9. Taran Armstrong – California Baptist
Armstrong garnered attention from pro scouts over his two seasons at Cal Baptist. As a 6-foot-6 point guard who averaged 11 points, 4.8 boards, 5.6 assists, and earned All-WAC honors, it’s easy to see why. He led the WAC in assist rate each of the last two seasons and ranked fourth in the nation as a freshman, assisting on more than 40% of Cal Baptist’s baskets when he was on the court.
The Australian is a crafty ball handler who pairs a creative layup package with a soft floater to be an incredibly effective pick-and-roll player.
One area for improvement is as a shooter, where he posted just a 31.5% mark from downtown as a sophomore. He looks comfortable behind the arc, but the actual numbers have yet to reflect that. Still, Armstrong is an undeniably talented prospect with a couple of years of eligibility remaining.
On April 7, Armstrong cut his list down to four schools: Creighton, Gonzaga, Providence, and Xavier. Creighton and Gonzaga are also in the market for Steven Ashworth, who is a few spots up this list. Providence lost point guard Jared Bynum to the portal, while Xavier added Western Kentucky transfer Dayvion McKnight to help replace Souley Boum.