Freshman 10 Archive

Early 2008-09 All-Freshman Projections

Shawn Siegel — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 09:42:30 -0700

Following my 2009 Field of 65 & Projected All-Americans, here is an early look at the 2008-09 All-Freshman Team.

First Team
G - Jrue Holiday - UCLA
G - Brandon Jennings - Arizona
G - Tyreke Evans - Memphis
F - Greg Monroe - Georgetown
F - Samardo Samuels - Louisville

Second Team
G - Demar DeRozan - USC
G - J'Covan Brown - Texas
F - Tony Mitchell - Alabama
F - Drew Gordon - UCLA
C - BJ Mullens - Ohio State

Third Team
G - William Buford - Ohio State
G - Willie Warren - Oklahoma
G - Scotty Hopson - Tennessee
F - Devin Ebanks - ?
C - J'Mison Morgan - LSU

Fourth Team
G - Chris Singleton - Florida State
F - Al-Farouq Aminu - Wake Forest
F - Luke Babbitt - Nevada
F - David Lobeau - Texas A&M
C - Jeff Withey - Arizona

2008 CollegeHoops.net Mid-Major All-Freshman Team

CHN — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 17:56:03 -0700

Awards Week continues on CHN..

CollegeHoops.net Mid-Major Player of the Year: Patrick Mills (Saint Mary’s)

CollegeHoops.net Mid-Major All-Freshman Team

G: Patrick Mills (Saint Mary’s)

G: Marquis Weddle (UT-Martin)

G: Devin Gibson (Texas-San Antonio)

F: Tyrone Shelley (Pepperdine)

F: Matt Howard (Butler)

CollegeHoops.net Second Team Mid-Major All-Freshman

G: Vinnie McGhee (Sacramento State)

G: Darion Anderson (NIU)

G: Josh White (North Texas)

F: Omar Carter (Charleston Southern)

F: Malcolm Thomas (Pepperdine)

CollegeHoops.net Honorable Mention Mid-Major all-Freshman: Alvin Abreu (UNH), Nate Blank (Gardner Webb), Kenneth Faried (Morehead State), Rahmon Fletcher (UWGB), Jay Gavin (Marist), John Holland (Boston U), Rob Jones (San Diego), Mark Payne (UC Davis), Deonte Roberts (Milwaukee), Gerald Robinson Jr. (Tennessee State), Brian Rudolph (Loyola), Cameron Wells (The Citadel)

The CollegeHoops.net All-American teams are voted on by staff writers.

Check out all the: CHN 2007-08 Postseason Awards

All-Americans, All-Rookie, Top Coaches & more!

2008 CollegeHoops.net High-Major All-Freshman

CHN — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:12:45 -0700

CollegeHoops.net High-Major Freshman of the Year: P’Allen Stinnett (Creighton)

CollegeHoops.net High-Major All-Freshman Team

G: Armon Johnson (Nevada)

G: P'Allen Stinnett (Creighton)

G: Charles Jenkins (Hofstra)

F: Austin Daye (Gonzaga)

F: Herb Pope (New Mexico St)

CollegeHoops.net Second Team High-Major All-Freshman

G: R.L. Horton (Southern Miss)

F: Chris Wright (Dayton)

F: Tirrell Baines (Marshall)

F: Billy White (San Diego State)

F: Lavoy Allen (Temple)

CollegeHoops.net Honorable Mention High-Major All-Freshman: Kevin Anderson (Richmond), Alphonso Dawson (Delaware), Papa Dia (SMU), Dairese Gary (New Mexico), Steven Gray (Gonzaga), Sam Maniscalco (Bradley), Chad Tomko (UNCW)

The CollegeHoops.net All-American teams are voted on by staff writers. Up next are our Mid-Major All-Freshman teams.

CHN 2007-08 Postseason Awards

All-Americans, All-Rookie, Top Coaches & more!

