The 5 most interesting ACC Basketball players to watch in the 2017-18 season - SCACCHoops.com

The 5 most interesting ACC Basketball players to watch in the 2017-18 season

by WebMaster

Posted: 7/27/2017 9:00:36 AM


The ACC basketball season isn't quite here yet, despite Duke and NC State starting summer practices in preparation for foreign trips.  As we still have some time before "preview season" gets here, let's explore some players that will be interesting to follow for the 2017-18 season.

Ky Bowman, Boston College

Ky Bowman came in as a 3 star recruit that spurned football offers to play basketball for Boston College.  While Jerome Robinson got most of the attention coming into the season, Ky Bowman finished the season strong averaging over 14 points per game.   Things seem to click for Bowman in mid-December when he scored a season-high 33 points against Fairfield.  In case people doubted Bowman's output against a lesser opponent, he matched his 33 point effort against the eventual National Champion North Carolina Tarheels in January.

Bowman's upcoming season should be an interesting one as you can bet he'll be getting plenty of attention from opponents.  At least one outlet crowned Robinson and Bowman the best backcourt in the nation.  Can Bowman live up to the hype he has built with a strong finish to his freshman season?

Ben Lammers, Georgia Tech

Ben Lammers is coming off a 2016-17 season that saw him earn 2nd team All-ACC honors. Lammers averaged over 14 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game just a season after being just a role player.  Lammers was a big part of Georgia Tech's suprising 21-16 (8-11) season which saw them finish strong advancing to the NIT Finals.

This season, Lammers needs to continue to develop his offensive game.  His free throw shooting took a big step forward up to 74%, but his field goal percentage was just barely above 50%, far too low for a big man.  If Lammers can take a big step forward on the offensive end, look for Georgia Tech to earn an NCAA tourney bid in March.

Bonzie Colson, Notre Dame

Bonzie Colson is the only 1st team All-ACC player returning.  Colson averaged a double-double with 17.8 points per game and 10.1 boards per game during his junior season.  One big area of improvement was Colson's perimeter game where he raised his 3 point percentage to 43%. So, how does he improve upon his award winning junior season? 

The good news for Colson is that Notre Dame point guard Matt Farrell is back.  Farrell's ability in the pick and roll with Colson makes the duo difficult to guard and gives Colson quite a few open shots.  Colson's senior season will more likely be considered a success based upon how his team plays.  When he announced his return, Colson stressed the importance of his team's success, "Returning to play another season with my brothers and the possibility of hanging more banners in Purcell Pavilion and establishing ourselves as one of the best teams in program history is an opportunity of a lifetime."

Bruce Brown, Miami

Just like Ky Bowman, Bruce Brown is coming off a strong freshman season.  Brown averaged almost 12 points, 3 assists, and 6 rebounds for Miami, while playing a key role on the defensive end as well.  Brown averaged a steal and a half while guarding the opposing teams premiere backcourt player.

Brown returns to a loaded Miami team that and the question is whether or not Brown can take a step forward in his 2nd year.  Brown has some solid comps in Justin Jackson, Damien Wilkins, Matt Harpring, and Kyle Singler.  We'll see if Brown's career arc follows his comps in year 2.

Grayson Allen, Duke

It was quite the volatile year for Grayson Allen in 2016-17.  The season started with shooting woes, followed by a toe injury against Michigan State in November, and went from bad to worse against Elon when Allen was caught tripping again.  Allen never really recovered and saw a junior season where he averaged just over 14 points per game, down from 21.6 in his sophomore season.  It wasn't just the scoring though, as Allen was far less efficient seeing his field goal, free throw, and three point percentage all drop as well.

Allen wisely came back for his senior season and will see a dramatically different role this upcoming year.  Allen is the only major returning player for a Duke team that is still picked amongst the top teams in the league.  Coach K will look to Allen to guide a very young Duke team this season, a role in which the coaching staff has to give some pause to considering Allen's shaky tempermant last season.  The good news is that Allen should be healthy once again after having offseason ankle surgery.  Will he bounce back to his sophomore productivity or will the media circus return to Durham after another tripping incident?



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