Juke Harris and Kellen Thames among early ACC/Atlantic 10 breakout players to watch

The unofficial Megaday (the 2nd Saturday in December with no college football) is upon us, with a massive slate of significant college basketball games nationwide. And while there are some fun contests in the ACC and A-10, both conferences seemed to spread out their biggest matchups. Teams like Duke, Wake Forest, UNC, Virginia, Dayton and Davidson will largely be afterthoughts this weekend, since their major games were scheduled for the 1st and 3rd weeks of the month.

Those half dozen teams, along with NC State, Louisville, SLU, George Washington and more all have one more chance to make a statement before conference play. With the calendar about to flip, it's time that many fans begin to turn their attention to really starting to learn about their conference rivals. With that in mind, this week's Three will focus on breakout players that you may not know much about, but absolutely should.

Atlantic Ten

Three Breakout Players That You Need To Know:

Terrence Hill Jr, VCU

The leading scorer on a deep VCU roster, despite coming off the bench for just 17.2 minutes per game, Hill has transformed himself from a bouncy athlete who never found any rhythm in sporadic minutes as a freshman, into the Rams most dangerous perimeter threat. He tops the A-10 in Kenpom Offensive Rating, thanks to over 50% shooting from deep and VCU's top assist rate. Hill is also top 20 in the league at drawing fouls, getting to the line more than double the number of times he did in all of last season, although his perfect shooting from the charity stripe last season has dropped all the way down to 89.7%.

Kellen Thames, SLU

Another bench player! Thames would have a legitimate argument as a top 10 player in the A-10 if he extrapolated his current stats across starter's minutes. Yet, he may still make an All-Defensive team even if he stays under 20 minutes a game, thanks to his ability to hound any player outside of centers, now combined with the first healthy stretch of his career, leading to the 6th-best steal rate in the country. Thames has been the driving force of Josh Schertz's first elite defense (35th nationally in defensive efficiency). He's also made huge strides on offense, shooting 72.1% from the field, and jumping from 65.2% to a career best 81% at the free throw line.

Jahari Long, George Mason

An extra wing player lost on the bench at Seton Hall and Maryland, Long is making the best of his final season as a full-time point guard (although Kory Mincy is sharing lead guard responsibilities). He's basically made a 2.5x jump in all major stats (4.7 to 12.4 ppg, 1.2 to 3.2 rpg, 1.4 to 3.4 rpg) and is shooting career-best percentages from everywhere on the floor, despite the massive increase in volume. Plus, Long has been a great leader from his position, dialing back his shot attempts against lesser opponents and sharing the wealth, but breaking 20 points in both of the Patriots best wins (Winthrop/Florida Atlantic).

Game Of The Week: St. Joe's 70, Temple 69

What a rough slate to pick from this week. VCU-New Mexico should have won this award, but both teams kept trying to give away the game in the final minute, before the Lobos begrudingly accepted the victory. A classic rivalry game in a not so classic location (76ers arena), the 135th meeting of the Philadelphia rivals ended with some absolutely magic footwork by Deuce Jones to turn his fallaway into a game-winning three, rather than a game-tying two. He led the way with 17 points, while Justice Ajogbor had his 1st double-double of the season. Side note, someone needs to put the Big 5 games back on Peacock!!

Statline Of The Week: Frank Mitchell (St. Bonaventure): 19 points, 18 rebounds, 3 assists in 85-77 win over Colgate

Weekend Game To Watch: George Washington vs #18 Florida (in Miami), Saturday at 2:30 on ESPN2

This game lost some real shine after George Washington's awful loss to Delaware on Wednesday, but yet remains in this prestigious spot since the Revolutionaries are the rare mid-major team that can throw out a multitude of big men who can fend for themselves in a battle with the menacing Florida frontline. Whether or not a upset could be in play may well come down to a pair of factors. Can GW star Rafael Castro keep himself on the court and out of foul trouble with low post threats constantly attacking him? And can the aptly named Treys (Trey Autry and Tre Dinkins), outshoot the Gators' struggling guards?

