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NCAA Basketball: Ranking the 2019 Diamond Head Classic squads

By Andrew Dieckhoff

HOUSTON, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 10: Dejon Jarreau #13 of the Houston Cougars talks with head coach Kelvin Sampson of the Houston Cougars in the final seconds of the game at Fertitta Center on February 10, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 10: Dejon Jarreau #13 of the Houston Cougars talks with head coach Kelvin Sampson of the Houston Cougars in the final seconds of the game at Fertitta Center on February 10, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GEORGIA – JANUARY 19: Head coach Pastner of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets talks. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – JANUARY 19: Head coach Pastner of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets talks. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images) /

4. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

These next two teams were hard to rank, but I’m going to slot the Yellow Jackets in here at No. 4. Josh Pastner has a pretty solid roster that showed some real promise at times last season. Still, the team sputtered to a 10th-place finish in the ACC and finished under .500 for the second-straight year. But hopes abound in Atlanta.

Most of the team is back, including senior James Banks III. The 6-foot-9 forward had flashes of brilliance on the offensive end, but really made hay on defense, where he blocked a league-leading 78 shots in 2018-19. Another guy who showed his defensive chops was junior Jose Alvarado. The Yellow Jackets point guard notched nearly two steals per game. He also led the team in scoring and assists. Michael Devoe and Moses Wright are other returning starters looking to take steps forward in 2020. Khalid Moore is another player who will likely grab a healthy chunk of minutes on the wings. These are all guys who logged at least 500 minutes last season.

One X-factor that could give Georgia Tech a huge bump is if USC transfer Jordan Usher can become eligible. He could immediately work himself into the starting frontcourt for Pastner. Regardless, this team should be better than it was last season, which is a similar refrain to the one sung by our next team.

3. Boise State Broncos

There’s really no sugarcoating it: the Broncos really under-performed last season. After six straight 20-win seasons, suddenly Leon Rice found himself on the other side of things, weathering 20 losses for the first time in his tenure. But there’s a lot of reasons to believe that this was a one-year aberration and that Boise will be back in 2019-20.

Roster continuity is a huge part of that optimism. Boise State only loses two players from last year, although they were both centers. That is admittedly going to be one of the weaker areas for the team, as they’ll rely on two unproven bigs: redshirt senior Robin Jorch and redshirt freshman Mikey Frazier. But Boise State will likely deploy a lot of small lineups, utilizing last season’s breakout star Derrick Alston in the frontcourt. RJ Williams and Oregon transfer Abu Kigab will also play important roles here, though Kigab won’t be eligible until the second semester. There’s also an outside shot that former Top 50 recruit Emmanuel Akot suits up, but he’ll need a waiver after transferring midseason from Arizona.

The Broncos’ guard play should also continue to be a strength, as they trot out Justinian Jessup, Alex Hobbs, and Marcus Dickinson. Jessup has proven himself to be one of the best shooters in the Mountain West, while Hobbs and Dickinson have also displayed a lot of prowess in the backcourt. If all of these guys play up to their potential – always a big “if” for any team – then Leon Rice could pretty easily find himself sniffing 20 wins again.

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