There’s a point in each season, usually in early December, where the widely held beliefs that guided preview watch lists—for national player of the year, impact transfers, impact freshmen, etc.—become irrelevant in the face of conflicting on-court results. And sometimes life comes at us even faster, such as in the case of Virginia’s Austin Nichols, who either headlined or co-headlined every impact-transfer story I read this off-season.
Nichols, a former five-star prospect whose career began at Memphis, was expected to start at center for a top-10 Cavaliers team and be an All-ACC pick. SI projected him to be Virginia’s leading scorer and have immense defensive value.