7 observations from 7 days: Isaiah Collier is living up to his billing, Princeton’s hot start and more

Given where my head was at all week, the performance that resonated with me the most was Xander Rice’s 30-point outburst to lead Monmouth — which is coach by his father, King Rice — over West Virginia while on the road in Morgantown.

Not only did Rice go for 30, but he was super-efficient while doing it — 8 of 16 from the floor, 5 of 10 from the 3-point line and 9 of 10 from the free-throw line with four rebounds, six assists and just one turnover.

I remember watching Rice in high school, first playing for Bob Hurley at St. Anthony’s in New Jersey and then finishing at the Patrick School. Like most coaches’ sons, many people assumed he would just end up playing for his dad. Although King was often at the games I attended, he allowed Xander to have a normal high school recruiting process. Rice ended up committing to Bucknell where he had a great four-year career, earning a degree in psychology with a minor in critical black studies.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he received an additional year of eligibility. While he certainly could have chosen to play in high-major leagues this year, he opted to finish out his college career with his dad.

So far, the results have been very impressive. And last week, that was just the type of story I was looking for.

Coming off last year’s appearance in the Sweet 16, Princeton began the 2023-24 season by picking up right where they left off. It beat Rutgers 68-61 on a neutral court to start the season. The Tigers then went on the road to win at Hofstra, a program that won 25 games last year and went 10-2 on its home court.

What made those opening wins all the more impressive is that the Tigers lost Tosan Evbuomwan, the Ivy League Player of the Year and Tournament MOP, following last season. They were still picked second overall in the Ivy League preseason poll, but were expected to recalibrate a bit given the enormity of Evbuoman’s contributions.

Turns out, no recalibration was needed. Senior guard Matt Allocco led the way with 21 points and nine rebounds against Rutgers while sophomore Cade Pierce had a huge 26-point, 15-rebound night against Hofstra (he also had 15 boards against Rutgers).

The common denominator, though, is head coach Mitch Henderson. The former Princeton point guard is now in his 13th season at the helm of his alma mater’s program. My impression of him has always been that he’s just as smart as you would expect from a Princeton graduate. But, he has a quiet killer instinct that separates him from the what you'd image from an Ivy League-er (and to be clear, I mean that as a major compliment).

Next up, the Tigers travel to Pittsburgh for a road game against Duquesne. This is another opportunity to show that they are once again a force to be reckoned with across the college basketball landscape and not just an Ivy League story.

Creighton has yet to be tested this season, opening with huge wins over Florida A&M and North Dakota State. But Trey Alexander looks like he’s poised to take a notable step forward this season.

First, he’s taking on more ball handling responsibilities following Ryan Nembhard’s transfer. While there were some errant turnovers in the opener, you can see his on-ball potential. He’s simultaneously been ultra-efficient with his individual offense, shooting 15 of 23 from the floor through two games, which includes 13 for 17 from inside the arc.

NBA scouts came away from last season intrigued with Alexander’s two-way versatility, length and shooting potential. He’s got a 6-foot-11 wingspan, typically defends the opposition’s best guard and knocked down 41% of his 3s last year. Continuing to prove his ability to play both on and off the ball only adds to that versatile combination of tools.

The Bluejays get their first real test of the season on Tuesday against Iowa. They also have games against Loyola Chicago, Oklahoma State and Nebraska on the horizon in the next few weeks. How Alexander performs against stiffer competition will be the true marker of his potential leap.

It was just about 14 months ago when we made Isaiah Collier the top-ranked rising senior in the country. The move was viewed was unconventional at the time, although the rest of the industry ultimately followed suit to varying degrees.

Collier finished as the second ranked prospect in the class behind Ron Holland and thus the top incoming freshman in college basketball. Through two games, he has lived up to that title. He's been playing big minutes for USC and showcasing his combination of power, pace and passing that makes him such a unique match-up at the point guard position. His conditioning has been a big part of his early success as he looks to be in great shape.

While the turnovers have been a concern (10 in two games with 11 total assists), what has been encouraging is the shooting which was the biggest concern in his game coming out of high school. Collier is 2 of 5 from behind the arc so far, but also 9 for 10 from the free-throw line. He’s picked his spots, has shown willingness to take open threes so that opposing defenses have to account for him and has been capable of knocking down enough shots to keep the defense honest.

Two weeks ago, we called Dillon Jones one of the best mid-major players and NBA prospects in the country. Sunday night, he put up 29 points and 10 boards to lead Weber State over Saint Mary’s — the first time the Wildcats have knocked off a nationally ranked team on the road since the year 2000.

Jones was every bit the match-up nightmare we expected, utilizing his big frame to come off ball-screens and create offense as well as dominate the glass.

Like Collier, he’s also answering questions about his shooting thus far. He was 2 of 4 from behind the arc in the game and is now 3 for 5 on the season. He's also a perfect 18 of 18 from the free-throw line. That’s a recipe that is going to get him plenty of first-round traction if he can keep it up.

We are just 10 games into the NBA season and Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama have already separated themselves from the pack as the top rookies in the league. But after them, the rookie ladder becomes less clear.

While the Pistons have struggled as a team (they are now 2-9 and in the midst of an eight-game losing streak), a silver lining has been the play of their two rookies — Ausar Thompson and Marcus Sasser.

Thompson was the fifth pick in June’s draft, right behind his twin brother Amen Thompson. In the months leading up to the draft, the NBA media was consistently anointing Amen as the stronger of the two twins. But NBA scouts were far more divided behind the scenes, as we reported multiple times. Now, we are seeing why.

You can make the argument that Ausar has been a top three rookie in the league so far. The offense, and the shooting in particular, is an obvious work in progress. But he’s very advanced defensively, a secondary playmaker (3.5 assists a game) and already one of the best perimeter rebounders in the league (10.5 a game, including 4.2 on the offensive end). He’s third on the Pistons in minutes per game and they’ve made it clear that they’re prioritizing him ahead of Jaden Ivey in terms of their rotation.

The big question is how a non-shooter like him fits alongside Cade Cunningham. This is where Marcus Sasser comes in. The 25th pick in the draft, Sasser’s shotmaking has translated (49% FG, 43% 3FG, 100% FT) to the NBA, allowing him to provide some much needed floor-spacing and an instant offense type scoring off the bench.

The vast majority of my NBA commentary this year will be limited to rookies and second-year players, but Tyrese Maxey is another player I’ve watched since high school and he’s been too good not to highlight.

Sunday night, he went for 50 points to lead the 76ers over the Pacers 137-126. Philadelphia is now 8-1 on the season and Maxey, who just turned 23 last week, is averaging 28.6 points per game on 51/43/93 shooting thus far — not to mention his seven assists and the five rebounds he's grabbing per contest.

Conversely, the Clippers are 0-4 since acquiring James Harden, who is averaging 13.5 points in 31 minutes per game.

It makes you think that Darryl Morey might have known what he was doing by not making a long-term commitment to Harden. There isn’t an executive in the league who knows Harden better (or has shown more belief in him over the years). But it’s hard to imagine Maxey flourishing at quite the same extent if he was still sharing the backcourt with Harden.

Now, the Sixers have another legit All-Star caliber guard to pair with Joel Embiid. He also happens to be over a decade younger than Harden and leaves the Sixers with the salary cap flexibility to go out and potentially add another star through a trade or free agency.