WCC Basketball: Breakout candidates from each team for 2020-21 season

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 06: A logo for the West Coast Conference basketball tournament is shown on the court before the championship game between the Brigham Young Cougars and the Gonzaga Bulldogs at the Orleans Arena on March 6, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bulldogs won 74-54. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 09: Khalil Shabazz #0 of the San Francisco Dons (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

WCC Basketball breakout candidate – Khalil Shabazz (San Francisco)

The San Francisco Dons won 22 games last season but finished just fifth in the conference. But three of the team’s four double-digit scorers including one that could be poised for a big season. Leading scorer Charles Minlend decided to transfer and landed at Louisville, but second-year head coach Todd Golden does return two double-digit scorers, a pair of junior guards, Jamaree Bouyea, and Khalil Shabazz, with the latter being a strong candidate for a breakout season in 2020-21.

The 6’1 Seattle native redshirted during the 2018-19 season and last year was his first seeing action for the Dons. He played a reserve role last year, making two starts, he averaged 10.5 points and three rebounds and a team-high 1.6 steals. He was the Dons’ most prominent three-point shooter on the team, launching 170 of them and his 37% put him third on the team.

Shabazz shined brightest in games against the top three teams in the conference where he put up nearly 16 points per game, including 32 in an 83-82 win over BYU. With Minlend and his 413 shots gone, Shabazz will likely step into that lead guard role for San Francisco and his second season should be even better than his first.