ACC Basketball: Top 5 rising sophomores for 2018-19

5. Chris Lykes, Miami

When you think about college basketball players, Miami Hurricanes point guard Chris Lykes isn’t liable to stick out. After all, he’s listed at 5-foot-7, but he certainly plays a whole lot bigger than that.

Lykes is a sophomore guard who averaged 9.6 points, 2.3 assists and 1.2 rebounds per game for the Hurricanes as a freshman in 2017-18. He shot 40.2 percent from the floor and 34.5 percent from 3-point land in his first season as a college basketball player. By the end of the season, Lykes had earned five votes for the ACC’s Sixth Man of the Year award.

His production is something he has an opportunity to improve upon, especially with the departures of Lonnie Walker IV and Bruce Brown III in their backcourt. Lykes stepped up big in place of Brown down the stretch during the regular season, starting 10 games as a freshman.

Lykes has the ability as a scorer and a passer to run Miami’s offense. Dewon Huell will be one of his key targets and if he uses him well, Lykes assist numbers should rise.