The Standout Individuals

Hello and an early Happy Thanksgiving to you! Apologies that this arrives a day late, but the show must go on in the name of hoops.

Also, for Dancing With The Stars fans, Dylan Efron had the best finale but congrats to Robert as well. Anyway!

Last Hoopla: B1G Time Results

I’ve made some early talking points from the team performances, but this Hoopla is focusing on the players that are standing out thus far in non-conference play. With half the conference still undefeated and 27 Big Ten players with at least one win share (via Her Hoop Stats), there are plenty of options to choose from.

Here are 10 (plus some bonuses scattered throughout) that stand out to me for a variety of reasons:

Big-Moment Underclassmen

Syla Swords, Michigan

• 0.9 WS | 14.0 PPG | 6.0 RPG | 2.7 APG | 36.6 3PT%

Swords has not been the most universally impactful player thus far for the Wolverines — both Olivia Olson and Mila Holloway have had excellent starts to the year as well — but Swords had another big stage to prove her star potential, this time against No. 1 UConn, and while Michigan ended up falling in a close defeat, Swords was there again, and again, and somehow again, to very nearly pull off the upset in Connecticut.

Swords has now scored at least 27 points in all three of her games against AP No. 1 opponents, a truly unbelievable stat that shows her ability to rise up in the big moments. Michigan stayed at sixth in the poll for the three-point loss, and I think that is absolutely deserved.

The Wolverines have proven they deserve to be taken a realistic threat at winning the Big Ten, and Swords’ clutch takeovers are a big reason why. I also wanted to shoutout Te’Yala Delfosse, a fourth sophomore who has been making an impact for Michigan early on. She’s averaging 11.5 PPG off the bench and gave the Wolverines some huge minutes against the Huskies.

Ava Heiden, Iowa

• 1.0 WS | 15.8 PPG | 8.8 RPG | 0.8 BPG | 63.3 FG%

Soon I will stop referencing that end-of-season stretch for Heiden’s freshman year, but it truly does look like that was a precursor for what’s coming.

Iowa had a phenomenal week, taking down a Top 10 Baylor team and an undefeated Miami (FL) team in back-to-back games. The Hawkeyes look like a really strong well-rounded unit, but Heiden has been at the forefront of it. She led Iowa with 18 points against the Bears, then had a team-leading 20 against the Hurricanes.

I did think that Heiden was going to be a focal point this season, but I did not expect her to start launching into the stratosphere this quickly, and against this level of competition. The true sophomore is proving me wrong early.

The Hawkeyes are playing really well with both Heiden and Hannah Stuelke inside, and it has also been opened up thanks to strong supporting performances from Chit-Chat Wright, Taylor McCabe and Taylor Stremlow, who specifically had a big second half against Baylor.

Iowa is now up to 11th in the AP Poll and is looking truly dangerous headed into Big Ten play.

Britt Prince, Nebraska

• 1.6 WS | 22.0 PPG | 3.7 RPG | 3.7 APG | 64.3 FG% | 52.8 3PT%

After a few weeks of dominating inferior competition, Nebraska finally had to battle last night against Virginia, but handled business with a 91-82 win that the Cornhuskers led by 19 heading into the fourth.

Prince has looked like the star that we expected she would be as a sophomore, but she really proved it against the Cavaliers, finishing with 30 points and six assists on 12-of-17 shooting. Her scoring, and how efficiently she is finding it, is extremely impressive thus far and gives Nebraska a great nucleus to run the offense around.

Amiah Hargrove also should be recognized for adding 17 points, eight rebounds and a pair of steals in that Virginia win. She’s been terrific off the bench for Nebraska in her sophomore year, especially as the Cornhuskers await the return of Natalie Potts.

