The college basketball season is one month old. In two weeks, conference play will begin for teams across the country. Much of the story of the new season has not yet begun to be written, but on the other hand, it’s not as though only two or three games are being evaluated. There are 10 to 12 games to look at. Players have been able to develop and make adjustments. They’ve existed in a lot of different situations, just not conference games or NCAA Tournament games. Here are the four freshmen who have stood out the most thus far:
Lonzo Ball, UCLA Bruins
Of all the freshmen in the country, none has made a bigger impact than this one. Ball is a talented scorer and a capable shooter, but the biggest ingredient he has given UCLA is his passing. Ball possesses uncanny court vision and sees the game in ways few others do – not just few other freshmen, but few players, period. His ability to get the ball to teammates in the right spots on the floor at the right time has really opened up the UCLA offense. The Bruins have been extremely difficult to stop. They scored 97 in Rupp Arena against Kentucky and scored 102 this past Saturday against a Michigan team which plays solid defense. Ball is playing so well that some commentators feel he is a generationally unique player. That’s pretty special.
Markelle Fultz, Washington Huskies
The Pac-12 is loaded with freshmen who are playing really well. Yet, the players on this list are having a dramatically different season at their respective schools. Whereas UCLA’s freshmen are on a top-three team which hasn’t yet lost a game, Washington is picking up one discouraging loss after another and is already in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament. Yet, amidst all the struggles of the Huskies as a team, Fultz is doing his best. He’s a relentless, tenacious player, and that quality flows into all facets of his game: scoring, rebounding, passing, defense. He’s not all the way there, but his scoring and rebounding are off the charts. It seems hard to think he won’t be a top-five pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
As mentioned, Washington has had their fair share of struggles this year. They are currently just 4-5 and enter the weekend on a four-game losing streak. Even so, they’d be far worse without Fultz, who is their leading scorer with 22.8 points per game.
Malik Monk, Kentucky Wildcats
The leading scorer on the Wildcats is Monk. He is averaging just under 20 points per game, showing that he has easily acclimated to the college game coming out of high school. Monk is shooting over 38 percent from three-point range, giving his arsenal of skills a well-rounded quality. Whatever he does with the long jumper then sets up his dribble-drive game and his ability to attack the basket efficiently. He’s very much a top freshman this season.
The Wildcats have had a relatively strong start to the season as they are 9-1 on the year. Their only loss was to UCLA, who is also an elite team.
T.J. Leaf, UCLA Bruins
The Bruins are powered mostly by Lonzo Ball, and they have veteran pieces as well, but they wouldn’t be where they are without Leaf. He took charge of the win over Kentucky, and it’s important to note that as good a passer as Ball is, his assist numbers are as high as they are because his teammates make shots. Leaf is one of the foremost examples of a teammate who reliably scores off a pass from Ball and makes the UCLA offense relatively complete. That’s how all the pieces of the puzzle come together for UCLA coach Steve Alford.
The Bruins have had an excellent start to the season as they are a perfect 11-0 to this point. They have had a particularly strong couple of weeks as they topped No. 1 Kentucky by five points two Saturdays ago, then beat a decent Michigan team by 18 last Saturday. Leaf has been a big part of that as he’s the team’s leading scorer to this point in the season, averaging 18.3 points per game, 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.3 blocks and 0.5 a steal per game.
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