NCAA Basketball: Top 20 pending “covid year” player decisions to watch

10. Boogie Ellis – USC Trojans

2022-23 season stats: 17.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.1 apg

Ellis has 108 starts between his time at Memphis and USC but last year was his breakout season on offense. The 6’3 guard led the team in scoring and had several explosive games, including three with at least 30 points. One was a career-high 35 points on 6/11 three-point shooting in a loss to Arizona.

The Trojans won’t have Drew Peterson around but will have No. 1 class of 2023 prospect, Isaiah Collier joining the team. And they’re still in the mix for four-star prospect, Bronny James. If that happens, who knows what Ellis does this offseason? But USC would find a way to keep an 18 ppg star-caliber player on the roster to create an elite backcourt.

9. N’Faly Dante – Oregon Ducks

2022-23 season stats: 13.4 ppg and 8.4 rpg

There were plenty of struggles for the Ducks this past season but Dante, a former five-star prospect, was a brightspot. He averaged double figures for the first time and was finally healthy throughout the campaign. The 6’11 big man had three games of at least 20 points and dominated the boards at times, including a career-high 18 rebounds, along with 16 points in a win over Oregon.

Dante’s success eventually force backup Kel’el Ware to enter the portal this offseason and outside of Nathan Bittle, there isn’t much depth at the center position. The team brings in a pair of five-star freshmen in Mookie Cook and Kwame Evans and could use a center like Dante to get them back in NCAA Tournament range.