NCAA Basketball: 9 players primed for breakout seasons in 2018-19

Zach Norvell Jr. and Rui Hachimura, Gonzaga

Let’s go ahead and package these two together since they play for the same team. Hachimura and Norvell solidified themselves as two of Gonzaga’s most important players during last season’s Sweet 16 run and their presumed development is one of the reasons why the Zags could be ranked in the top-5 in the preseason polls.

Norvell was a quality role player for Mark Few’s squad during his freshman campaign, averaging 12.7 ppg along with more than two three-pointers per game. He was key to spacing the floor in Gonzaga’s offense and he also showed solid playmaking abilities, averaging 2.3 apg.

Point guard Josh Perkins got most of the notoriety among Gonzaga’s guards – and that may be the case again this year – but it was Norvell who clearly emerged as the better of the two players when it mattered the most. The 6-foot-5, 205-pounder scored in double-figures in 10 of the Bulldogs’ 13 games in February and March, including in every WCC Tournament and NCAA Tournament game.

As for Hachimura, he showed flashes of his immense potential as an athletic and versatile 6-foot-8, 225-pounder, but was inconsistent in his production. He had five games in which he scored at least 20 points yet also had nine games where he recorded five points for less.

Hachimura came on late in the season like Norvell and became the Zags’ biggest key player in March. In fact, he was the only player that played well (16 points, nine rebounds) in their Sweet 16 loss to Florida State – and he’s now projected to be a first-round pick because of that potential.

Gonzaga will have plenty of stars this coming season (you’ll hear a lot about Perkins and Killian Tillie) but Norvell and Hachimura are poised to be their two go-to stars.