With over 200 NCAA Basketball teams in action Nov. 6, some individual standouts went unnoticed. Here are 5 overlooked performances from the opening night of college basketball.
Jordan Caroline – Nevada
The hype for Nevada coming in to the season was understandably crazy high. But, I’m not sure everyone expected Jordan Caroline to look as good as he did against BYU.
Caroline led all players in points (25), rebounds (16), and minutes (38) in a spotlight stealing effort to lead Nevada to an 86-70 victory. The Wolf Pack needed that kind of performance on a night where Caleb Martin struggled with foul trouble and BYU wouldn’t go away until late in the 2nd half.
At 6’7 (230 lbs), Caroline has a unique skill-set making him difficult to cover. While he’s first and foremost a great finisher through contact at the rim , he’s also surprisingly nimble and possesses a plethora of shots from varying ranges. Besides Caroline’s performance capturing a much-needed first W over a quality opponent, it’s a great sign of things to come for Nevada.
David Jenkins – South Dakota State
After a stellar freshman year (16.1 ppg), Jenkins made a big-time statement in his first game of his sophomore season dropping a game high 31 points in a 79-74 victory over Grand Canyon. The 6’2 guard matched his career with that total, but what jumps out more is he shot 50% (8/16) from the field and knocked down 11 of 15 free throws.
There’s no doubt Mike Daum will continue to be the guy for the Jackrabbits (Daum had 20 points / 13 rebounds), but Jenkins is now emerging as quite the co-star. Look for this duo to lead this team to another highly successful season.
Fun fact: South Dakota State play Nevada December 15th in what should be a great game.
Seth Dugan – Western Michigan
32 points. 22 rebounds. 6 assists.
It’s probably fair to say nobody (including Seth Dugan) saw this coming. The numbers are shocking, especially when you take in to account Dugan had just 2 career double-doubles prior to this game and averaged a modest 5.2 points and 4.1 rebounds last season.
And it only gets more impressive upon a deeper dive into the box score. The 7 foot senior shot 8 of 11 from the line and also dished out 6 assists as his team topped Detroit Mercy 89-76.
Was #DuganDomination just a fluke? Western Michigan play at Ole Miss Saturday afternoon where Dugan will face a much stiffer test.
Chris Clemons – Campbell
Coming into the season, Chris Clemons and South Dakota State’s Mike Daum were tied as college basketball’s active point leaders with 2,232. Clemons broke the tie with a boom spouting off a 44 points in an overtime win over UNC-W. The real insanity is he didn’t even reach his career high with that number. The senior dropped 51 points a couple of years ago and hasn’t stopped collecting buckets since then. In all, Clemons has scored at least 30 points in 17 games during his career so far – simply remarkable.
If you haven’t seen Clemons play before, then you’re missing out. The 5’9 guard is equally capable of rising up to throw down a dunk as he is to stop on a dime to drain a three. This guy is nearly impossible to guard and could join a very small list of players to get to 3,000 career points.
Campbell will play Georgetown in November and Miami in December giving Clemons a chance to gain some more attention.
Andrew Jones – Texas
Andrew Jones was diagnosed with leukemia this past January. Suddenly basketball was only so important. Yet, once healthy enough, Jones worked his way back to the team in time to join the team for the start of the season.
Last night Jones received a standing ovation from the home crowd as he checked into the game during the 2nd half. Jones even sank a free thrown making an already special moment that much more meaningful.
Amidst a great opening night of college hoops, the strength and perseverance of Andrew Jones should stand as a profound example to sports fans across the nation.