NCAA Basketball: Early tournament games in 2020-21 to get excited about
Tennessee vs Oklahoma State at the Charleston Classic
Fine, the tournament is named after the city and not the dance craze, and it is an early-season tournament and not the ‘Big One’. However, with two top10 recruitment classes, both teams could very well be going to the Big Dance come March. An advantage these coaches have is that they know what their rosters are going to look like. Neither Rick Barnes or Michael Boyton have to worry about underclassmen declaring for the NBA Draft
Tennesse Basketball will have senior starters Lamonte Turner and Jordan Bowden departing, while Oklahoma State Basketball fans said farewell to Cameron McGriff, Lindy Waters, Thomas Dziagwa, and Jonathan Laurent on senior night. Those names, however, are the past for these two programs who have their eyes firmly set on the future.
Coach Boyton has the tenth-ranked recruiting class coming in to fill the voids left by the Oklahoma State seniors. First on their list, and on everybody’s list is new nationally ranked number one recruit Cade Cunningham. The 6’6 McDonald’s All-American combo guard may currently struggle from long-distance but is projected as an eventual high lottery selection. Six foot two shooting guard and top-100 recruit Rondel Walker will be looking to move into the starting backcourt. Three-star power forward Montreal Pena and hard-commit Matthew Alexander Moncrieffe will be called upon to strengthen the bench in their first year.
If the highest-ranked player does not pique your interest enough, Tennesse will be showcasing their fifth overall recruiting class at the Charleston Classic. The Vols’ have a pair of five-star, 6’5 shooting guards in Jaden Springer and Keon Johnson. Both have the potential to start as they each draw comparisons to Malik Beasley of the Denver Nuggets. Corey Walker is the third who has signed a letter of intent as a six-foot-seven power forward, this four-star recruit has first-round draft potential.
2020 NBA Draft Big Board (1.0). dark. Next
Finishing off this list of recruits is hard-commit Malachi Wideman another 6’5 shooting guard whose athleticism cannot be denied as he is also a blue-chip football player that excels at track and field. This match-up may not take place at the ‘Big Dance’, but we can at least label this a key match-up at the ‘Little Dance’, despite how popular the Charleston was.