Welcome to Glass Slipper! I’m going to count the number of Dodgers hats I see on campus, and report back on Saturday. Happy Halloween; please enjoy the show.

- Jacob Rhee

College basketball season is right around the corner. It’s time to make some predictions.

All-America

First Team

Mark Sears (Alabama)

RJ Davis (North Carolina)

Kam Jones (Marquette)

Cooper Flagg (Duke)

Graham Ike (Gonzaga)

I think I could make the argument that Mark Sears had one of the ten best men’s college basketball campaigns of the 21st century last year. Posting a 22-4-4 line on 51-44-86 shooting splits on a Final Four team is pretty much impossible.

Even if he comes back to Earth a little bit, it’ll still be enough to land him on the first unit here.

My belief in Kam Jones blossomed in 2022-23; I fell in love with that Marquette squad, and he was a big reason why. Unlike a lot of other bucket-getters, Kam scores efficiently and competes on the other end. The lack of conversation surrounding Graham Ike is bizarre to me. He put up great numbers at Wyoming, and we all told him to go prove it at a real program. Ike kindly obliged, and went 21 of 32 from the field in three NCAA tournament games with Gonzaga. Perpetual foul trouble limited him to 24 minutes a night, so I hope he spent the summer fixing that flaw. If so, he’s going to force his way into the national discourse.

Do I even need to say anything about RJ Davis and Cooper Flagg? They were born five years apart, but each is a superstar.

Second Team

Tamin Lipsey (Iowa State)

Hunter Sallis (Wake Forest)

Kadary Richmond (St. John’s)

Hunter Dickinson (Kansas)

Ryan Kalkbrenner (Creighton)

I love guards that stuff the stat sheet, so my Tamin Lipsey fan club membership is no surprise. This Iowa State squad is lethal on paper. Hunter Sallis is stuck on a weak Wake Forest roster, so I expect some gaudy numbers.

Kadary Richmond was born to play basketball in Rick Pitino’s system.

I think he’s the best perimeter defender in America, and he’ll now spearhead that famous full-court press. Richmond, Deivon Smith, and Simeon Wilcher might be the trio that revives the program at St. John’s.

Fifth-year bigs Hunter Dickinson and Ryan Kalkbrenner are both virtual locks to be All-Americans if they stay healthy. Dickinson has no meaningful NBA role ahead of him, but I think Kalkbrenner’s elite rim protection gives him a chance.

Third Team

Dylan Harper (Rutgers)

Caleb Love (Arizona)

Matthew Murrell (Ole Miss)

Norchad Omier (Baylor)

Johni Broome (Auburn)

Dylan Harper is the only human alive that plants even an inkling of doubt in mind about who the No. 1 overall pick should be this summer. I wrote about him a couple months ago, and my positive feelings on the kid have only gotten stronger since. He’s ready for a brilliant one-and-done season.

Meanwhile, Matthew Murrell is finally going to make his March Madness debut in Year 5. He’s the most underrated player in the nation. Norchad Omier is right behind him on that list. The dude has averaged a double-double in all four of his collegiate campaigns, and he’ll do it again for Scott Drew.

I see a lot of folks penciling in Caleb Love and Johni Broome as first-team All-Americans, but I just don’t agree. Love’s inefficiency and spotty defense are concerning, and Auburn - despite its No. 9 ranking in the preseason poll - won’t be good enough to lift Broome’s solid yet unspectacular numbers any higher than the third unit.

National Player of the Year

Mark Sears (Alabama)

Final Four

The pick: Duke, Gonzaga, Rutgers, Iowa State

It feels silly to predict a Final Four before the year. What if all of these squads wind up in the same region? In essence, this is the short list of teams that I anticipate feeling the best about come March. Duke has the most talent, Gonzaga has the highest floor, Rutgers has the most dangerous duo, and Iowa State has the best overall squad. That leads us to my national champion…

National Champion

The pick: Iowa State

Lipsey and Keshon Gilbert combine to create a top-two backcourt in the nation, and the supporting cast is fantastic. More than anything, I just have so much faith in TJ Otzelberger’s culture; the Cyclones empty the tank every time they take the floor. These guys defend, they battle, and they love each other.

Oh, by the way. There isn’t a home atmosphere in existence better than the one in Ames. The Iowa State diehards know that this is a special group, and the season that they’ve spent a lifetime dreaming about is about to unfold before their eyes. Give me the Cyclones to win it all.

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