Studs
Jaden Shackelford, G, Alabama (DK: 6,000, FD: 6,000)
Alabama will face their toughest test of the young season when they head to Rhode Island, but this should be a close, high scoring contest. Kira Lewis (DK: 9,100, FD: 8,000) is a higher volume shooter, but Shackelford will take a ton of shots too. Lewis will also get more assists and probably rebounds as well. And that is why he is much more expensive. Lewis may be too pricey, especially on DraftKings, and that is why we have highlighted the better value of Shackelford.
Cole Anthony, G, North Carolina (DK: 9,700, FD: 8,500)
It is hard to say no to a player who has taken 24 shots in each of North Carolina’s first two games of the season. But the biggest reason to continue to play Anthony is the lack of Tar Heels depth. Despite a pretty easy victory over UNC Wilmington, Coach Roy Williams still only played six players over eight minutes in that game. That makes all six of them solid plays, especially if Armando Bacot is out with a concussion. Bacot appears likely to play, which makes him an option as well, but that will cut into the minutes of Justin Pierce. Regardless of who is on the floor, Anthony will be the guy who takes most of the shots and he should start off his collegiate career with his third straight double-double.
Bargains
Wendell Moore, F, Duke (DK: 3,900, FD: 4,000)
Wendell Moore was supposed to come into Duke and make his biggest impact on the defensive end of the floor. However, the 6-6 freshman has played well on the other end too. Moore has ten points in each of Duke’s last two games. None of those have been tough contests, but neither will this one against Georgia State. Coach K is taking advantage of these games to see what his players can do and last game nobody on Duke played more than Moore’s 25 minutes. If he can get that type of playing time again, Moore is an absolute steal.
Xavier Johnson, G, Pittsburgh (DK: 5,700, FD: 6,100)
Xavier Johnson spent 38 minutes on the floor against Robert Morris last game. He also tallied 7 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 1 steal. Those 7 points were very disappointing, but Johnson was having an off day shooting the ball. He will not go 1-of-9 from the floor very often. But because he did, he is now quite cheap going into the contest against West Virginia.
Jules Bernard, G, UCLA (DK: 4,900, FD: N/A)
Jules Bernard barely saw the flor against Long Beach State in UCLA’s first game of the season. The next game he played 27 minutes off the bench and scored 20 points on top of 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal. The competition gets a little bit tougher with UNLV coming to town, but Bernard should still earn plenty of minutes and hopefully keep up his efficient outside shooting.
Avoid
Rylan Jones, G, Utah (DK: 8,100, FD: 6,700)
Rylan Jones deserves credit for his triple-double against Mississippi Valley State. Both Gach also recorded a triple-double in that 143-49 blowout. Thus, it might be a wise idea to forget about that contest when Minnesota comes to town. Against Nevada, Jones scored just 9 points, with 5 rebounds and 5 assists. That is not worth this price tag, especially on DraftKings.
