Busting Brackets
Fansided

Summit League Basketball: Top 10 players in conference for 2019-20 season

By Austin Hamm

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 22: Tyson Ward #24 of the North Dakota State Bison reacts against the Duke Blue Devils in the first half during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 22: Tyson Ward #24 of the North Dakota State Bison reacts against the Duke Blue Devils in the first half during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
DURHAM, NC – DECEMBER 02: Tyler Hagedorn
DURHAM, NC – DECEMBER 02: Tyler Hagedorn /

7. Tyler Hagedorn, South Dakota, Sr., F (13.0 ppg/5.9 rpg/1.1 apg, 2017 stats)

Hagedorn missed all of last season due to injury but was second-team all-conference two years ago.  A return to health would make him a candidate for best big man in the Summit League. An athletic 6-10, Hagedorn has a perimeter game that makes him a tough matchup for anyone.

Put your center on him, he’ll stretch it out with his shooting from three, where he hit nearly 40% on 111 attempts as a junior. Against smaller defenders, he has the post skills to exploit those in a more traditional way. He may not have the most heft on the block, but Hagedorn is a skilled and versatile weapon for a solid USD team.

6. JT Gibson, Omaha, Sr., G (12.9 ppg/2.8 rpg/2.1 apg)

Gibson, as the third option a year ago, took almost 60% of his shots from three-point range. He was playing around all-conference performers Zach Johnson and Mitch Hahn, but this year will be the primary scorer. Gibson will now get a chance to show more as a ball-handler and creator after spending his first couple years operating mostly as a spacing sniper.

He won’t be called upon to be the every-down ball-handler, with fellow senior KJ Robinson manning the point guard spot, but that will give Gibson chances to operate off the ball. His ceiling this year is how complete his scoring package outside of the three-point shot is.

5. Emmanuel Nzekwesi, Oral Roberts, Sr., F (14.8 ppg/8.5 rpg/1.2 apg)

In 2017-18, Nzekwesi notched 9 double-doubles, tied for the most among returners in the Summit League, and earned a second-team all-conference nod. An iffy shooter, he’ll be Obanor’s running mate in the ORU frontcourt. The Golden Eagles, with no one over 6-9 on their roster, will end up with multiple small-ball lineups and that might lead to Nzekwesi matched up against centers. Hitting his jumper with more consistency should give him a chance to pump fake and blow by bigs to get to the rim. Oh, he might lead the conference in rebounding, too.