Northern Arizona will really miss Isaiah Shaw’s shooting prowess. (Northern Arizona University Athletics)
This week, Michigan announced that AD Warde Manuel — despite his insistence that he’s part of the program’s success — will in fact step down at the end of the year; conversely, Illinois AD Josh Whitman bagged himself a nice raise and an extension through 2036; and Miami guard L.J. Cason (knee) will sit out next season. Other college basketball stories we’re tracking include…
UConn’s New Sharpshooter
The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks have never been much of a basketball power, but last season was particularly rough as the team managed just 10 wins (including an ugly 4-14 mark within the Big Sky) for its worth campaign since 2021-22.
And now Northern Arizona will be without its top deep threat as wing Isaiah Shaw has transferred to UConn, where he’ll play off the bench.
He spent his first two seasons at Grand Canyon (one of which was a redshirt year) before transferring to Valparaiso for one. Shaw took a big step forward in his junior campaign for the Lumberjacks, setting career highs across the board, but especially impressing with his work beyond the arc, shooting a ridiculous 46.4 per cent.
We’re not sure how much PT he’ll get on a very deep Huskies team, but this Italian born, 6’8” guard/forward gives the team a tremendous weapon off the bench with his outside touch and this is a good step forward for him, career-wise. Shaw’s production was inconsistent last season, so will likely be even more so off the bench, but anyone that knocks down nearly half his three-pointers needs to be watched.
This will be his final season of college basketball, so mostly sitting on the bench won’t give him the exposure he’d need to get drafted, not that he was much of a prospect before transferring to UConn. Shaw has one role to play (space the floor), so unless he suddenly adds a few components to his game (like rebounding, for instance), there’s really nothing to see here in terms of a pro future.
New Mexico’s Fantastic Freshman
The New Mexico Lobos slipped slightly last season, but it was enough to miss the NCAA tourney after making it in each of the previous two campaigns.
Losing forward Tomislav Buljan (who averaged a double-double) to Maryland will hurt, but the good news is that leading scorer Jake Hall will return after enjoying a tremendous freshman season. The Lobos remain an extreme long shot to win the national championship in 2026-27 (+30000 as per FanDuel), but having Hall back is a great start.
The two-guard put on a big show in the NIT, leading the Lobos to the semis with 19 or more points in each of the final three games to cap a strong debut in which he was a full-time starter who played heavy minutes. Hall filled the bucket on the regular, shot extremely well from both inside and outside the arc, and was solid at the free throw line.
While he originally opted to test the transfer protocol, he chose to return to New Mexico for his sophomore season, which will see him get to play with younger brother Dax, who committed to the school for 2026-27.
After winning Mountain West Freshman of the Year honours, we can’t wait to see what the 6’4”, 200-pound elder brother accomplishes next season. You have to figure that after excelling in a mid-major conference like the Mountain West, Hall will want to take a crack at a power conference for his junior season in an effort to get more NBA draft attention.
He’s small for a SG, and isn’t super athletic, so his future draft prospects are probably limited, but if he keeps lighting it up with his amazing shooting prowess, he’ll be an intriguing UDFA down the road.
RotoRob Tune of the Day
Donna Adrian Gaines was better known as Donna Summer, the Queen of Disco. After her anthem “Love to Love You Baby” became a smash hit in Europe, she earned herself a record contract on this side of the Atlantic.