Jazzy Davidson, USC

• 0.7 WS | 16.0 PPG | 7.2 RPG | 3.8 APG | 2.0 SPG | 2.2 BPG

The Trojans have been thrown into the fire with their new-look roster, facing both UConn and Notre Dame for their two defeats, along with a big-time victory over NC State. I think this is going to benefit this roster mightily for conference play, but for now, it has been really fun watching Davidson to continue to figure out the college game.

Her stat line is already ridiculous, especially the 4.2 stocks per game for her first six collegiate performances. Her efficiency has not been exceptional, but that is also to be expected from a true freshman leading a team in shots while facing elite competition. It’s going to get there, and USC knows it.

In the two-point loss to Notre Dame, Davidson had clear highs (14 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 blocks) and some lows (8 turnovers). Kara Dunn led USC with 21 points in the 61-59 defeat. Davidson and Kennedy Smith have already proven to be an elite defensive tandem and they’ve barely gotten started. Once the offense catches up even a little bit, especially for Davidson, the Trojans are going to be hard to beat.

We’ve Been Graced

Grace VanSlooten, Michigan State

• 1.4 WS | 16.7 PPG | 5.0 RPG | 2.3 APG | 3.2 SPG | 58.1 FG%

Yes, Michigan State has played a very easy non-conference schedule. Sure, this will not be a team that averages over 100 PPG the whole season, probably. But still, the Spartans are absolutely rolling early on, and the rise of VanSlooten as more of the focal point has been nice to see.

Heading into yesterday’s game, VanSlooten was the Big Ten’s win share leader, and she’s done it in just 22.5 minutes per game. Her offensive efficiency paired with the ridiculous steal total — part of the nation-leading 30.3 turnovers Michigan State is forcing per game — has been the leading role of this weapon of an attack the Spartans have made.

Also a key part of this attack so far has been Purdue transfer Rashunda Jones, who leads Michigan State with 3.8 steals per game and is currently boasting a truly obscene 32-to-4 assist-to-turnover ratio thus far, the best AST/TO ratio in the country.

Gracie Merkle, Penn State

• 1.2 WS | 23.8 PPG | 9.0 RPG | 2.5 APG | 1.5 BPG | 72.2 FG%

The Nittany Lions may have suffered their first defeat of the season to Princeton, but it’s been a generally very promising start for Penn State’s main core, namely Merkle who has put up some remarkable numbers offensively to this point. She’s a Top 10 scorer on Top 5 efficiency across the country, and has also doubled her assist totals from last year’s average to add some versatility to her game.

There’s a great core four building with Penn State right now. Kiyomi McMiller (19.7 PPG/6.7 RPG/5.8 APG/3.0 SPG) has brought the energy and production she was expected to, Moriah Murray (48.7 3PT%, 6.5 3PAPG) has been a knockdown volume shooter and Tea Cleante (11.8 PPG, 2.4 APG, 2.4 SPG, 43.5 3PT%) has helped fill a lot of the remaining gaps.

The depth outside of those four remains a question mark, but it’s a really solid foundation forming for this program to keep building on.

Grace Sullivan, Northwestern

• 0.8 WS | 21.0 PPG | 9.2 RPG | 1.2 SPG | 1.4 BPG | 58.0 FG%

Northwestern is undefeated! Sure, the Wildcats have really had to work for just about all five of the wins, but they all ended in wins and that is huge for this program’s momentum.

Sullivan has ignited in the early portions of this season, leading the Wildcats and ranking among the Top 20 scorers in the country, while also adding nine boards and a steal and a block per contest. She has scored at least 16 points in every game, including 20+ in both of Northwestern’s last two victories.

Joe McKeown still has areas to improve this team, but it’s nice to see Northwestern beating its early competition. The rebounding and shot blocking from Sullivan and Tayla Thomas (12.0 PPG/11.8 RPG/1.8 BPG) has been tremendous, as have been the 8.8 APG from Caroline Lau.

Tougher competition awaits these Wildcats, but there are real signs of growth early in McKeown’s final season.

