Yesterday my all newcomer 1st team was posted. You may have noticed the lack of 1st-year players on that team. In a year with limited practice and opportunities to acclimate to teammates, it may take 1st-year players a little longer than usual to contribute at a high level. However that as you can see with the 2nd team below, that doesn’t mean there won’t be impact freshman this season. There will also likely be some complaint about the lack of representatives from some teams, however, if your team isn’t represented that might be a good thing as they are likely not relying heavily on newcomers. So without further ado, here is the All-Summit newcomer 2nd team.
G Jamie Bergens (FR) 6’2 170 Oral Roberts: Stop me if you have heard this before, Oral Roberts brings in a highly touted player out of the Netherlands. After Emmanuel Nzekwesi, this time it’s a highly touted guard in Bergens. Considered a 3* top 150 recruit by 247sports Bergens is one of the most highly touted recruits to join the Summit League in some time. It will probably take Bergens some time to gain minutes as there is plenty of backcourt competition with Max Abmas, grad transfer RJ Glasper, Carlos Jurgens who redshirted last year, however eventually Bergens will have a major role. A smooth lead guard who displays excellent vision for a young player on a regular basis, Bergens will get his chance. Not to mention the history of Golden Eagle freshman bursting on the scene in recent years with Kevin Obanor and Deshang Weaver 2 years ago and Abmas last year.
G Demarius Pitts (SO) 6’4 170 Kansas City: Big guard who plays defense, shoots well from behind the arc. That could describe the type of player that fits in very well in Coach Billy Donlon’s system. Well, it just so happens to describe Pitts as well. At division 2 Virginia Union Pitts averaged over 13 points per game while shooting 38 percent from 3. Throw in 1.3 steals per game and it’s easy to see a path for major minutes given the losses the Roos suffered from last year’s team. No one on the Kansas City Roster is likely to average 15 plus points per game so it will be Pitts’ defensive ability and ability to fit into the Kansas City system that will set him apart from others who could be argued to be on this list.
G Sam’i Roe (JR) 6’1 180 Omaha: I wanted to go with one of the Western Illinois freshmen here but I think it will take both of those talented freshmen to get going. I keep getting the feeling that Coach Jeter will go with veteran players for much of this unique season. I also think Omaha Coach Derrin Hansen will go with veterans to replace JT Gibson and KJ Robinson. Insert Juco product, Roe. Roe certainly comes from talented bloodlines, Roe’s father is Lou Roe who was a star at UMass. Roe was a good scorer and had solid secondary numbers at the JUCO level and there’s a good chance he jumps into the Omaha starting lineup. If so, he fits in nicely on this team.
F Will Carius (SR) 6’7 225 Western Illinois: As a division 3 graduate, I am very Carius (if you read this far down you couldn’t have been expecting better commentary than that awful joke) how a division 3 star competes at the Division 1 level. It may be even a small glimpse into the task ahead for a rival of my former alma mater, St. Thomas as they jump from division 3 next season. A division 3 all-american, Carius brings his 25 points and 11 rebounds per game up two levels of competition. Not to mention Carius started his career playing at division 2 Northern Michigan. One thing that I think is pretty certain is Carius will play decent minutes and maybe for two seasons. One can be relatively confident that Carius is a good post player given those numbers regardless of level and he certainly has the size to play in the post in the Summit League.
F Ramean Hinton (FR) 6’5 180 Western Illinois: There is some discussion that Hinton is the most highly touted recruit in Western Illinois history. There was some high major interest in Hinton. At 6’5 180 Hinton is listed as a forward on the Western Illinois website. Though I am thankful for this allowing for better symmetry in my article as it allows for 2 forwards on the team, it seems Hinton is more likely to be out on the wing. Most videos of Hinton show a perimeter-based player who is also willing to mix it up down low. While I think Hinton is not as involved at the beginning of the season, he is a key building block for the future and it’s hard to believe that playing time won’t grow exponentially over the season. It will be fun to watch this young player develop. One more thing, before I get called a Western Illinois homer for having 3 players on the all newcomer teams. Almost the entire roster turned over, they are bound to have some newcomers who have big seasons.