From The Athletic, Eamon Brennan
14. Yves Pons, 6-foot-6 senior, Tennessee
Yves Pons is, like many players on this list, the type to do more than one thing. As a junior — a breakout campaign for him individually while Tennessee reloaded and reset for what should be an SEC title chase in 2020-21 — Pons played a ton of minutes, averaged 10.8 points per game, chipped in 5.4 rebounds, and turned himself into a generally tidy all-around player. With one exception: shot-blocking. Blocking shots is Pons’ special skill. He is not as good at it as some of the best rim-protecting centers in college hoops, of course, though averaging 2.5 blocks per game — and posting a 7.7 percent block rate — isn’t all that far off from that standard. Pons performs a slightly different role, spending less time at the rim, but adds elite shot-blocking to the mix. Even if he more or less repeats his junior season, he’s probably still a bit underrated.
14. Yves Pons, 6-foot-6 senior, Tennessee
Yves Pons is, like many players on this list, the type to do more than one thing. As a junior — a breakout campaign for him individually while Tennessee reloaded and reset for what should be an SEC title chase in 2020-21 — Pons played a ton of minutes, averaged 10.8 points per game, chipped in 5.4 rebounds, and turned himself into a generally tidy all-around player. With one exception: shot-blocking. Blocking shots is Pons’ special skill. He is not as good at it as some of the best rim-protecting centers in college hoops, of course, though averaging 2.5 blocks per game — and posting a 7.7 percent block rate — isn’t all that far off from that standard. Pons performs a slightly different role, spending less time at the rim, but adds elite shot-blocking to the mix. Even if he more or less repeats his junior season, he’s probably still a bit underrated.
