College Basketball Waiver Wire: Pickups of the Week

College Basketball Waiver Wire: Pickups of the Week

This article is part of our College Basketball Waiver Wire series.

We're nearing the finish line in season-long leagues. My ACC/SEC dynasty league is entering their semi-final week, where I stumbled out of the gates, sold off assets (Armando Bacot and Darius Days) and somehow still made the playoffs! I can thank the likes of Walker Kessler and P.J. Hall for that success, both of whom may have been available on the wire in early parts of the season in larger player pools. Lets see if we can still find a few gems to help close the season strong!

Power Conferences

Al-Amir Dawes, G, Clemson

We've got some wounded teams in the ACC, which makes for ripe picking on the wire. Hall, noted above, saw only one minute Saturday and has been in a walking boot for the better part of February when not in a game situation. He seems highly unlikely to play for the foreseeable future as a result. Clemson doesn't have a capable replacement in its frontcourt, so the Tigers seem likely to become guard-heavy for the time being. Dawes recently moved to a reserve role after scoring just seven points in two games, and he's taken that to heart, dropping 18 on both Florida State and Louisville last week. With so few other options, Dawes seems destiny to shoulder the offense onus.

Jalen Warley, G, Florida State

The 'Noles don't seem particularly close to having any of Caleb Mills, Anthony Polite or RayQuan Evans back in their rotation, which has created ample

We're nearing the finish line in season-long leagues. My ACC/SEC dynasty league is entering their semi-final week, where I stumbled out of the gates, sold off assets (Armando Bacot and Darius Days) and somehow still made the playoffs! I can thank the likes of Walker Kessler and P.J. Hall for that success, both of whom may have been available on the wire in early parts of the season in larger player pools. Lets see if we can still find a few gems to help close the season strong!

Power Conferences

Al-Amir Dawes, G, Clemson

We've got some wounded teams in the ACC, which makes for ripe picking on the wire. Hall, noted above, saw only one minute Saturday and has been in a walking boot for the better part of February when not in a game situation. He seems highly unlikely to play for the foreseeable future as a result. Clemson doesn't have a capable replacement in its frontcourt, so the Tigers seem likely to become guard-heavy for the time being. Dawes recently moved to a reserve role after scoring just seven points in two games, and he's taken that to heart, dropping 18 on both Florida State and Louisville last week. With so few other options, Dawes seems destiny to shoulder the offense onus.

Jalen Warley, G, Florida State

The 'Noles don't seem particularly close to having any of Caleb Mills, Anthony Polite or RayQuan Evans back in their rotation, which has created ample opportunities for younger options. Last week's emergence was Warley, who had an impressive 15 points, seven boards, six assists and a steal in his second start of the year at Duke. Assuming he starts Monday at Boston College, he'll be forced into production given the heavy minutes he'll see.

Sean Sutherlin, G, Minnesota

Sutherlin did his best Payton Willis impersonation over the weekend, starting in the latter's absence due to Covid protocols, and finishing with 11 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals. There's certainly the chance Willis returns Wednesday against Wisconsin, and almost assuredly next weekend against Indiana, but Sutherlin would be worth a claim for Willis owners at worst, as well as anyone in need of a potential one-game plug-in at best.

Paul Mulcahy, G, Rutgers

In Big 10-heavy circles, Mulcahy has long been rostered. And those that have been in desperate need of assists likely have claimed him by now as well. But it's time for Mulcahy to gain some national relevance thanks to a new-found scoring touch. He averaged only 6.7 points across the Scarlet Knights first 19 games, scoring in double-digits just five times. Over the last seven outings, he's reached at least 10 points in every contest, averaging a very usable 16.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 1.7 steals. 

Jacob Groves, F, Oklahoma

The Sooners already thin rotation got thinner with the announcement Elijah Harkless would miss the rest of the season. Groves started and saw 33 minutes in Harkless' first absence after seeing 49 total minutes in the team's prior four games. It resulted in 11 points and two boards, not huge numbers, but the role change forces us to take notice and potentially roster him in Big 12-heavy formats.

Jeremy Sochan, F, Baylor

Last week, we spotlighted Flo Thamba as being the big beneficiary of Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua's season-ending injury, but Sochan has also been impressive in extended run. His 12.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals in two games last week certainly merit attention if you need some front court depth.

Courvoisier McCauley, G, DePaul

Even with the return of Javon Freeman-Liberty, DePaul remains a mash unit, which has created opportunity for McCauley. He moved into the starting lineup over the weekend and responded with his first career double-double. He's not going to rebound that well nightly, but having played 30+ minutes in each of his last two and having scored in double-digits in five of six, McCauley looks like he's in a spot to produce down the stretch.

David Singleton, G, UCLA

Singleton doesn't have a ton of standalone value, but in Pac-12-heavy leagues, anyone with shares of the Bruins' rotation need to take short-term notice. He scored a career-high 22 over the weekend, and UCLA is banged up. There's not a lot going on out west on the wire, so adding Singleton as a guy who could make a spot start or two this week is prudent.

Jacob Toppin, F, Kentucky

This is another spot where we have to preemptively add someone who could hold value over the coming week. Kentucky was without TyTy Washington and Sahvir Wheeler over the weekend, and it's possible those absences continue against LSU and Arkansas this week. It led to the Wildcats new starting five playing 191 of a possible 200 minutes Saturday against Alabama. Toppin put in 13 points, six rebounds and three assists. He saw only a 13.1 percent usage rate, so scoring could be a liability. But we know minutes will be there as long as Kentucky remains shorthanded, especiall if Oscar Tshiebwe finds himself in foul trouble on any given night. Keion Brooks and Kellan Grady should be added in deeper player pools where available, as they'll continue shouldering the offensive workload.

Liam Robbins, F/C, Vanderbilt

Robbins continues to trend upward. Now finally appearing healthy, he's started the Commodores last two games and put up a usable 14 points, eight rebounds and two blocks Saturday against Texas A&M. His blocks should keep him as a fantasy option for the remainder of the year, while he's previously proven to be, at worst, a capable scorer in previous seasons. 

Tier 2

Ricky Council, G, Wichita State

Not only did Council return to the starting lineup for the fifth time this season and first since January 16, he saw a whopping 48 minutes against Houston, providing 17 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and a block. Council has now scored 17+ in three straight, and is averaging 5.4 rebounds on the year, favorable from a guard. Averaging only 1.8 assists, he's a bit of a different mix for a backcourt fantasy option, but useable nonetheless.

Cameron Shelton, G, Loyola Marymount

Shelton has largely struggled this season, but he's a guy that averaged 19.2 points and 5.9 rebounds last year at Northern Arizona, so we know he's at least capable. And he's starting to flash that form again here late in the year, averaging a serviceable 13.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 steals over the last four games. Playing 37 minutes nightly in that stretch, he can't help but produce.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chris Bennett
Bennett covers baseball, college football and college basketball for RotoWire. Before turning to fantasy writing, he worked in scouting/player development for the Atlanta Braves and Montreal Expos. He's also a fan of the ACC.
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