Big East Basketball: Top 5 rising sophomores for 2018-19

5. Mitchell Ballock, Creighton

A top-100 recruit out of high school, Mitchell Ballock made a bit of a surprising move when he committed to Creighton over Kansas. This was a major recruiting win for the Bluejays and that was evident with Ballock’s play this past season. One of the better shooters in the freshman class, Ballock fit right in with Creighton’s fast-paced 3-point shooting roster. While playing alongside Marcus Foster and Khyri Thomas, Ballock was able to excel.

For the year, Ballock posted averaged of 7.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game. It is this assists number, though, that could be indicative of Ballock’s future. At 6-foot-3, he does not have tremendous size to play shooting guard and making a move towards being more of a combo guard and playmaker would benefit the Bluejays down the road. From a shooting perspective, many will expect Ballock to have a better season in 2018-19. As a freshman, Ballock was incredibly streaky but very inconsistent. He finished the year at just 32.6% from deep.

Looking ahead to this next season, Ballock will need to take on a much bigger role. Foster, Thomas, Toby Hegner, and Ronnie Harrell are all gone and that leaves just one player (Martin Krampelj) on the roster who scored more points per game than Ballock. Also, keep in mind that Krampelj is returning from an injury that kept him out for the entire second-half of the season. He might need some time to return to his 11.9-point, 8.9-rebound form.