Busting Brackets
Fansided

NCAA Basketball: 5 mid-major players who should be on your radar in 2021-22

By Caleb Hightower

Dec 29, 2018; Syracuse, NY, USA; St. Bonaventure Bonnies guard Kyle Lofton (0) drives to the basket against the Syracuse Orange during the first half at the Carrier Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 29, 2018; Syracuse, NY, USA; St. Bonaventure Bonnies guard Kyle Lofton (0) drives to the basket against the Syracuse Orange during the first half at the Carrier Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 5
Next
NCAA Basketball
NCAA Basketball Dayton Flyers Jalen Crutcher Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /

Don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely excited to tune in to some high-major NCAA Basketball action this season, but there is a great deal of talent at the mid-major level that I refuse to overlook. You see, whenever we enter a new college basketball season, I always make sure to remind myself that many mid-major players are preparing to fight in the annual “battle for national attention”.

When you only get a few opportunities a year to compete against Power 5 competition, it’s difficult to convince others to follow your progress throughout the course of a season. So, is there a magic formula for garnering attention on a national level? Well, I would say that it helps to put up tremendous numbers on a team that performed well during the non-conference and conference portion of their schedule.

Look at Fatts Russell, Jalen Crutcher, and Jacob Gilyard for example, the three sensational guards were named to the 2020-21 preseason Bob Cousy Award Watch List not only because their contributions to their respective teams were significant, but also because Rhode Island, Dayton, and Richmond won 20+ games in 2019-20 and could have helped the Atlantic 10 receive 3 bids to the NCAA Tournament.

With that being said, it’s not easy to find team success if you’re going to war with a subpar supporting cast, which is why you have to focus on what’s within your control. While there are several mid-major players who will be exciting to watch this season, I decided to examine 5 specific mid-major players in this article who should be on your radar in 2021-22.

Home/Mid Major Conferences