2008 CollegeHoops.net All-Freshman Team

CHN — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 11:11:58 -0700

CollegeHoops.net Freshman of the Year: Michael Beasley (Kansas State)

CollegeHoops.net First Team All-Freshman
G: OJ Mayo (USC)
G: Derrick Rose (Memphis)
G: Jerryd Bayless (Arizona)
F: Kevin Love (UCLA)
F: Michael Beasley (Kansas State)

CollegeHoops.net Second Team All-Freshman
G: Eric Gordon (Indiana)
G: Nick Calathes (Florida)
G: James Harden (Arizona State)
F: Patrick Patterson (Kentucky)
F: Blake Griffin (Oklahoma)

CollegeHoops.net Third Team All-Freshman
G: Jonny Flynn (Syracuse)
F: Bill Walker (Kansas State)
F: Kyle Singler (Duke)
F: Robbie Hummel (Purdue)
C: AJ Ogilvy (Vanderbilt)

CollegeHoops.net Honorable Mention All-Freshman
James Anderson (Oklahoma State), DeJuan Blair (Pittsburgh), LaceDarius Dunn (Baylor), Donte Greene (Syracuse), JJ Hickson (NC State), Davon Jefferson (USC), James Johnson (Wake Forest), Dominique Jones (South Florida), Patrick Mills (Saint Mary’s), Anthony Randolph (LSU), Chris Warren (Ole Miss)

The CollegeHoops.net All-American teams are voted on by staff writers. Up tomorrow are our High & Mid-Major All-Freshman teams.

CHN 2007-08 Postseason Awards

All-Americans, All-Rookie, Top Coaches & more!

Freshman 10: Final Regular Season Edition

Jason Tomassini — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 08:24:14 -0800

This here is the last regular edition of the Freshman 10, with end-of-year awards and tournament editions all that’s left to follow. Generally this would be viewed as some kind of final evaluation on these players and their first full season of work, but given the startling incoherence this season has provided, I still think my judgments on most of these guys are largely incomplete. In a year where mediocrity reigns, the right side of the Bubble resembles the NIT and No. 1 seeds are being passed around like Paris Hilton, it’s actually been the freshmen that have embodied a higher level of consistency than in past years. Looking down the list, it’s mostly guys who we knew would be good and, more importantly, guys who provide their teams with the same production game in and game out. Last season we saw the likes of Chase Budinger, Brandan Wright and Mike Conley, largely considered top freshmen of the year, shoot all over the board with their impact and statistics. Contrarily, this season has been one of big time freshman establishing their prominent roles early and never relinquishing them.

But that consistency doesn’t mean we should we’ve seen all we need to see from these players – several of whom won’t be playing any more college games after this year. If anything, the high-profile roles of freshman on top teams, in a season where the field should be wide open, means freshmen might have a bigger say on who wins it all this year than in any other year and how some of these players respond to that pressure will be telling. I think it won’t necessarily be consistency that we will remember this class by, but which players elevate their game in March beyond the level they show us in the regular season and whether they can take their respective teams with them.

Because there is only a week left in the regular season for the major conferences and some league tournaments start this week, there will be no Games To Watch section this time. The big fancy season-ending freshman awards will be doled out before March Madness begins so stay tuned for that.

Send e-mails to voice displeasure.

1. Michael Beasley, Kansas State

In the past three weeks, Beasley made the quiet decision to enter another stratosphere of basketball that, despite how insanely talented he is, I didn’t think he had. I mean, 40, 17, 44, 30, 39 is beyond Durant-ian. It’s Pistol Pete, Jerry West type stuff. And yet, I still don’t find myself thinking, “That is an unstoppable basketball player” when I watch Beasley play. The thing is, he is an unstoppable basketball player, but as I watch Kansas State drop game after game amid these seriously absurd performances I feel like what he’s doing is cheapened. On an individual level he is unstoppable, but if those individual accolades coincide with team losses, then it’s hard for a spectator to equate his play with “what’s best for the team.” Now this is completely idiotic because no player has ever scored 39 points in 31 minutes against a top five defensive opponent and been considered a detriment to his team. But it’s gotten to the point where any mention of Beasley’s season must be compared to Kevin Durant’s last year, and I don’t remember Texas losing to lesser squads with Durant on his A-game. Now obviously KSU doesn’t have quite the supporting cast Texas did last year, but at some point (read: the NCAA Tournament) the Wildcats are going to need to win some games with Beasley dropping 30+ in order for him to be considered “a transcendent freshman” or a “college legend” rather than just “the guy who was just way too good for college.” And for the record, I do really think Beasley cares about winning, plays hard and is a team player, even if the rest of the paragraph may not seem that way. He’s just not a guy that “carried his team to greater heights,” like Kevin Love or Kevin Durant is/was, but a guy who just didn’t let his team bring him down to their level. And that’s a shame because when March rolls around, and Beasley may or may not even be involved in the NCAAs, people aren’t going to be paying attention to possibly the most talented freshman ever and a kid who, as you’ll read if you click the featured link below, is interesting beyond just what he does on the court.

