Karter Knox has tremendous offensive potential. (CJ Driggers)
This week, it was revealed that there’s an alleged gambling syndicate that reportedly placed bets against the same small-market conference teams late last season; University of San Francisco AD and former NFL player Larry Williams died at age 62; and the proposed Big Ten private equity deal remains in a holding pattern. Other college basketball stories we’re following include…
Karter Knox Ready to Break Out
In 2023-24, the Arkansas Razorbacks won just 16 games, their worst season since 2009-10, missing the NCAA tournament after making it the previous three years. However, in its first campaign under John Calipari Arkansas bounced back nicely last season, going 22-14 to return to the big dance despite a poor conference record.
The Razorbacks finished the season ranked 20th, and some believe they are even better this season, ranking 11th heading into the schedule.
We do know this: Arkansas has a very young team with a whopping seven freshmen and four sophs. But among those second-year players returning is swingman Karter Knox, who could have been drafted last season, so will likely be one of the top returning players in the country.
He spent most of his freshman season starting, playing a goodly amount of minutes and showing a solid outside game plus an ability to get to the free throw line. Knox has room to grow in assists, blocks and steals, but this is a kid well worth watching this season, one who could easily be among the top 10 players in the SEC.
Assuming he has the breakout he’s projected to enjoy, he’ll be a major prospect for the 2026 draft, and someone dynasty Fantasy league owners should familiarize themselves with. As an athletic wing who can score, Knox has the size, strength and potential to be a lottery pick, or a late first rounder at worst. He’s been compared to Romeo Langford, the former Boston lottery pick. Oh, and if you can’t wait for Knox to become an NBA player, you can always do this…
The fact that Knox is capable of scoring from downtown, mid-range or at the rim makes him very intriguing from an offensive potential standpoint.
Iowa’s Wooden Candidate
The Iowa Hawkeyes looked like a program on the rise in 2021-22, racking up 26 wins (its highest since 1986-87) in the middle of a three-year run of tournament appearances. But the team has been in free fall since, missing the NCAA tournament in consecutive seasons, while barely finishing above .500 last season.
Iowa may only be a bubble team this season, but that doesn’t mean things won’t be happening there that deserve your attention. For instance, senior guard Bennett Stirtz is a John Wooden Award candidate (+3000 as per FanDuel).
The All-American point guard will provide the team a semblance of continuity as it enters the Ben McCollum era, the new head coach who replaces long-time leader Fran McCaffery (who had been at the helm since 2010-11).
In what’s become a great story, Stirtz began his college career in Division II at Northwest Missouri State and after two seasons, he transferred to a Division I school (Drake) where he excelled as a full-time starter, showing strong outside shooting (39.5 per cent from beyond the arc) while averaging over 19 points and nearly six assists.
He transferred again this offseason, moving to Iowa, where he’ll face tougher competition. Stirtz is expected to garner lottery to mid-round NBA Draft attention because of his high basketball IQ and eye-opening results (last season he became the first MVC player to post over 600 points, 200 assists and 70 steals).
With elements of Kyrie Iriving and Tony Parker in his game, Stirtz really only has his age (he turned 22 earlier this month) and lack of offensive rebounding working against him.
RotoRob Tune of the Day
Former boxer Freddy Mack later had success as a U.K. funk/soul singer, operating under several stage names, including Mr. Superbad and the Mighty Super Power Band, which released the single “Mr. Superbad” in 1976.