The Year of the Stretch Forward

In the last two weeks since my rankings came out, there have been many changes: upsets, shocking victories, and the Chinese New Year.  That's right, on February 10th we officially entered The Year of Snake.  So, in honor of The Year of the Snake, I am naming this college basketball season "The Year of the Stretch Forward".

The stretch forward, or stretch four, is a term used to designate a player that plays at the power forward position, but has skills that are not normally associated with a power forward, namely: the ability to knock down a three pointer. The difference between a traditional forward and a stretch forward is purely on the offensive end. The stretch forward has the ability to play inside and around the perimeter, thus stretching out the defense.  Made popular in the NBA by players like Ryan Anderson, Kevin Love, and Ersan Ilyasova, the stretch forward position, if played correctly, can become a team's most dangerous weapon on offense. Recently however, college teams have began recruiting and developing players to play this role, and for many of them, it is working very well.  I am going to highlight five of the best in the college game at this position, and show the impact they are having on their teams.

Erik Murphy - Florida Gators - 6'10" 238 lbs. 

The senior (pictured right) from South Kingston, Rhode Island is one of the best stretch forwards in the nation.  He is averaging 12.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game for the 5th ranked Gators.  Murphy, a career 44% three point shooter, is shooting a blazing 50% from 3 this year, making 52 of his 104 attempts from deep.  He is an 83% free throw shooter, and also takes care of the ball: only 1.4 turnovers per game.  Murphy has led Florida to a 21-3 record, and a first place standing in the SEC with an 11-1 conference record. They are in running for a potential 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, with ESPN projecting them for one of the four coveted top seeds.  Florida arguably would not be in the situation they are now without Murphy, who has stepped up in a huge way in the last few weeks as Florida's front line has been plagued by injuries   Look for Murphy to lead his Gators deep into the NCAA Tournament this year.

Romero Osby - Oklahoma Sooners - 6'8" 232 lbs.

Osby is making a big name for himself in Norman.  The transfer from Mississippi State has played his last two seasons of eligibility with the Sooners.  Known as a lock-down defender, Osby has improved on offense to become the leading scorer for Oklahoma averaging 14 points per game.  He is shooting 56% from three this year, and grabbing 7 rebounds per game as well.  He doesn't take a lot of threes, but his ability to knock them down is what often opens up lanes for him to drive, which is exactly what he did to score 17 points in Oklahoma's upset win last week over #5 Kansas.  As for the rest of the team, Oklahoma is 16-8 with a 7-5 conference record.  They have quality wins over Kansas, and Oklahoma State; and no bad losses  so far.  They are being projected for an 8 seed in the tournament, and 5-1 or even a 4-2 record to finish out the season should place them safely in the NCAA Tournament. 

Doug McDermott - Creighton Bluejays - 6'8" 225 lbs.

You have to love those coach's sons.  Greg McDermott, Doug's father and Creighton's head coach, has to be pleased with his son's (and his team's) play this year.  Creighton is #1 nationally in 3 point percentage at 43%, and #2 in 3 pointers made per game at 9.3.  Doug McDermott is averaging 22.9 points per game, which is good for 3rd in the nation.  He also adds 7.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.  Doug has shot 48% from 3 the last two years, and adds an 86% mark from the charity stripe.  He is not afraid to shoot the ball, hoisting 118 attempts so far this year, and making 57 of them.  Doug McDermott went to Ames High School in Ames, Iowa where he was teammates with All-American and now Golden State Warrior, Harrison Barnes.  During McDermott's and Barnes' junior and senior seasons they posted a 53-0 record, and won two state championships.  Now McDermott has led his Creighton team to a 21-6 record, and they have been ranked most of the year.  They have however fallen a bit in conference play in the Missouri Valley Conference  and trail Wichita State by 1 game.  The good news is the Shockers have to travel to Omaha and take on Creighton in the last game of the year on March 2nd.  Both teams are projected to get seed somewhere in the 7-9 range in the NCAA Tournament. 

Ryan Kelly - Duke Blue Devils - 6'11" 230 lbs. 

Senior Ryan Kelly is by far the most valuable player for Duke this year.  He has averaged 13.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game this year to go along with 52% shooting from three.  His defense is incredible: he's known as a shut-down post defender.  He is deadly in transition shooting the three, and is an 80% free throw shooter.  The only problem is that he has been out with a leg injury since January 12th.  This is where you realize just how valuable Kelly is to Duke: they are 15-0 with Kelly, including 3 wins over top 5 teams, and they are 7-3 since then, going 0-2 against ranked teams.  This included a 27 point thrashing they took at Miami.  After losing to Maryland this past weekend, Duke has fallen to #6 in the rankings.  They are still projected for a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but how far they go in that tournament will solely depend on the heath of Ryan Kelly, who is projected to be healthy by the time the tournament starts. 

Kyle Wiltjer - Kentucky Wildcats - 6'10" 239 lbs.

In a season that has been highlighted by disappointments for the defending national champions, Kyle Wiltjer has been a bight spot for Kentucky.  The sophomore from Portland, Oregon has been a great scoring option for the Wildcats, averaging 11.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.  The 41% three point shooter showed up the biggest in Kentucky's most pivotal game of the season against then #16 Ole Miss.  The game was in Oxford, Mississippi, and Wiltjer silenced the crowed with 26 points, including 5 threes.  Kentucky, who is clinging to a tournament spot received more bad news last week, as standout center Nerlens Noel tore his ACL and is out for the season.  In their first game without him, Kentucky suffered a 30 point defeat to Tennessee who is just a .500 SEC team.  Kentucky sits at 17-8 with an 8-4 SEC record.  They will have to prove themselves in their 6 remaining games to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament, where they are currently projected for a 10 seed.  

I can't believe that March Madness is almost here! This has been a crazy year for college basketball, and I'm pretty sure that it will only get crazier from this point on.  I will be releasing the second edition of my Straight Up Index rankings tomorrow.  'Til next time.