Movers, shakers and all the greatest storylines of the 2023-24

Has it actually just been 6 months?The buzzer sounded on UConn’s win over San Diego State in the males’s college basketball national championship game precisely 6 months ago– but the entire landscape of the sport has actually changed because time. Rick Pitino is back in the huge time; Bob Huggins is no longer coaching. Arizona will be headed to the Big 12; the Pac-12 is essentially no more. More than 1,800 players got in the transfer website; another couple hundred turned pro.Simply put, there’s been an unbelievable amount of change.But prior to we turn the page and totally expect the 2023-24 season, which tips off Nov. 6, let’s

take stock of precisely what occurred in the past six months.If the last thing you remember about college hoops is confetti falling from the NRG Stadium rafters after the Huskies won their fifth

championship game in 25 years, ESPN’s males’s college basketball experts– Jeff Borzello, John Gasaway, Joe Lunardi and Myron Medcalf– are here to help you capture up.Jump to: Most significant headlines|Coach & player motions|Bracketology risers and fallers|High school recruiting spotlights play 0:45 LeBron:’ Bronny is doing exceptionally well’LeBron James states his boy Bronny has actually begun his rehabilitation procedure so he can have fun with USC this season.Biggest headlines Bronny James suffers cardiac event During a July team exercise at USC, the 5-star

recruit and boy of LeBron James collapsed after suffering heart attack. James is recuperating and attending his classes on school. But his basketball future– his daddy has said he hopes to one day play with Bronny in the NBA

— is unclear, per a recent declaration from the university.Hunter Dickinson chooses Kansas In Might, the former Michigan star and top recruit in the transfer portal picked the Jayhawks over several suitors longing for the huge guy who balanced 18.5 points and 9.0 rebounds last season. In interviews, Dickinson suggested his decision was partly affected by name, image and likeness(NIL )opportunities.

His arrival likely raises Kansas, which returns Dajuan Harris Jr. and K.J. Adams Jr., to the No. 1 area in every trustworthy preseason poll.Editor’s Picks 2 Related Zach Edey, Donovan Clingan and Kyle Filipowski return The current state of huge males in college basketball is strong with three elite players returning for another season. Edey, the Purdue star who won the Wood Award last season, is back to assist a Purdue team that suffered a historic upset against 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson in the 2023 NCAA

tournament. Clingan,

the 7-footer who averaged 1.8 blocks in simply 13.1 minutes per game, will attempt to lead UConn to a second consecutive nationwide title. And Filipowski, who is presently recuperating from hip surgical treatment, will attempt to lead Duke to its 2nd Final Four appearance given that 2015. Debate surrounds Rick Pitino working with at St. John’s In three years at Iona, Pitino led the Gaels to 2 league titles and two NCAA tournament looks. Pitino repeatedly specified he was material at the New Rochelle, New York, school and had no interest in other tasks. But he was ultimately charmed by St. John’s, which is simply 30 minutes from his hometown of Oyster Bay, New York City. The Hall of Fame coach has actually currently made a massive impact in

the transfer website, adding Harvard star Chris Ledlum (18.8 PPG)and Penn’s Jordan Dingle (23.4 PPG)in addition to other standouts who must instantly improve the Red Storm in the Big East race. But Mike Anderson, St. John’s previous head coach, has sued the school in a multimillion-dollar suit, declaring the school fired him for cause without justification.Jahvon Quinerly picks Memphis Tigers Last season, the guard was important to Alabama’s NCAA competition run, but he revealed he would move to his third school when he devoted to Cent Hardaway in July. As a graduate transfer, Quinerly is immediately qualified for the squad that last season allowed former SMU transfer Kendric Davis to blossom. Quinerly, who averaged 8.7 PPG in Tuscaloosa last season, joins a nucleus that might consist of 27-year-old DeAndre Williams– provided he is given a waiver to play another season.

play 2:24 Mad Pet dog buffoons conference adjustment in legendary tirade Chris”Mad Canine”Russo sounds off on the absence of competitions in between the groups heading to the Big Ten and Big 12 in 2024. Big 12 becomes superconference, declines Gonzaga, UConn In August, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark revealed that talks with Gonzaga and UConn about joining the league ended after the conference decided to include four Pac-12 squads. While the Zags and Huskies would have reinforced men’s basketball in a league that is probably the nation’s finest, pound-for-pound, the additions of Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado in

2024-25 likewise improve the league. With Houston, BYU, Cincinnati and UCF all joining this season, the Big 12 will boast 7 groups that ended up 2022-23 within the leading 30 on KenPom.Mikey Williams ‘basketball

profession endangered by weapon incident With countless fans on social media, the four-star recruit and Memphis devote was popular even beyond basketball when he was in high school. But Williams’college hoops career is now on hold. Earlier this year, Williams was charged with 6 felonies after he allegedly fired a weapon at numerous people who had actually concerned his San Diego house. He pled not guilty in the initial court hearing, but Memphis released a statement recently stating Williams will not be with the team till there is a resolution in his legal case.Ed Cooley leaves Providence for Georgetown For more than a decade, Cooley was the

