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NCAA Basketball: 10 early big winners from 2022 offseason

By Tristan Freeman

CHAPEL HILL, NC - DECEMBER 11: Armando Bacot #5 of the North Carolina Tar Heels plays against the Elon Phoenix at Dean E. Smith Center on December 11, 2021 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina won 63-80. (Photo by Peyton Williams/UNC/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NC - DECEMBER 11: Armando Bacot #5 of the North Carolina Tar Heels plays against the Elon Phoenix at Dean E. Smith Center on December 11, 2021 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina won 63-80. (Photo by Peyton Williams/UNC/Getty Images) /
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NCAA Basketball Trey Alexander Rati Andronikashvili Creighton Bluejays (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
NCAA Basketball Trey Alexander Rati Andronikashvili Creighton Bluejays (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images) /

Creighton Bluejays

Considering the success of the freshmen core of players for Creighton this past season and in the NCAA Tournament, this is a team already pegged to be a preseason top-10 team for 2022-23. Freshman point guard Ryan Nembhard has star potential, while the frontcourt duo of Ryan  Kalkbrenner and Arthur Kaluma is poised to be one of the best pair of bigs in the country next season.

The only areas where they’ll have to replace is at wing and shooting overall after losing leading scorer and rebounder Ryan Hawkins, as well as sharpshooter Alex O’Connell. But they were able to land one of the best offensive players in the portal in Baylor Scheierman, a transfer from South Dakota State who was the Summit League Player of the Year this past season.

The 6’6 wing averaged 16.2 ppg, 7.8 rpg, and 4.5 apg on 51% shooting from the field and 47% from three-point range. While it’s true that the Summit League isn’t known for great defense, Scheierman’s all-around offensive skillset and experience make him the perfect fit for the Bluejays and give them a proven shooter and double-digit scorer.

The former Jackrabbit could’ve gone to Duke or Kentucky but yet ended up with the Big East program, which now has cemented themselves to the top-10 range in way-too-early polls for next season.

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