Sports

STARTING FIVE: Ollie’s impressive start with UConn and Syracuse’s title chances

Every week during the season, New York Post insiders Zach Braziller and Anthony Sulla-Heffinger go one-on-one over the latest hot topics in college basketball.

This week, they talk the post-Jim Calhoun era at UConn, Syracuse’s potential and the best player in college hoops.

Is UConn’s upset of Michigan State an early indicator that the Huskies will be fine without Jim Calhoun?

Braziller: UConn will be more than fine with Calhoun — when they give Kevin Ollie a chance. A one-year deal makes him a lame duck. It will make it difficult for him to coach and even harder for him to recruit. Ollie has already proven his worth as a recruiter — he personally landed top locals Terrence Samuel and Kentan Facey — and his team seemed to respond to him in the win over Michigan State. But Connecticut needs to give him some job security, not this joke of a one-year deal.

Sulla-Heffinger: I agree. What the upset win over Michigan State tells me about the Huskies is that they may be more than just fine in the post-Calhoun era. Think about what was at stake in the first game of the season and how the team was able to grab a win over a top-25 team, in a neutral site, on national television. What it tells me they can be a force in the Big East this season, despite being inelgible for the Big East and NCAA tournament.

Is Syracuse a legitimate national title contender?

Sulla-Heffinger: It depends on how you define legitimate. Can they win a national title? Sure. Do I think they will? No, at least not yet. I’m not going to put a lot of stock in last Sunday’s game against San Diego State considering the conditions under which it was played. The truth of the matter is we won’t know a lot about the Orange until we get into January and conference play starts because of the ridiculously easy non-conference slate they play.

Braziller: Since when is starting with a top 25 team at a neutral site easy? Granted, Jim Boeheim has played cupcakes in non-conference often in his Hall-of-Fame career, but San Diego State wasn’t one of them. Syracuse is absolutely a title contender. The Orange have an experienced guards in Brandon Triche, one of the most underrated freshmen in the country in DaJuan Coleman and a star in the making in dynamic guard Michael Carter-Williams. Simply put, they have all the ingredients to win it all.

With Dez Wells being eligible, how far do you see Maryland going this year?

Sulla-Heffinger: Wells looked rusty in the Terrapins’ first game, but it was against No.3 Kentucky, so I’m taking it with a grain of salt. If Wells can play as well as he’s capable of and Alex Len continues to improve, Maryland could make some noise in March.

Braziller: I agree he may not be an All-American, but Wells’ addition is huge nevertheless. He makes Maryland a legit player in the ACC, and while he wasn’t great against Kentucky, he takes pressure off teammates like Len, and is the kind of experienced and tough-minded individual that adds character to a team.

Yes, it’s early, but what sleeper team do you see making a deep run in the NCAA tournament?

Braziller: I love Lehigh. I love C.J. McCollum. I don’t care that Baylor took them to the woodshed, McCollum is a future lottery pick, and his team is deep and experienced after last year’s shocking upset of Duke in the NCAA tournament. Unlike last year, however, I don’t see Lehigh just pulling off one upset — I see two and maybe three.

Sulla-Heffinger: St. Joseph’s. They are the preseason favorite to win the A-10, which may be the most underrated basketball conference in the nation, and have a top-tier offensive player in Langston Galloway and a fearsome defender in C.J. Aiken. Phil Martelli is an experienced coach who has a team that is returning all five starters from last year’s squad which barely missed out on winning the A-10 and was upset in the first round of the NIT.

Who is the best player in college basketball and why?

Sulla-Heffinger: Cody Zeller. There aren’t many players in the nation who can match up with Zeller in terms of height and length, but the sophomore center is also incredibly efficient. In his freshman season, Zeller averaged over 15 points per game while shooting 62.3 percent from the field. Zeller’s defense is also underrated, with the 6-foot-11 center averaging over a block and a steal per game last year. Until we see more of Nerlens Noel, Zeller is the best center in the NCAA.

Braziller: Zeller is phenomenal, I can’t disagree with his talent. But for my money, he’s not the best player in the country. That prestigious honor goes to Creighton forward Doug McDermott. The 6-foot-7 junior does a little bit of everything — he averaged 21 points, 11 rebounds and two assists last year — and will be a fine NBA player soon. Before he gets to the league, the skilled wing will lead the Blue Jays to a long run in March.