With the 2021-22 season approaching, there are a couple of aspects that are vital in creating a successful roster, including veteran leadership and experience. As major keys to college basketball programs, seniors usually take on these roles, as they try to guide their teams to the March Madness Tournament.
However, the senior class is rather unusual this 2021-22 season. Since the cancelation of the 2020 college basketball postseason, college basketball rules have adjusted accordingly. Because of the unprecedented 2020-21 season, those who played last year could choose not to count the season against their four seasons of eligibility. Thus the term “super seniors” has arisen, where players who were technically seniors last season were eligible to return for another year of college basketball.
Here is a list of some impact seniors and super seniors in the upcoming season.
Taz Sherman, West Virginia
Sherman exploded in his second season at WVU in 2020–21, becoming one of the best scorers in the Big 12 and taking home the All-Big 12 Honorable Mention title. As a fifth-year senior, the guard averaged more than 13 points per game on 41% shooting including 35.9% from three and 87% from the free-throw line. His return to Morgantown is crucial for the Mountaineers after the departures of Miles McBride and Derek Culver.
Jordan Bohannon, Iowa
Bohannon will be returning for his super senior season looking to break even more Iowa basketball records. The guard has already been placed into the record books in career 3-pointers made, games played, assists, and free throw percentage. Named honorable mention All-Big Ten in the 2020-21 season, Bohanan ranked first on the team in assists (135) and 3-pointers made (80), and third in points per game (10.6). After losing several of their top players in Luka Garza, Joe Wieskamp, and CJ Fredrick, Bohannon will be taking on a major role in leading the team, especially on the offensive end.
Marcus Carr, Texas
Carr has been a dominant scorer in college basketball throughout the years. With Minnesota, he became an All-Big Ten performer, averaging almost 20 points and 4.9 assists per game. The 6-foot-2 guard will be transferring for his senior season to the Longhorns. Under a new head coach in Chris Beard, Marcus Carr will be playing alongside some other top transfers in the nation. This includes Utah All-Pac-12 forward Timmy Allen, UMass center Tre Mitchell, Vanderbilt power forward Dylan Disu, and Creighton forward Christian Bishop.
Remy Martin, Kansas
After scoring 1,754 points in 118 games over four seasons at Arizona State, Martin will be taking his talents to play his “super season” year with Kansas. The Jayhawks have one of the nation’s deepest rosters backed behind David McCormack, Jalen Wilson, and Division II transfer Cam Martin. As a 6-foot point guard, Remy will take on a facilitator role this season, as he’ll create for others off the dribble and lead them to open shots.
Collin Gillespie, Villanova
Gillespie decided to return for his super senior year after watching his senior year cut short by an injury. Before tearing his MCL, the combo guard played 20 games and was averaging 14 points and 4.6 assists per game. This year, he’ll be joined in the backcourt by Justin Moore and another super senior in Forward Jermaine Samuels. With Gillespie’s ability to shoot, score and distribute the ball, he’ll be looking to take this Wildcats team far into March. Predicted for All-American honors, Gillespie could prove to be the nation’s top point guard as long as he stays healthy.
You can ‘Like’ The Game Haus on Facebook and ‘Follow’ us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other great TGH writers along with Brian!
“From Our Haus to Yours”