two collegiate games, dropping in a total of 50 points to go with 14 assists. The Bison suffered losses in both contests (at George Washington, at Indiana) but that should not take away from his incredible efforts on the court. As the season continued on, Cole’s scorching start did not cool off too much.

Cole played in all 33 games for the Bison this past year, posting averages of 23.7 points and 6.1 assists in 37.9 minutes per game. This stat line was one of the best in the nation last year, plain and simple. In just about every single way, Cole flew under the radar as one of the hidden gems in the nation.

Despite this, it is important to note that Cole’s outstanding season was unable to push Howard to new heights in his first season. For the year, the Bison finished just 10-23 (7-9 MEAC). This might seem rough on the surface but this record was a better conference finish than both of the previous two seasons. The hope with Cole, though, is that he is able to guide Howard to the NCAA Tournament in the near future. There are also plenty of reasons to believe that he can pull off this feat as well.

Impact of guards on tournament play

For starters, elite guard play can be a major difference-maker in tournament play. Competing in the MEAC means that only the automatic qualifying team will be invited to the NCAA Tournament each year. It is safe assumption to make that the MEAC will not have any at-large teams anytime soon because the conference has never sent multiple teams to the Big Dance. Given this, the most important time of the college basketball season for these teams is the conference tournament.

In this kind of single-elimination event, Cole can shine as a elite bucket-getter who can consistently will his team to victory. If Cole gets hot during that three-game stretch, he could carry Howard to a MEAC Tournament title. While some may be wary of this possibility given the fact that Howard finished just 7-9 in conference play this past season, let’s take a look at the conference records of the tournament champions over the past six years: 9-7, 13-3, 13-3, 8-8, 15-1, and 8-8.

While it is clear that it helps to be the favorite (or one of them) going into the tournament, an underdog has knocked off the top seeded teams to win the automatic bid in three of the past six years. Still, there needs to be some help around Cole and it would certainly help if the team exhibited a better overall conference record than the 7-9 of last season.

Get by with a little help from my friends

As we look ahead to 2018-19 and beyond, it seems as though Cole will have plenty of talent around him. Most notably, his running mate in the backcourt, Charles Williams, cannot be simply ignored when it comes to high-scoring guards. A 6-foot-4 rising junior from Virginia, Williams finished second in the MEAC last season in scoring (behind Cole) at 20.4 points per game. With this dynamic scoring duo running the show for the Bison, their offense can be incredibly hard to stop at times.

It is difficult to slow down one 20 points per game scorer when he gets hot. How does a defense react when both Cole and Williams start getting it going at the same time? If you double-team them both, I hope that one remaining defender enjoys covering three different players.

Speaking of different players, there are also four more solid returning players to fill out the spots next to Cole and Williams. Rising sophomores Kyle Foster (6.4 points) and Zion Cousins (5.8 points, 7.2 rebounds) both had solid seasons a year ago and will look to build off of their freshmen campaigns. In addition, rising seniors Jalen Jones (3.4 points, 4.9 rebounds) and Cameron Lewis (4.0 points, 3.6 rebounds) will also return after starting a combined 47 games last season.

Next: Way-too-early 2019 Bracketology

Improvements from players across the board will certainly help Howard achieve more success but at the forefront of that is RJ Cole. Arguably the nation’s best-kept secret when it comes to elite scoring guards, Cole should create more headlines in 2018-19 as long as his scoring continues and the Bison have a better season overall. The MEAC might not be the most exciting league to watch in the country but Cole is must-watch television when you can.