It wasn’t Zion Williamson’s eye-popping athleticism that had everyone in NBA circles talking after he and his Duke frosh throttled Kentucky to open the season.

“I knew how athletic he was,” Indiana Pacers big man Myles Turner, who was in attendance for the game, told Stadium. “He moves so effortlessly, and what really impressed me was his basketball IQ and feel for the game.”

“He’s a much better passer than I thought. He’s got excellent court vision,” added one NBA scout. “And I didn’t realize that he had that kind of touch around the rim.”

Many NBA execs had pegged the 6-foot-7, 285-pound Williamson in the No. 5-10 draft pick range, but all it took was a couple games for them to re-evaluate.

“I think he’s in the conversation for the number one pick, although I’d still say RJ Barrett is the favorite to go first,” said one NBA general manager. “I still want to see if he can really shoot it consistently, but he can really pass – and he’s so powerful and nimble. It’s such a rare combination of physical and quickness.”

“It wouldn’t shock me,” added another NBA guy of Williamson being in the equation for the No. 1 selection.

It’s only been two games, but Williamson has been impressive thus far – in wins over Kentucky and Army. He’s averaging 27.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.5 blocks and 3.0 assists while making 22-of-27 shots from the field. Most of the shots have come around the basket, but Williamson made a 3 against the Wildcats and has also made a couple of perimeter jumpers.

The 6-foot-8 Barrett has been equally impressive in the early going, averaging 28 points, five rebounds and four assists per game while making 6-of-16 shots from long range – considered the weakness in his game. He’s also been to the line 10 times in two games.

“He’s such a force,” one NBA executive said of Barrett. “He attacks and in today’s NBA, where you can’t touch guys, he’s going to be effective because he drives it at you.”

Cam Reddish is the third member of Duke’s vaunted freshman class – which also includes point guard Tre Jones – and the jury is still out on the 6-foot-8 skilled wing. More than one NBA executive compared Reddish to veteran NBA player Rudy Gay.

“My question is whether he plays hard, and whether he’s got the personality of a Rudy Gay or an (Andrew) Wiggins,” one NBA general manager said.

 

SOWED HIS OATS IN THE CLASSROOM

A little more than five years ago, Nate Oats was coaching at Romulus High and teaching a full class load: stats, geometry and Algebra 1.

Now he’s arguably the hottest up-and-coming college hoops coach in the country.

Oats, 44, has already taken the Bulls to a pair of NCAA tournaments in his three seasons since replacing Bobby Hurley. But this Buffalo team is different than the one that pummeled number one overall pick Deandre Ayton and Arizona last March in the first round of the tourney.

“We’re better defensively,” Oats said.

Buffalo is 3-0 with a pair of road wins in Morgantown against West Virginia and also in Carbondale against a Southern Illinois club that nearly knocked off Kentucky. In the Bulls’ first game, a win over St. Francis (Pa.), they were just 7-of-34 from beyond the arc. Guys not named C.J. Massinburg were just 2-of-22 from long range in the win over West Virginia, and the team was 8-of-28 from long distance in the victory over SIU. Jeremy Harris, considered by many as one of the top shooters in the country, has been dealing with a wrist injury and is just 4-of-26 from deep.

“He’s a gym rat and we think maybe he shoots too much,” Oats said.

Massinburg caught the nation’s attention when he erupted for 43 against Bob Huggins’ West Virginia team, but the senior guard was basically a late throw-in after Oats got the job and needed to replace four players – one who was dismissed, three who followed Hurley to Arizona State and Nate Navigato, who de-committed and wound up signing with Toledo.

Massinburg’s lone offer after his senior season came via Prairie View A&M. Oats sent assistant Jim Whitesell to watch him at an AAU event in late-April at the recommendation of then-Louisiana Tech assistant Dusty May.

“We brought him to campus on a visit and I had never seen him play in-person,” Oats said. “I asked him whether he’d be willing to redshirt.”

Massinburg’s defense got him on the court as a freshman, and the Dallas native wound up averaging 11.3 points per game. A year ago, he put up 17.0 points and 7.3 boards per contest – one of four Bulls players to average at least 15 points per contest.

This Buffalo team has one resume victory, but may need one more to put itself in conversation for an at-large bid (depending on what the Bulls do in league play) come March. There are still two more chances: Dec. 18 at Syracuse and Dec. 21 at Marquette.

 

SCHOOLS REBOUND FROM FBI PROBE

The early signing period is this week, and the top storyline is a no-brainer: Those that were embroiled in the FBI’s college basketball trials haven’t just survived. They have thrived on the recruiting trail.

“That’s the biggest storyline,” 247 Sports recruiting analyst Brian Snow told Stadium. “That all the schools that were involved in the FBI investigation have rebounded.”

USC is ranked No. 1 overall by 247 Sports after securing a trio of top 75 kids. Arizona checks in at No. 3 with a pair of potential McDonald’s All-Americans among their four pledges. Louisville and new coach Chris Mack have three players coming in ranked in the Top 100. Auburn cracks the Top 10 with a pair of Top 100 kids, and even Oklahoma State has done just fine, with two players ranked in the Top 100.

Could this change? Sure, but it’s unlikely with the current class due to the lack of dexterity in which the NCAA moves with regards to investigations, and the fact that the third and final trial – the one that involves ex-assistants from Arizona, USC and Oklahoma State – isn’t set to begin until April 22 (the one involving former Auburn assistant Chuck Person starts in early February).