Stats- 26.7 ppg, 12.6 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.6 bpg, 1.4 spg, 2.9 TO, 54 FG%, 76.8 FT%, 40 3-PT%

Featured Link- There have been a lot of features on Beasley this year, but this one from Dana O’Neill at ESPN.com may be the best yet.

2. Kevin Love, UCLA

Contrary to Beasley, Love has seemingly been able to give the Bruins exactly what they need of him to win and still put up pretty great numbers. He’s had 13 straight games with double-digit scoring and nine rebounds or more which have resulted in 11 UCLA wins. In the Bruins two-point win at Arizona Sunday, Love basically carried them to victory with 24 and 15. And because of that opportunism, I think you could make a serious case for Love as a more viable candidate for National POY or Freshman of the Year than Beasley. If the award was viewed like the NBA’s MVP award, as a measure of which standout player was most responsible for his team’s success, it would be a pretty dead heat between the two. KSU would probably be below .500 if not for Beasley; UCLA would be a top 25 team but not a title contender. Beasley has far more individual talent and athleticism and absolutely absurd numbers but Love is the centerpiece on possibly the best team in the nation. And there is no question whether he makes his teammates better and there is no question his success comes within the team construct. That might sound like some of the racially motivated, new school vs. old school rhetoric that the Love-Mayo faux-rivalry was founded on but that’s not my intent. It’s simply Love and Beasley adapting their incredible talent to two different situations. It benefits Love to play the team game because of who his teammates are and that’s an approach Beasley doesn’t have an opportunity to take. But conversely, Love’s lesser stats shouldn’t necessarily signify a lesser season, but just a different type of impact.

Stats- 17.3 ppg, 11.1 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1 bpg, 0.7 spg, 2.1TO, 58.2 FG%, 75.2 FT%, 15-44 3-PT%

Featured Link- Not to dive too far into self-promotion, but I wrote this blog post using Love’s outlet passes as a jumping point for how the media constructs its own image of him.

3. Eric Gordon, Indiana

Gordon is a good example of what I talked about in the intro. It’s gotten to the point where we know what we’re getting from him and now we just have to wait and see if he can carry Indiana in the NCAA Tournament. He’s a great scorer, certainly one capable of taking over a game, but over the course of a season his streaks of dominance go largely forgotten. Gordon isn’t having a dominant season but he can be a dominant player. So in a tournament setting, Gordon’s impact can be far greater because one of those seven or eight minute stretches where he takes over can be the difference between a disappointing season (first round loss) or a special one (Final Four). Given the current make-up of the team and that turmoil some of you may have heard about, I don’t think Indiana will be that type of team. But there still is a sliver of hope I reserve for the possibility of Gordon channeling all that ability into one singular run of brilliance on the most national of stages. If not to see him at his peak ability but at least to make people stop talking about cell phones and obnoxious fans.

Stats- 21.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.5 apg, 0.6 bpg, 1.4 spg, 3.5 TO, 45.6 FG%, 85.3 FT%, 37.5 3-PT%

Featured Link- Jay Mariotti, doing that thing where he overreacts to the sports story du jour (in this case, Illinois fans taunting Gordon) like a crazed idiot.

4. Derrick Rose, Memphis

Well I can finally move Rose off the No. 5 spot because he finally played a real live basketball team. And even though the Tigers lost to Tennessee, Rose was nothing short of outstanding. Even though it wasn’t particularly well-played that was the type of game for which Rose was built; up and down the court, speed against speed, crash the glass like a crazy person and get in the other guy’s shorts. He then followed it up with a great game against a spry Southern Miss squad, which started to prove that the cupcake schedule has allowed Rose to steadily remove the training wheels of being a freshman point and peak for the postseason. Against the Vols he ran the break like a terror, the only player able to out-athletic the pogo sticks on Tennessee. Versus Southern Miss, who packed in a zone like so many lesser squads have done to Memphis this year, Rose showed a three-point stroke that will make him deadly if knocked down with consistency. I still don’t think Memphis can win a title this year, but that can change if Rose, who has the type of talent matched only by Michael Beasley, can assert himself as that type of talent. Before, that was a huge question mark because the competition never warranted that type of performance. But in the past ten days, the precedent has been set.

Stats- 14.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 4.5 apg, 0.4 bpg, 1.2 spg, 3 TO, 46.9 FG%, 68.7 FT%, 32.9 3-PT%

Featured Link- While his outstanding play is one thing, it’s nice to hear his teammates recognize Rose as Memphis’ leader.