Sickos Game To Watch: Chicago State at Loyola Chicago, Sunday at 5:00 on ESPN+

The battle for the worst Division I team in Chicago is here! Sorry, DePaul and UIC, Loyola has taken your spot this season. With the Ramblers' awful start, it seems unfair to not move this game to a neutral site. Fitting options in between the schools include the tunnels underneath the Loop, an outdoor game in the White Sox outfield or my personal favorite, the court underneath the brown line tracks right down the street from the North/Clybourn Red Line stop. If either offense is going to come alive, it will be in this war of sub-300 ranked defenses.

This week's 3 Bid League podcast goes into a disastrous mid-week around the A-10, along with a check-in on the at-large situation and current All-Conference team.

ACC

Three Breakout Players That You Need To Know:

Juke Harris, Wake Forest

Harris just never found his footing as a freshman, all the while the Wake Forest fans swore that he was about to become a star. They were right. Harris has ascended to the #3 scorer in the ACC (with no fanfare compared to the rest of the top 5), thanks to relentless downhill attacking and a 40.6% three-point shot. He's been at his best when facing power conference competition (95 points in 4 games), a very welcome sign for ACC play, and eviscerated WVU's top 50 defense every which way with a 28-point performance in last weekend's major win.

Justin Pippen, Cal

The younger brother of Memphis Grizzlies guard Scottie Pippen Jr. (their dad played in the NBA for 17 years as well), Justin Pippen has gone from a career-high 10-point game as a freshman at Michigan to a double-digit scorer in 9 of Cal's first 10 games. If he can dribble to the foul line, the possession is already lost for the opposing defense. Pippen is exceptionally thoughtful and deliberate from a position of attack, taking defenders to the hoops, showing off an impressive mid-range game, and passing well both inside and out. Once a lost player on a super-talented team, Pippen is now the biggest reason why Cal has become a legitimate NCAA Tournament candidate.

Jacari White, Virginia

While not a star like the players right above him, White has taken on Reyne Smith's mantle from last season as the ACC role player most likely to crush an opposing fanbase's spirit (the unofficial Deflator Of The Year). He spent the opening month of the season putting together an audition tape, with circus shot threes that somehow always came out of his hands clean as his legs flailed about, sinking momentum-killing shots in the battles with Butler and Texas. But after a scoreless opening half against Dayton, White wound up scoring 25 points on perfect shooting, the final level of heat check that every great deflator needs.

Game Of The Week: #4 Duke 66, #7 Michigan State 60

Following a Final Four quality game in a fantastic environment, Duke now owns the best road win in college basketball so far this season. Slow starts (2 points in the 1st half) for Cameron Boozer are now must watch tv, to see what kind of hell he releases on the opposing defense after the break. In this case, it was full game totals of a triple nickel with 18 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists. But it was the guards who put the game away in the final minute, with Isaiah Evans growing the lead from 2 to 5 after being fouled, and a dagger three from Caleb Foster to get the lead back up to 6 with 15 seconds left.

Statline Of The Week: Jacari White (Virginia): 25 points (9-9 fg, 7-7 3pt), 4 rebounds, 3 assists in 86-73 win over Dayton

Weekend Game To Watch: #19 Kansas at NC State, Saturday at 5:30 on ESPN

A perfect chance for NC State to pick up a statement win. The Wolfpack come in on the heels of a merciless 85-45 thrashing of C-USA favorite Liberty and face a Kansas team that is still reintegrating their star freshman Darryn Peterson back from his injury. The entertaining battle will come when Darrion Williams, Quadir Copeland and company face the Jayhawks' top 10 defense that has absolutely sealed off the three point line (24.9%). The terrifying battle for NC State comes when Flory Bidunga (fresh off of 11+ rebounds versus UConn and Missouri) takes on their undersized centers.

Sickos Game To Watch: Hofstra at Syracuse, Saturday at 4:00 on ACCN

With Syracuse on just 41 hours rest following a surprisingly close, late tipped Thursday game versus St. Joe's, Hofstra is one of the last mid-major teams the Orange will want to see. Cruz Davis (36 points AND 7 assists in the road win over Pitt last weekend) has a case as the best guard in this game, while JJ Starling and Naithan George continue to struggle. Syracuse will again need big performances from their new star duo (I'm actually serious), William Kyle and Tyler Betsey, who will be left to battle with the Pride's terrific interior defense.

Up The Coasts podcast is off this week. It will return next week with expert deep dives on Duke and Wake Forest.