The TCU men’s basketball team took the program to a level it had not been at in 35 years – the team won their first round of the NCAA tournament and advanced to the second round. Had it not been for a blown non-call at the end of the regulation, the team could very well have advanced to their first Sweet Sixteen ever. It really would have been March Madness around Fort Worth if it had happened. We know Mike Miles was convicted and we know he would have made his free throw.
But it’s behind us now and it’s time to look towards next season. Miles has already announced his intentions to participate in the NBA Draft this summer. Francisco Farabello, the junior guard from Argentina, has entered the transfer portal. And fan-favorite Harrison Young was the only team member to attend Senior Night at Schollmaier last month.
Eddie Lampkin Jr., the team and fans’ hype man and another fan favorite, has already indicated he plans to be back. Last season’s remaining core scoring group all came to TCU through the transfer portal either this year or the year before. This is good news for the frogs, as the NCAA rules on the transfer portal only allow players to go through it once if they want to play right away. This means that if any of this group plans to leave the team and enter the portal, they will have to sit out for the 2022-23 season before they can play.
This group includes:
- Damion Baugh – 6’4 “guard; transferred from Memphis
- Emanuel Miller – 6’7 “forward; transferred from Texas A&M
- Chuck O’Bannon – 6’6 “forward; transferred from USC. (He was senior this year, but he has another year left of eligibility and may decide to stay one more year with the frogs).
- Micah Peavy – 6’7 “guard; transferred from Texas Tech
If all five of these players return to the Frogs, the team will be a great team on both sides of the ball. And that’s why they’re being noticed by the national media. Hours later Kansas won their national championship earlier this week, several media outlets released their “Too Early Top 25” for the 2022-23 season.
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TCU appeared in these polls everywhere from No. 11 to No. 16.
Mike DeCourcy, Sports News
DeCourcy has the frogs the highest and comes in as No. 11. His top three are Kentucky, UCLA and Kansas. TCU is the second highest Big 12 school on this list, with 2021 National Champion Baylor as No. 14. No other Big 12 school is on this list.
Jon Rothstein, CBS Sports
Rothstein has the frogs heading in as No. 14. His top three are Kentucky, UCLA and North Carolina. He has Baylor at No. 7 and Kansas at No. 11. His list actually goes to the Top 45. Other big 12 schools include Oklahoma State at No. 28, Oklahoma at No. 32, Texas Tech at No. 35, Texas at. No. 37, and Iowa State at No. 44. Frogs fans will be happy to see that he has TCU a spot above Arizona at No. 15.
247Sport
247Sports has the frogs heading in as No. 15. Their top three include Arkansas, Kentucky and UCLA. They have Kansas at No. 7 and Baylor at No. 9. No other Big 12 school is on this list.
Here’s what they had to say about TCU in the 2022-23 season:
Mike Miles on his way to the NBA Draft is far from ideal; he was Horned Frogs’ biggest star. But TCU looks set to bring at least three starters back and potentially four if Chuck O’Bannon takes his extra year. Most teams will fight to match Eddie Lampkin inside (remember: he was just a beginner this year), and TCU’s scammers and defense work produced a top-20 unit. Get another point guard and goal scorer in the transfer portal and look.
Gary Parrish, CBS Sports
Parrish has the frogs the lowest of those four rankings and comes in as No. 16. His top three include UCLA, North Carolina and Kentucky. He has Baylor at No. 4, Kansas at No. 8 and Oklahoma State at No. 25. No other Big 12 school is on this list.
Here’s what he had to say about TCU:
The Horned Frogs’ ranking is based on TCU returning four of the top six scorers from a team that played in round 32 of the NCAA Tournament – among them the double-digit scores Damian Baugh and Emanuel Miller. The experienced core could allow Horned Frogs to finish in the top three of the 12 major positions for the first time in history.
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