NCAA Basketball: Early breakout stars to watch for 2022-23 season
By Shea Irish
Trae Hannibal
The extremely athletic Trae Hannibal is an absolute stat sheet stuffer, posting 9.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 2.5 APG, and 1.2 SPG for Murray State in a sixth-man role last season. His 8-point, 8-rebound, 12-assist performance against Eastern Illinois is a prime example.
And if you haven’t seen him play before, he can elevate with a ‘head at the rim’ type ability; which was showcased in a chase-down block against Belmont. It must be something in the South Carolina water, as he went to high school just 45 minutes away from Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant. He even used to train with the former Murray State sensation.
Trae finished the 2021-22 season with a 51.9 FG% from the field. “A linebacker playing point guard” as his head coach Matt McMahon refers to him, the 6 ‘2” guard can get to the rim with ease by using his strong frame and elite athletic ability. He will be playing for his third different school next season after following McMahon from Murray State to LSU. Hannibal is already familiar with SEC play, spending his first two seasons in Columbia, SC with the Gamecocks.
Hannibal was playing his best basketball down the stretch of the season, averaging 14 PPG, 7 RPG, and 2 SPG for the Racers in their two NCAA Tournament games. With a full year of familiarity in McMahon’s system, paired with that prior SEC experience, Hannibal could take his game to the next level in Baton Rouge. If anything you might see a few highlight plays from him that is worthy of being on SportsCenter Top 10 next season.