face of Providence basketball in his hometown. Under him, the Friars reached the NCAA tournament seven times. But his bond with the late John Thompson added to his stunning choice to accept the head coaching task at Georgetown. Providence officials and fans were blindsided by the relocation, which now provides Georgetown a proven leader as it attempts to rebuild the program following the rough Patrick Ewing era.– Medcalf Bob Huggins’ resignation from West Virginia is amongst the biggest storylines of the summertime. Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports The movements that matter The greatest motion of the

summer season was in fact an exit. Bob Huggins got in the offseason No. 3 all time in profession wins as a Division I guys’s coach, behind just Mike Krzyzewski and Jim Boeheim. Now, well, he’s still No. 3, but that number for wins( 935)will remain where it is up until further notice.Huggins appeared to resign as West Virginia coach on June 17 after he was detained for presumably driving under the influence. Then, in early July, he insisted he never officially resigned. Cue the legal representatives. However Huggins is out, and Josh Eilert is interim head coach of the Mountaineers.Nor ought to we look past a very different and genuinely historic offseason motion, one 65 years in the making. On June 8, the NCAA revealed that all numbers from 0 to 99 will as soon as again be permitted on males’s college basketball jerseys. We haven’t seen a 6, 7, 8 or 9 on the floor because Costs Russell rocked No. 6 for the San Francisco Puts On in the 1950s. Who will be the very first player to follow in George Mikan’s steps with a No. 99 in hoops? The new season will actually look different than anything a lot of us have actually seen prior to.– Gasaway play 1:53 Rick Pitino:’I can’t live without basketball ‘Rick Pitino talks on”SportsCenter”about why he chose to become the next coach at St. John’s. Most significant team risers and fallers: Bracketology edition It

‘s both embarrassing and useful to look back at where we ranked teams at the start of the offseason versus now, with the pointer off of a brand-new season right around the corner. Unfortunately, that is the project, and here are the results: BIGGEST RISER: St. John’s Red Storm( No. 170 to No. 45, projected Last 4 In ). The Red Storm fired Mike Anderson on March 10 and needed only 10 days to lure Rick Pitino from New Rochelle(and Iona)to Queens. Myron covered the larger St. John’s saga above, however suffice to say, Pitino’s pursuit of an NCAA competition bid– and beyond– for the Red Storm will be among the significant stories of the 2023-24 campaign.OTHER RISERS: Illinois Fighting Illini(No. 74 to No. 18,

forecasted 5-seed ). Illinois made headway by basically stalling, maintaining 6-foot-6 senior Terrence Shannon Jr. and 6-10 junior Coleman Hawkins, a pair of standouts who figured to leave the program at the end of last season. Now, the Illini

have the experience and production to challenge presumptive Big Ten favorites Purdue and Michigan State.Mississippi State Bulldogs(No. 78 to No. 29, projected 8-seed ). The Bulldogs already overachieved in Year 1 under Chris Jans, reaching the NCAA First Four. The unexpected return of 6-2 senior Dashawn Davis, an assumed departure, suggests the pattern line points even further up in Starkville.HONORABLE MENTIONS: Leading stories of the week from Get exclusive access to countless premium articles a year from leading authors. – Ranking all 32 NHL goalie tandems”- Ranking CFB’s 22 unbeaten groups

“- NBA training school cheat sheets”More ESPN+material”BIGGEST FALLER: Washington State Cougars(from No. 42, forecasted 11-seed, to No. 76). The Cougars’finest players are now in Atlanta(Mouhamed Gueye, NBA Hawks), in Cleveland( Justin Powell, NBA Cavaliers), at Villanova(TJ Bamba, transfer portal)and at USC (DJ Rodman, transfer portal). The Cougars also don’t have a conference after this season. Aside from that … OTHER FALLERS: Notre

One month later on

• , Holland chose to play for the G League Ignite.Bronny James signs with USC James’cardiac arrest was the biggest story of the summer, however his recruitment was one of the most significant stories of the spring. He became a genuine

• luxury prospect and a predicted first-round draft pick during his high school senior season then impressed at

• the postseason all-star games. There was really little concrete info about his recruitment,

• however USC became the preferred over the final weeks and ultimately beat out Oregon and Ohio State.Mackenzie Mgbako turns from Duke to Indiana On the very same day that Kyle Filipowski announced he was returning to Duke,

• Mgbako– a top-10 hire in the 2024 class– asked for a release from his letter of intent to the Blue Devils. He considered a number of schools following his decommitment, including Kansas, St. John’s and Louisville, but picked Mike Woodson and Indiana, where he ought to right away be a go-to scorer.Cooper Flagg cements

  himself as the No. 1 recruit– and reclassifies to 2024 Flagg was the story of the summer in the recruiting world. Getting in July, there was a dispute over which player was the

  best in high school basketball: Flagg, Cameron Boozer or A.J. Dybantsa. A number of weeks later, there was a clear winner. Flagg averaged 25.4 points, 13 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 6.9 blocks at the prestigious Nike EYBL Peach Jam, consisting of three triple-doubles. He then moved from the 2025 class into the 2024 class, and Flagg remains in the process of taking his main sees. He went to UConn in late September, and he will head Duke this month.– Borzello