Star Turns

Sayvia Sellers, Washington

• 1.3 WS | 17.8 PPG | 4.0 APG | 1.8 SPG | 1.2 BPG

So far, the Huskies’ undefeated start has been more a result of their smothering defense than a firing-on-all-cylinders offense. Washington is holding opponents to 47.0 PPG, and no one has score more than 61.

It’s been a real group effort on defense, and it’s all been without star Elle Ladine. That has allowed Sellers to really showcase her ability. She by far and away leads the Huskies in scoring — Avery Howell is second at 10.8 PPG — and is also leading the team in assists and steals.

Sellers has also started blocking people, a fascinating development for the 5-7 guard who had 17 career blocks heading into the season.

While Sellers has been great, she had just one point in 19 minutes in their 66-40 win over Southern yesterday. Her averages were much better prior to this, but it also showcased Washington’s depth as Howell (18 points) and five-star freshman Brynn McGaughy (14 points, 3 blocks in 16 minutes) had a chance to shine.

Oluchi Okananwa, Maryland

• 1.2 WS | 15.7 PPG | 4.9 RPG | 2.4 APG | 57.1 FG%

It’s so unfortunate for the Terps that they lose true freshman Lea Bartelme for the season, not only because she showed some great potential, but because it has otherwise been sort of a perfect usage of non-conference play to get this team rolling headed into a huge game against Kentucky tonight.

Maryland has been able to test out some different starting lineups, work in the new pieces of the line and figure out what it’s going to look like this year, all while winning convincingly to this point. Okananwa’s continued breakout has been the star of the show though, as she’s been freed of Duke Offense Jail and has blossomed as a crucial piece of the scoring while bringing great intensity on defense.

The other massive bright spot has been Addi Mack, who looks every part of being a terrific volume scorer through her first seven collegiate games. Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu (8.7 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 1.3 BPG) has also been outrageously productive in her 16ish minutes per game.

Katie Fiso, Oregon

• 1.3 WS | 14.6 PPG | 8.4 APG | 1.4 SPG | 62.9 FG%

After the Ducks got the brutal news of another season-ending injury to key guard Elisa Mevius, they really needed a win. Man, have they found it with the rise of Fiso in her sophomore season.

She’s been truly tremendous during Oregon’s 7-0 start, ranking second on the team in scoring and third in the nation in assists per game. She’s also done all of her work inside the arc, and with ridiculous efficiency for a guard. Fiso has been in double figures all seven games, and has four double-doubles on the year already. Compare this to last season, where Fiso averaged just 3.1 PPG with less than an assist per contest, just astounding.

Fresno State transfer Mia Jacobs also deserves a shout, as she’s leading the Ducks with 15.0 PPG while adding 5.0 RPG and 2.4 SPG. She’s also among the top free throw shooters in the country, both in makes (28, 38th) and percentage (93.3%, 23rd).

What to Watch

(TTQ: Torvik Thrill Quotient)

• 11/26 — No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 4 Texas — TTQ: 113

• 11/26 — Ohio State vs. No. 21 West Virginia — TTQ: 93 (This one might be on as Hoopla publishes, so watch it if you can!!)

• 11/26 — No. 7 Maryland vs. No. 16 Kentucky — TTQ: 91

• 11/26 — Minnesota vs. Alabama — TTQ: 76

All of those above are TODAY, just as an FYI. My goodness what a day.

• 11/28 — Wisconsin vs. No. 13 Ole Miss — TTQ: 61

• 11/29 — Wisconsin vs. James Madison — TTQ: 75

• 11/29 — Northwestern vs. Missouri — TTQ: 61

• 11/30 — No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 14 Tennessee — TTQ: 88

• 11/30 — No. 11 Iowa vs. Fairfield — TTQ: 69

• 11/30 — Oregon at Auburn — TTQ: 69

• 11/30 — Purdue at Central Michigan — TTQ: 63

Photo Credit: Iowa Athletics

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