HoriZone Roundtable

Can the league's ninth-leading scorer really be considered a candidate to break out? Yes, but everyone has trouble calling it a breakout because it's obviously going to happen. If Amari Davis' production wound up similar to what it was last year where he was a Third Team All-Horizon League selection after averaging 15.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game it would be considered a massive disappointment. We're expecting the standout freshman to improve going into his sophomore year, particularly now that he's stepping out of 2020 First Team All-League guard JayQuan McCloud's shadow.

The Horizon League got off to a strong start to its 2020-21 season last last week. The league has already notched several wins over traditionally stronger leagues in the MAC and Missouri Valley Conference. While many came from teams that were expected to be strong, some came completely out of left field. While the sample size is obviously minuscule, early indications are that this season could be an incredibly competitive one for much of the Horizon League. A quick note: Wright State and Youngstown State have shut down women's basketball activities due to positive COVID-19 cases. As such, both will be excluded from the rankings. As with the men's basketball power rankings, teams that are forced to cancel games pose zero threat to win those games.

You know what's more ridiculous than doing a Week 1 power ranking for a mid-major league that suffered massive roster turnover while only two teams have played multiple games? Doing it during a pandemic that has resulted in most of the league still waiting to start the season. But if I'm enough of a glutton for punishment that I can do this column for a full season of 2020 Horizon League nonsense, I'm sure I can handle this week.

Daniel Oladapo joined Oakland last year after a stellar freshman year at Chipola College where he averaged 14.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game on his way to being a First Team All-Panhandle Conference selection. Oladapo was an instant-impact performer with the Golden Grizzlies as well, finishing fourth on the team in scoring with 9.2 points per game and third on the team with 6.3 rebounds per game in 2020 despite playing off the bench for 13 of his 33 appearances. He accomplished those numbers despite sharing the frontcourt with First Team All-Horizon League forward Xavier Hill Mais and senior center Brad Brechting. With Hill-Mais and Brechting gone, Oladapo becomes the obvious focal point of the frontcourt this year. His 26.3 minutes per game as a sophomore could increase pretty significantly in 2021, and early indications are that his main competition at forward will come from freshmen. As is the case with Adrian Nelson at Northern Kentucky, this will present Oladapo with a great opportunity to establish himself as a force on the glass while his young teammates get acclimated to college basketball.

At first glance, many Horizon League fans were miffed when Lindy's predicted Nelson to be a Second Team All-League player this year. Nelson averaged just 4.6 points in under 18 minutes per game in 2020. When a player like Youngstown State's Naz Bohannon — who regularly posts double-doubles — can't seem to find his way onto an All-League team, it's hard to see how someone who has scored double figures five times in 59 career games could work his way into that conversation.

IUPUI's Williams picked to three-peat as Player of the Year The Horizon League released its Women's Basketball Preseason All-League Teams on Friday. The teams were...