NCAA Basketball: Way-too-early top 25 power rankings for 2022-23 season
460. . . . Bears . 5. team
2021-22 season record: 27-7 (14-4 in Big 12)
The Bears dealt with injuries all season and just never could get healthy, despite getting a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. And the odds are very good that they’re losing three key pieces, including freshmen stars Kendall Brown and Jeremy Sochan, as well as senior guard James Akinjo, who could return but reportedly is set to move on.
And yet, I don’t think the loss of Akinjo will hurt them very much. It’s not that he’s not talented but I would argue that the Bears were better when sophomore guard LJ Cryer was running the offense when he wasn’t injured. He’ll be back and with the keys to himself, could be an All-American next season.
Cryer will be part of (in my current view), the second-best proven backcourt in NCAA Basketball for 2022-23. Adam Flager led the team with 13.8 ppg last season and shot nearly 40% from three-point range at nearly six attempts. And there’s more coming, as top-5 overall shooting guard prospect Keyontae George will have an immediate impact, along with four-star guard Dillon Hunter and the return of Langston Love, who missed all of last season due to an injury.
The power forward position is the only concern, with Matthew Mayer moving on. Both Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua and Flo Thamba will be back but both are better at the center position. They’ll very likely go after an impact center but with so many quality guards, they could easily just use four guards and remain a Final Four contender.