Luke Maye announced early Thursday that he's withdrawing from the NBA Draft. So the super-productive forward will play another season for North Carolina. And that's good, yet unsurprising, news for the Tar Heels that should ensure they're a preseason top 10 team. I currently have them ranked ninth in the CBS Sports Top 25 (and one). So Matt Norlander and I opened this episode of the Eye on College Basketball Podcast by talking about that -- and then we wondered about the following: Will Maye be a preseason First Team All-American? And, if so, which players are likely to join him?
After that, the conversation goes like this:
- 7:59: I have Tennessee ranked third in the Top 25 (and one). This is getting a lot of attention because, yeah, it does feel kinda high. Simply put, it suggests I believe a really good team that returns its top six scorers is going to make the jump from really good to great. But is UT actually built to do that? Or will Rick Barnes' team just be really good again?
- 20:37: Nobody thought Donovan Mitchell, this time last year, would be an NBA star. That's why he was picked 13th and not first or second. So I asked Norlander if there's a player currently projected outside of the top eight of my latest NBA Mock Draft who could turn into a top-three player from the 2018 NBA Draft. He provided two names -- one Big East player and one ACC player.
- 24:40: Projected first-round pick Lonnie Walker believes "Earth is definitely an illusion." And Norlander (maybe) agrees with him! With all due respect, put me down as that's cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. But, I admit, I've never seen "The Matrix."
The latest Eye on College Basketball podcast is below. Give it a listen. And if you're not already subscribed, please subscribe to the podcast via Apple Podcasts here. If you are already subscribed, thank you. And #ShoutsToDevanDowney.