 

DUKE STILL SEARCHING FOR TOP 10 RECRUIT

Mike Krzyzewski and Duke owned the recruiting trail a year ago, bringing in arguably the top three players: RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish and Zion Williamson.

But the Blue Devils could be shut out in landing a Top 10 player in the Class of 2019.

“The loss of Jeff Capel definitely had an impact,” said one high-major coach who goes against the Blue Devils regularly in recruiting. “But so does the fact that K isn’t the head coach of the Olympic Team anymore. That was a significant advantage and sales pitch for him that he doesn’t have anymore.”

There are only three players in the Top 10 who have committed, and Kentucky has two of them: Khalil Whitney (No. 7) and Tyrese Maxey (No. 9). The other one is Josh Green (No. 10) to Arizona.

 

The rest of those in the Top 10:

No. 1 James Wiseman – Most recruiting experts expect the Memphis native to stay home and choose the Tigers over UK. Vanderbilt, Florida State and Kansas are also in the mix.

No. 2 Vernon Carey – Duke is the favorite here, according to 247, but Carey is from Fort Lauderdale, and Miami (where his father played football) is in the equation here. ESPN’s Jeff Borzello is predicting Michigan State for Carey. Kentucky and North Carolina are also a part of his final group.

No. 3 Cole Anthony – North Carolina is the pick, per both 247 and also Borzello. But his father, former NBAer Greg Anthony, and his family have kept it fairly close to the vest. The other schools in the equation are Notre Dame, Oregon, Georgetown, Wake Forest and Miami.

No. 4 Jaden McDaniels – His brother attends San Diego State, and 247 has it as a pick ‘em between the Aztecs and Texas. Borzello is going with Washington for the long and skilled forward. Kentucky and UCLA also comprise his top five.

No. 5 Isaiah Stewart – Michigan State has a slight edge over Duke, per 247. Borzello is also riding with Sparty, but Stewart is also looking at Duke, Washington, Kentucky and Syracuse.

No. 6 Matthew Hurt – Kansas has always been the frontrunner for the skilled and talented forward. Hometown Minnesota is in the mix – as is UNC, Duke, Kentucky, Indiana, Memphis and Villanova.

No. 8 Precious Achiuwa – This one appears to be between UConn and St. John’s – with the Huskies as the leader.

 

THE GOOD, BAD AND UGLY

THE GOOD: Duke’s 34-point annihilation of Kentucky which resulted in the worst loss in the history of John Calipari’s college or NBA coaching career. RJ Barrett was tremendous, Zion Williamson was a sensation, Cam Reddish was damn good, Tre Jones didn’t commit a single turnover and Jack White went for career-highs in points (9), rebounds (11) and minutes (30).

THE BAD: The Atlantic 10: George Washington has lost to Stony Brook and Siena and its cost the Colonials about $125,000 in a pair of buy games. St. Bonaventure has lost to Bucknell ($75,000) and also Niagara – which was actually a home-and-home series. George Mason has dropped games to Penn ($80,000), American and also Georgia Southern (home-and-home). Richmond handed Longwood $80,000 and a victory, and La Salle lost to Lafayette.

THE UGLY: This was a no-brainer. Fitchburg State player Kewan Platt delivered a haymaker to Nichols College’s Nate Tenaglia immediately after he shot a 3-pointer. Platt is banned from campus and has been suspended indefinitely. Platt should be banned from ever playing basketball again – even down at the neighborhood YMCA.

You thought Grayson Allen was dirty?

Check out DIII Fitchburg State's Kewan Platt decking Nichols' Nate Tenaglia last night. #Filth pic.twitter.com/RbI3wEna1u

— Jim Weber (@JimMWeber) November 14, 2018

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

I’m going to try and do one of these every week, and if you have an idea for one of them – feel free to reach out to me at goodmanhoops@gmail.com.

It was all the buzz at the University of Akron in July of 2007 when an anonymous 7-footer who had arrived in the U.S a few months earlier dominated all the other big men, running the floor, blocking shots and also dunking with ferocity.

It was where John Riek blew up.

“It was amazing,” Riek said when recalling the plethora of high-level college programs that offered scholarships in the aftermath.

“He was the biggest, most athletic young big man I had ever seen,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl, who recruited him at Tennessee, told me.

“My initial impressions of him were how big he was and how well he moved for his size,” said Tom Moore, who was recruiting Riek as an assistant at UConn at the time. “He was all of 7-foot, 7-1 with a huge wingspan and he ran and moved so well.”

Riek was a raw, 7-foot-2 shot-blocker from the Sudan with a 7-foot-8 wingspan who bounced around – from Our Savior New American in Long Island to Winchendon School in Massachusetts to IMG Academy down in Florida.

There were knee problems, and questions about his age and eligibility. He wound up committing to Cincinnati in August of 2008, then to Mississippi State in May of 2009 – where he served a nine-game NCAA suspension due to amateurism violations before barely playing for two seasons prior to transferring to NAIA Tennessee Temple University – where he spent his final two years in college.

Now the 30-year-old Riek, who is still a few classes shy of earning his college degree, is working at Meijer in Michigan.

“I’ve been working here since 2013 in the warehouse,” Riek said. “It’s like a Walmart.”

“I still think about it,” Riek said of his rapid ascension and the NBA talk that followed. “I still think I should be playing ball. My knees feel good right now, and I still think that maybe I should go overseas and try and play.”