College basketball is back on the court. The journey to compete in the National Championships in Glendale, Arizona on Apr. 8 began last Monday. The reigning champion, the University of Connecticut (UConn), is looking at an opportunity to win back-to-back national championships, which would make them the first team to do so since the University of Florida in 2006 and 2007. There are plenty of questions surrounding the 2023-2024 season. Is LeBron “Bronny” James Jr. game-ready? Will we see a perfect NCAA tournament bracket? Which first-year players will have breakthrough seasons, and which ones will be a bust? Somewhere between now and April, these questions will be answered.
With the name, image and likeness (NIL) era among us, more upperclassmen are seen returning to play rather than jumping to the big leagues. A prominent instance is Purdue’s star player, senior Zach Edey, who decided to forgo a chance at the NBA draft to, instead, reap the NIL benefits of being the face of Big Ten basketball. Edey’s popularity among the college basketball community brought enough compensation to keep him from the draft. With his incredible stat line from last season — averaging 22.3 points and 12.9 rebounds per game on 61 percent shooting while having eight games with 30-plus points — Edey’s returning presence gives the Boilermakers a better chance at a redemption run for the national title
Spotlights also shine on the incoming first-year talent this season, including Justin Edwards of the University of Kentucky and Bronny James of the University of Southern California (USC). Bronny’s court-presence is still up in the air after a scary incident, where he suffered cardiac arrest at a team workout over the summer. He did not play in the USC season-opening 82-69 win over Kansas State on Nov. 6.
“Everything is on the up and up,” LeBron James said of his son in an interview with ESPN. “We’re proud of his progress, we’re proud of his strength. And between all the doctors that he’s seeing from everywhere he’s been […], all his [physical therapy] people and USC included and everybody, they’ve done a hell of a job of getting him to the point today and we want to continue to go forward.”
Bronny expects to join the Trojans soon after he passes a medical examination later this month. With his return, along with the return of teammate Isaiah Collier — the number one recruit in ESPN’s rankings for his class — the Trojans are seen as potential late round mavericks in the NCAA tournament.
According to the AP Top 25 poll, the University of Kansas sits at number one in the national rankings, despite a second-round exit during last season’s tournament. The team acquired some valuable transfers during the offseason, including former Michigan center Hunter Dickinson. With the combination of transfer talent and returners like Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Dajuan Harris, Kansas has high expectations for success this year.
The madness of college basketball is back to grace our screens. Next week kicks off with some very enticing matchups — especially next Monday, which sees the number three seeded Purdue vs. the 11th-seeded Gonzaga.
