Rauf Report: Leap List of Players That Can Go From Good To Great

Five-star freshmen and portal headliners draw most of the attention every preseason, and understandably so. But many of the biggest stories in a college basketball season come from players we already know.

They were good the year before, sometimes all-conference good. Then their role gets bigger, or the right coach hands them the keys, and by February they're showing up on All-America ballots.

That's the leap this list is about. I already did the traditional breakout version a couple of weeks ago, and a few of these guys have already had their breakout seasons. I'm after the next step: going from a name you know to a name on a postseason All-America team.

The five players below have plenty in common. Each has already produced at a high level, and each is stepping into a bigger role than he had a year ago. Two of them changed schools to get there, while three are coming back from injuries that either cut last season short or cost them part of this offseason.

So, who will be stars of the season? This edition of the Rauf Report looks at five players ready to go from good to great:

Dedan Thomas Jr., Houston

Back in September, I wrote that Dedan Thomas Jr. might be the most underrated addition of the portal cycle. I'm more confident in that now than I was then.

Before a season-ending foot injury at the start of conference play, Thomas played as well as any point guard in the SEC. He averaged 15.3 points and 6.5 assists at LSU and turned it over just 26 times against 104 assists. That 4.0 assist-to-turnover ratio had him leading the league in both categories until he dropped below the minimum for games played.