TCU Basketball Preview Series: The Newcomers

During the offseason, Trent Johnson assembled a group of four talented players to join the Horned Frogs for the 2015-2016 season. Two true freshmen and two junior college transfers make up a recruiting class that was ranked 66^th in the nation by 247 Sports, an increase of 58 spots as compared to a year ago. With only six returning scholarship players from last year's team, these four newcomers could see significant playing time sooner rather than later.

The highest-rated prospect in this year's incoming class is four-star forward JD Miller. During his senior season at Seagoville High School in Dallas, the same high school attended by current TCU forward Devonta Abron, Miller led his team to a 20-12 record, averaging 24.5 points and 13.0 rebounds per game. Following the season, Miller was named the UIL 13-5A MVP and was nominated for the McDonald's All-American game. He was named to the All-State Team for Class 5A by both the University Interscholastic League, and the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches. Coming out of high school, Miller was named the 10^th best player in the State of Texas and the 19^th best forward in the country by ESPN. The 6'8" forward chose to attend TCU over USC, La Salle, and Weber State.

The other true freshman joining the Frogs this season is Lyrik Shreiner. Named a three-star guard by Scout and Rivals, Shreiner joins TCU out of the Hillcrest Academy in Phoenix. At Hillcrest, Shreiner did it all, averaging over 25 points per game while also collecting seven rebounds and dishing out six assists each night. Prior to joining the Hillcrest Academy, Shreiner broke an Arizona high school state single-game scoring record at Westwind Prep Academy by scoring 65 points on 26/27 shooting from the field. He was a highly sought-after recruit and ultimately chose to attend TCU over Louisville, Oregon, Washington, Cincinnati, Missouri, and others. It was rumored that Rick Pitino personally tried to recruit Shreiner to Louisville.

Also joining Trent Johnson's team this season is the nation's top-rated junior college combo guard, Malique Trent, who comes to TCU after a very successful season at New Mexico Junior College. The 6'2" native of Portsmouth, Virginia was named the NJCAA Freshman of the Year after averaging 16.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and 1.9 assists per game. He was also named an Honorable Mention for the NJCAA All-American team. At NMJC, Trent was a lights-out shooter, connecting on 44.2% of his shots from the floor and 38.3% from behind the arc. After graduating from Norcom High School in Virginia, Trent was named a three-star recruit and originally signed to play at Norfolk State, where he redshirted his freshman year before transferring to New Mexico Junior College. Trent chose TCU over 17 other programs that made him an offer, including Creighton, Kansas State, and Tennessee. He will have three years of eligibility remaining at TCU and will also become the third former Thunderbird on this year's team, joining former NMJC guard Kenrich Williams and former NMJC Head Coach Chris Tifft.

The fourth and final piece of this year's incoming class is Vladimir Brodziansky, who joins the Frogs out of Pratt Community College in Kansas. Brodziansky dominated the 19-team Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference in scoring, averaging 15.3 points per game, a mark that finished sixth best in the league. He also shot a ridiculous 59.4% from the field, the second best percentage of any player in the entire conference. Brodziansky was money at the free throw line, averaging 80.0% from the charity stripe on the year. He dominated on the defensive end as well, collecting a conference-best 10.1 boards per game. He also finished third in the league in total blocks with 41 on the year. A native of Prievidza, Slovakia, Brodziansky was named a three-star JuCo recruit by Rivals and 247 Sports and was listed as the 21^st -ranked junior college prospect in the nation. Brodziansky chose to attend TCU over Gonzaga.

One of the biggest questions heading into the season is how TCU is going to replace the production lost from Kyan Anderson and Trey Zeigler. Trent Johnson certainly believes his incoming class can help answer that question. Each of the first-year Frogs has experienced success at previous levels of competition. A major key to TCU's success this season will be whether or not these four Frogs can adjust to a Big 12 level of competition quickly and efficiently. Significant contributions from this year's incoming class could put TCU in a position to advance to the postseason for the first time under Trent Johnson.