Nils Machowski is a surprisingly good rebounder. (Wofford College Athletics)
This week, five-star recruit Brandon McCoy Jr. confirmed his commitment to Michigan despite coach Dusty May’s departure; after seven years as AD at Air Force, Nathan Pine has been pushed out of the role; and 2023 NBA draft pick James Nnaji has transferred to George Mason to continue his college career. Other college basketball stories we’re tracking include…
Nils Machowski Barking Up a New Tree
Despite a strong 19-13 mark last year (their best mark since 2020-21), the Wofford Terriers were unable to return to the NCAA tourney after making it for the sixth time in school history in 2024-25.
The road back to March Madness won’t be any easier now that leading rebounder Nils Machowski has departed to UConn, where he’s projected to have a bench role for his senior season.
After spending his first two seasons as a backup at UCF, he broke out as a full-time starter with Wofford, setting career highs across the board despite a slight regression in his FT shooting. Hell, Machowski – a tremendous rebounder for a 6’3” guard (who also saw time at the three for an undersized squad) – even managed to record 16 blocks last season, but that’s clearly not his strength.
No, this dude is mostly a scorer/distributor, but the rebounding sure is a sweet bonus. Machowski, a native of Berlin, was a real driver of the Terrier offense.
Seeing him break out as an offensive facilitator last season was fantastic, but we’re not expecting him to have nearly as big a role in the Huskies’ scheme, and it’s fair to wonder how he’ll fare against much tougher opponents.
Machowki earned second team All Southern Conference honours last season, and he’ll definitely add some nice depth to UConn’s backcourt, but we’re doubtful this move helps his NBA draft prospects much. He’s a strong shooter with a nice touch from downtown, but he’s not a true PG and is too small to play the two at the next level.
Can AJ Storr Impress at Summer League?
The Mississippi Rebels have never been much of a force at basketball, and while they enjoyed a big season in 2024-25 (winning 24 games and earning just their 10th tourney appearance in 115 years), they were right back to their usual losing ways last season, going just 15-20.
To its credit, however, Ole Miss went on a magical and shocking run in the SEC tourney last season, going all the way to the semifinals as the 15th seed. Just one other time had a team that had been seeded 10th or lower managed to win three games at the SEC tournament.
However, the Rebels tourney heroics did little to move the needle on their 2026-27 outlook, as this team still has extremely long odds to be the national champion next season (+15000 as per FanDuel).
Making things more complicated is that Mississippi will need to adapt to life without leading scorer AJ Storr, who has graduated. The guard/wing bounced around in his collegiate career, going from St. Johns to Wisconsin to Kansas and finally to Ole Miss for his senior season.
Storr got more starts for the Rebels, yet still mostly came off the bench. His three-point shooting bounced back after a tough season with the Jayhawks, and that helped his scoring rebound closer to the levels he showed for the Badgers in his sophomore campaign.
After going undrafted this year, Storr signed on to play Summer League ball for Charlotte, which will kick off action on Thursday in Las Vegas. His 24 points, which included a layup with 1.1 seconds left to force OT, almost helped pull off that major upset in the SEC semifinal against Arkansas.
Storr does have NBA potential, and the efficiency he showed as a senior helped buy him a shot to show what he can do at Summer League. If he can live up to his billing as Dillon Brooks without the distribution skills, he could earn a contract.
RotoRob Tune of the Day
English pop band Dexys Midnight Runners launched in 1978 and remained active until 1986. They reformed in 2003 and are still at it now. While they had a pair of No. 1 singles in the UK, they will eternally be known for their 1982 mega hit “Come On Eileen,” which also soared to the top of the charts in the U.S.