6. Jamaree Bouyea, San Francisco, Guard
Returning for a fifth season, Bouyea looks to tack on another year of stellar play as the lead ballhandler for Golden’s Dons. Alongside Shabazz, Bouyea is one of the fastest guards in the conference and utilizes his long wingspan to get past defenders and to the cup. He showed adeptness shooting as well, hitting 37% of his shots from three-point range accompanied by an incredibly efficient 50% from the field (56% in conference). The point guard averaged 17.3 points and 3.7 assists in a year that earned him All-WCC-First-Team honors.
This is how you close out a conference rival!
— San Francisco Men's Basketball (@USFDonsMBB) January 10, 2020
Jamaree Bouyea with back-to-back blocks and then draws a charge. #SCtop10 | #WCCHoops | #USFDons pic.twitter.com/bvsBBb5xu9
He was a pick-and-roll nightmare, helping him have a 55.8% effective field goal rate and helping him rack up double-digit points in 23 of his 25 games. As mentioned with Shabazz, Bouyea makes one of the most dangerous on-ball defending backcourts, contributing 1.5 steals per game himself. Bouyea may help the Dons shock a WCC that predicted them to finish fifth in an increasingly competitive conference.
5. Eli Scott, Loyola Marymount, Guard/Forward
Scott is in the running as the biggest impact returner in all of the WCC. Scott is a crafty ball-dominant wing that finished fourth in scoring in the conference at 18 points per game. He uses crafty hesitation and maneuvering to get his often mismatched defender in a tough position to contest his shot. That crafty maneuvering and scoring ability often causes double team and trap efforts by opponents, which Scott has regularly been able to pass himself out of, helping him reach his 3.8 assists per game.
Scott is a capable driver that often uses his length to thread himself past undersized defenders or zip past heavy-footed oversized foes. If he’s able to improve his perimeter shooting he could play at the next level, which is part of the reason for his return. The 6-foot-6 wing is also a plus rebounder at the position, averaging 8 rebounds in 2020-2021. The addition of Shelton should help Scott force more honest defenses and give him a formidable outlet on the perimeter. As it stands, if Scott and the Lions live up to their potential, fans should expect a special season.