NCAA Basketball: Top 25 breakout junior players for 2020-21 season

4. Kihei Clark – Virginia Cavaliers

2019-20 stats: 10.8 ppg and 5.9 apg

Despite being a starter on the 2019 national championship team, Clark was the 5th option on the court behind the future NBA trio of Cavaliers. But he was an All-ACC player last season, second on the team in scoring while also being third in the conference in scoring. He had plenty of playing time to produce on the court, ranking 1st in the ACC with over 37 mpg.

What makes Clark a “breakout” candidate in my eyes is that he still hasn’t been on the national radar. Last season, Virginia’s early struggles put the players on the backburner. But the late run by Clark and company put the team showed the great potential for next season, already a consensus preseason top-5 squad in 2020-21. If UVA is a top-4 team and a future No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, then Clark will benefit the most and be a potential All-American.

3. Trevion Williams – Purdue Boilermakers

2019-20 stats: 11.5 ppg and 7.6 rpg

It seemed like a surprise that 7’3 center Matt Haarms decided to transfer this offseason but it was pretty clear that Williams outplayed him and took over the center position. Since becoming the starter during Big Ten play, the 6’9 center became an offensive force who also rebounded at a dominant level. The 36-point and 20 rebound performance against Michigan in double-overtime solidified his standing as a clear focal point in the offense.

With both Haarms and Nojel Eastern gone, the offense for the Boilermakers should be quite strong, led by Williams and Eric Hunter Jr. This time around though, the frontcourt is all Williams inside and he should be able to take advantage and battle it out with Michigan State’s Xavier Tillman for best big in the Big Ten.