Big 12 Basketball: Ranking of top 15 players for 2020-21 season

The leading returner for the Horned Frogs is RJ Nembhard, who leads a TCU team that performed well below their expectation in 2019-2020.

Nembhard averaged 12.1 PPG, while shooting the ball just 40% from the field and 31% from 3 point range.

One of Nembhard’s best games last season was a 31-point performance, where he shot 66% from the field, in their win over Iowa State. Nembhard hit a near half-court shot with two seconds left to give the Horned Frogs new life prior to OT.

Nembhard is a skilled, playmaker, that can score at all levels if need be. His 6-5 height makes getting to the hoop, rather easy and sets up his teammates well with his 3.5 APG.

Something of note that Nembhard struggles with, is his ballhandling skills. Especially as someone that doesn’t run the point, Nembhard turns the ball over a little too much at times.

Especially toward the back half of the schedule, where he turned the ball over four or more times four times during a five-game stretch.

Nembhard will be relied on as the go-to scorer early for the Horned Frogs and will get tested to see if he is among the best in the conference.

His last name truly exemplifies what he was to that Baylor team last season. As someone that was apart of Scott Drew’s “redshirt experience”, Vital played some of his best basketball yet last season.

Vital isn’t a player that is going to fill up the stat sheet, but it will be known what kind of impact he makes on the court. The National Defensive Player of the Year finalist showed why he deserved to be on the list.

His athleticism, hustle, and effort is the reason for his recognition among this list.

Vital averaged just 6.1 PPG, and 6.2 RPG on 45% shooting from the field. His offense won’t win a ton of teams ballgames, but his defense will ensure others can’t beat him.

Slightly more offensive in some ways, Mitchell is essentially the guard version of Mark Vital defensively. Davion has stiflingly defense on guards and proved it throughout the season last year.

In the Bears matchup against Arizona, projected lottery pick G Nico Mannion got limited to shooting just 2-9 from the field and 1-5 from 3 point range. Butler’s leading scorer from a year ago, Kamar Baldwin shot 1-5 from 3 and shot just 37% from the field.

One final projected Top 10 pick in G Tyrese Haliburton was able to muster just 6 points and shot 2-9 from beyond the arc. Mitchell’s defensive hustle and ability are overlooked by many among the country.

Mitchell’s on-ball defense may be among the best in the country. NBA scouts aren’t going to take a huge amount of stock in him, considering he is 22 years old and his offense isn’t fantastic (9.9 PPG, 32% 3P).

Regardless of that, Mitchell has made himself a household name within the conference, earning him the nickname, “Off-Night”.

The former top-50 recruit in College Basketball played some of his basketball toward the back half of the season, during Texas’s big win streak. The  Sophomore averaged over 18 points and five rebounds during the Horns streak, outshining Matt Coleman.

Ramey’s biggest downfalls at times is not showing up when the Longhorns needed him the most. Prior to the hot streak at the end of the year, he would have three straight games of single-digit scoring.

A stretch of three straight, where the sophomore would combine for 6-32 shooting from the field.

If Ramey should be considered as an offensive threat consistently and Top 5 in the conference, consistency has to be improved from the potential young superstar.

Death, Taxes, and Shaka Smart signing an elite Center. That seems to be the MO down in Austin, as Greg Brown is exactly what Smart has on a year by year basis.

This trend began, when Mo Bamba signed with the Longhorns in 2017 and ended up being a lottery pick. The year after was Jaxson Hayes. Last season, that was meant to be Kai Jones, but had a limited role and wasn’t extremely efficient when on the court at 50%.

One thing that stands out with Brown is his unbelievable jumping ability. Brown already stands at 6-10, so adding that will make his ability to block shots, even greater.

Another one of his assets is being able to run the floor, as Brown has very good speed for his height and weight. Someone that has a good shot, but not great. With some time, his shooting can be adjusted to the college level.

Brown has some time to mold in, but the potential he has is great. His best comparison would be a bigger Aaron Gordon as an NBA prospect.