At this point, there’s no denying that college basketball’s 2015 class just doesn’t have the same kind of star power as last year’s group. For some, this is the reason why this season feels so wide open to a variety of national title contenders
Others have found the season less than inspiring thus far–which is crazy.
Regardless of which side you take, we’ve got you covered as we look at the front-runners for the Freshman of the Year Award.
Ben Simmons, LSU
Simmons is tearing it up the exact way we expected him to, to the tune of 18.7 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game. Those are the kinds of numbers that won’t just have him in the discussion for this award, but the Naismith Player of the Year Award as well. The key will be for him to continue this kind of production, or at least something similarly as effective, once the price of poker goes up in conference play.
Jaylen Brown, Cal
It’s not that Brown isn’t skilled, because he is. It’s not that he isn’t explosive, because he is. But what makes him so valuable to Cuonzo Martin is his motor and unrelenting toughness, which has resulted in a quality stat line of 15.7 points and six rebounds a game. His shooting percentage is a little low right now, but I’d expect that to improve.
Jamal Murray, Kentucky
He was the last addition to the UK recruiting class, but right now he’s looking like the most important piece of it. Murray is putting in 14 points, 4.8 rebounds, and four assists per game. As the season goes on, I’d expect his usage rate to continue rising, as well.
