Zhuric Phelps has been a difference maker for the Aggies. (Aggies Wire)
UConn Coach Dan Hurley ripped a new one for an official on Tuesday; Arkansas has lost star freshman guard Boogie Bland (hand) for the rest of the season; and Auburn is now the unanimous No. 1 team in the country. Some other college basketball stories we’re following include…
Zhuric Phelps Cools Off
Although they’ve made the NCAA Tourney in consecutive seasons, the Texas A&M Aggies have seen their win total dip from 27 to 25 to just 21 last season.
This season, however, the 13th-ranked Aggies have bounced back, with 15 wins overall and a solid record (4-2) in the SEC. Still, they may lack the offensive punch needed to go on a deep run this March.
In Saturday’s win over LSU, Texas A&M leading scorer Zhuric Phelps cooled off offensively, managing just 13 points, yet he found ways to help the team win with six boards and six assists. He actually shot quite well, but only had 13 FG attempts after 73 combined over the previous three games. On Wednesday, Phelps’ slump continued as he managed just 14 points (which still led the team) despite taking 19 shots.
The senior guard, who transferred to the Aggies from SMU this season (see video below for his Mustang highlights), has enjoyed a solid bounce back effort after a somewhat down junior campaign. Phelps’ scoring, rebounding, assists and steals are up this season, but his work at the line has regressed and he’s not getting there as often.
He was a projected second round pick for the 2023 and 2024 NBA Drafts before opting to return for his final two seasons. That was a likely a good call as Phelps did regress after a breakout sophomore season when he looked like one of the top players in the AAC.
He’s a decent scorer off the dribble, but his shooting needs to improve if he’s going to work his way into the 2025 draft. A big finish could put Phelps back on the radar or at least get him a tryout as an undrafted player.
Gators Going Strong
Still in the SEC, the Florida Gators sure have bounced back since 2022-23 when they had their first losing record since 2014-15. Last season, Florida recovered to win 24 games and get back to the NCAA tourney for the first time in three years, although it suffered a first round loss.
This season, the Gators have taken their game to a whole new level. After a tight victory over South Carolina on Wednesday, they’ve now two straight and four of five, putting them in a tie for third with a 4-2 mark in SEC (17-2 overall record). Fifth ranked in the country, Florida currently looks like a pretty solid bet to make the Final Four for the first time since 2013-14 (+420 as per FanDuel).
Wednesday’s win was a real character building game as the Gators came from 14 back to eke out a 70-69 win thanks to Will Richard’s driving layup with under five seconds to play.
He had been rather quiet offensively lately, failing to top 12 points in five straight and only managing single digits in three of those, but he exploded for 22 on Wednesday on some super shooting (9-for-14, including 3-of-5 from deep). Richard even pitched in with a rare block to cap a night during which he reached 1,000 career points as a Gator (a club that includes the likes of Vernon Maxwell and Udonis Haslem.
A senior guard, Richard is now in his third season with Florida after transferring from Belmont following his freshman campaign, and he’s really improved this season. His shooting is vastly better, although his three-point accuracy has again regressed. Richard is not getting as many points from the line, but his rebounding and scoring are up, and he leads the team with a career-best 2.1 steals per game.
Considered a possible second rounder in this year’s NBA Draft, he has potential as a combo guard, but will need to improve his on-ball skills to win that kind of role in the NBA. Ultimately, Richard could be a poor man’s Gordon Hayward if everything breaks right.
RotoRob Tune of the Day
When Depeche Mode began, Vince Clarke was the main songwriter, but he was long gone by the time they released their fifth album, Black Celebration (1986). The album’s lead single was “Stripped,” which became the band’s sixth straight single to hit the top 20 in the U.K.