Five Players That Have My Attention (And Should Have Yours)

Using advanced metrics at EvanMiya.com to single out noteworthy performers

I’ve chosen five unique players inside the top 15 at EvanMiya.com to highlight today. Outside of Johni Broome, these are not typically the most discussed players in the country, but they each have at least one impressive quality that has made me take notice of their game.

#1 Johni Broome (Auburn)

Broome is hands-down the best player in college basketball this season. Like Zach Edey last year, Broome is comfortably number one in all of the advanced player metrics that matter. He’s #1 in Bayesian Performance Rating by a wide margin:

While comparing BPR across seasons is not entirely apples-to-apples, Broome’s BPR of +10.66 is better than Edey’s +10.35 last season. Broome’s per-possessions stats are arguably even more efficient than Edey’s: Broome’s Box BPR of +8.79, which estimates value from your individual stats only, also tops Edey’s mark of +8.71 in 2023-24.

Why is Broome’s statistical output so impressive? He’s contributing in every single area of play to good effect. Statistically, he’s the best rebounder in the country right now, per his nation-leading projected offensive + defensive rebounding rate of 42.3%. He also has an A+ grade in Scoring Volume, in the 99th percentile nationally. Broome is one of the elite passing bigs in the country, in the 96th percentile in playmaking score, which combines assists (89th percentile) and turnovers (60th percentile). He's virtually unstoppable when you throw in his three-point threat as well.

#5 Eric Dailey (UCLA)

Nothing from Dailey’s box score statistics jumps off the page as being elite, but his numbers are eye-popping when you dig into his advanced team impact metrics.

Eric Dailey has a team-leading Adjusted Team Efficiency Margin of +45.0, meaning that UCLA is outscoring opponents by 45 points per 100 possessions while Dailey is on the floor, adjusted for opponent strength. The next closest teammate is a full 10 points worse than Dailey, and William Kyle is more than 30 points per 100 possessions worse than Dailey.

To put that in perspective, in a 70-possession game, UCLA would outscore an average opponent by 32 points with Dailey on the floor, compared to just 9 points with Kyle playing the full 40 minutes. That’s an INSANE performance drop from Dailey to the rest of the team.

The On-Off splits (found on the Players page of the Team Breakdown tool at EvanMiya.com) tell a similar story: UCLA’s is 23 points per 100 possessions better offensively and 10 points per 100 possessions better defensively with Eric Dailey on the court compared to on the bench. His presence alone is making an astronomical impact on UCLA’s performance.

The table below shows the top pairs of players for UCLA based on how efficient the team is with each duo on the floor. Eric Dailey is present in 7 of the top 9 duos on the team. It’s hard for UCLA to find success without him being out there.

#8 Joseph Tugler (Houston)

Joseph Tugler is the best defender in the country right now on a per-possession basis. He leads the nation in Defensive Bayesian Performance Rating, ahead of Cooper Flagg, Dillon Mitchell, Cam Matthews, and Johni Broome. Though Tugler likely won’t ever be the first player you notice on Houston’s roster, he’s a huge key to their #1 ranked defense at EvanMiya.com.

Tugler’s Adjusted Team Defensive Efficiency of 72.7 is second best in the country, only behind teammate Milos Uzan. After adjusting for the quality of opposition, Houston only allows 72.7 points per 100 possessions when Tugler is on the court.

In his sophomore season, Tugler has shown some big improvement in key areas compared to last year. The chart below displays Tugler’s “big man” player skill percentiles, where he ranks 97th percentile or better in blocks, offensive rebounds, on-court defensive impact, and on-court offensive impact:

Tugler’s increased rim protection is particularly noteworthy. He averaged barely a block per game as a freshman, but this year, he’s up to 2.5 per contest. His projected block percentage of 8.9% is now in the top 1% nationally. His steady improvement across his time in college is apparent in the game-by-game career progression graph below:

#9 Ja’Kobi Gillespie (Maryland)

Ja’Kobi Gillespie has become one of the best transfers from this summer’s portal cycle, bringing his talents from Nashville to College Park. The 27th-best transfer at EvanMiya.com, he’s quickly ascended to being one of the most valuable players in the nation, now inside the top 10 in BPR.

His “guard” player skill percentiles chart at EvanMiya.com is really impressive:

Gillespie has improved in several key areas since last year, including his 3PT shooting, FT shooting, and turning the ball over. His career progression in shooting from distance is particularly noticeable. The graph below shows his game-by-game improvement in projected 3PT shooting % across his career. After being below 34% his entire freshman year (in purple), he made significant strides as a sophomore to get close to 36% (in blue) and has taken another massive leap at Maryland, shooting almost 42% this year and moving into the top 5% nationally in 3PT Shooting skill.

#12 Josh Hubbard (Mississippi State)

Josh Hubbard is one of the most unique scoring guards I’ve seen in recent memory. He’s excellent in many areas, as seen by his “guard” player skill percentiles chart below:

Hubbard has the rare ability to not turn the ball over while constantly having the rock in his hands. He’s in the 99th percentile in scoring volume, consistently putting the ball through the hoop. Hubbard also facilitates for others, in the 78th percentile in projected assist rate. And he seldom gives the ball away, in the top 5 percent nationally in projected turnover percentage.

To illustrate how rare this combination is for high-volume scorers, I pulled a list of every player this season who is in the 99th percentile or better in scoring volume while also being in the top 25% nationally in assist rate. All 21 of these players score a ton while still setting up other teammates to score as well:

Josh Hubbard is the only player in this list with a projected turnover percentage under 2%. In fact, all but one player (Kam Jones) is over 3%. Hubbard is in the 95th percentile nationally in protecting the ball, while most of this group is below the Division 1 average. It’s tough to score and facilitate to the level that Hubbard does while giving away as few turnovers as he has.

To dig into more of these metrics, head over to EvanMiya.com and sign up for a premium subscription, just $29.99 per month or $179.99 per year.