5. Jerryd Bayless, Arizona

It’s a really tough situation that Bayless has been left in. He’s been unbelievable all year, battling injuries and the not-always-reliable brilliance of Chase Budinger that sometimes puts way too much on Bayless’ shoulders. And now, without Nic Wise, he has to be the primary ballhandler and de facto “point guard” for a team that still desperately needs his scoring. So when the Cats lose six of eight (seven of which Bayless played 38+ minutes) and the wunderkind’s scoring begins to drop, it’s easy to think Bayless is hitting the freshman wall or can’t carry a team or isn’t a true point after all. There is some partial truth to all of that but Arizona’s recent struggles should not diminish what Bayless has done this season. He isn’t going to finish this season with any awards but I would struggle to name five players who have been better than him or more important to his team this season. And even though the Cats’ tourney seed is plummeting, when Wise gets back, it’s going to be real tough to pick against a team with Bayless terrorizing opponents off screens and filling lanes in the open court.

Stats- 20.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 4.3 apg, 1 spg, 3.3 TO, 47.6 FG%, 82.1 FT%, 42.4 3-PT%

Featured Link- This was one of the filthier things I have seen this year.

6. James Harden, Arizona State

I really wish us East Coast folk had the option to watch the ASU-USC game Saturday because it would have made for an interesting case study. The Sun Devils won handily but just by looking at the box score, it would seem like the much-anticipated match-up between freshmen scoring guards OJ Mayo and Harden went easily to Mayo, who dropped 37. But I would have liked to see just which player was more impressive, not which had the better stats. I’m sure Mayo, who as you’ll read below has been just ridiculous of late, had some pretty mind-boggling plays. But what I know about Harden’s game and seeing that he scored 24 points on just eight field goal attempts (opposed to Mayo’s 21 attempts), I bet it was Harden who I would have come away raving about. Alas, since the TV networks are insistent on making sure us East Coasters know just how bad the Big Ten and SEC is, I’ll never get the chance to see how Harden stacked up against Mayo at his individual best. Harden is a remarkably well-rounded and efficient scorer but people simply don’t have a point of reference with him, resulting in a vastly underappreciated national profile. He can carry a team just like Mayo and Bayless can. So, with the Pac-10 Tournament sure to provide some of the best college basketball you’ll ever see in a three-day span, I’m hoping I’ll get another crack at seeing Harden match Mayo.

Stats- 17.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 2.8 apg, 0.6 bpg, 1.9 spg, 2.5 TO, 53.1 FG%, 75.1 FT%, 41.2 3-PT%

Featured Link- Nice feature on Harden and his relationship with his mother.

7. OJ Mayo, USC

Well, to use a hackneyed, overused cliché that white sportswriters enjoy far too much, it looks like the real OJ Mayo has stood up. In his last four he’s went for 32, 21, 20 and 37 and the effort he put in against Arizona, the lowest total of those four, was one of the more impressive games I’ve seen from a freshman this season. He took just 13 shots, scored 20 points, hit three of four three-pointers, played 40 minutes, had six assists, one turnover and held Jerryd Bayless to eight points. Unlike the first meeting between the Pac-10’s two best freshmen guards, Mayo outplayed Bayless individually and got the win. This was just a week after a game against Oregon where he put in his most complete scoring effort of the season, a 32-point showing where he hit five of seven threes and took 13 foul shots. And of those last four, it should be fitting that the only loss was the game he scored the most points and shot the most times; a sign that when Mayo scores in a efficient way, generally achieved by using his wide range of skills rather than his physical talent, the Trojans are a really good team and Mayo is an incredibly valuable player. And because of this dynamic, there might be no other player in the country with more to gain from his postseason performance than OJ Mayo. He’s been the guy who has strayed from that “freshman consistency” I talked about more than anyone, but if the recent flashes we have seen show up in March, it’ll be easy to forget about some of the low points.

Stats- 20.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.0 apg, 0.4 bpg, 1.5 spg, 3.7 TO, 44.8 FG%, 79.8 FT%, 40.9 3-PT%

Featured Link- Bill Plaschke: Absolute moron.

8. Andrew Ogilvy, Vanderbilt

He had another terrible game against Tennessee, which still makes me wonder if he can do anything against athletic front lines, but since he only managed 12 minutes due to fouls and the Commodores won, I’ll let it slide a bit. Ogilvy is a great player but a boring one. Not because his game is boring, but because he fits perfectly with that “gives you the same thing every night” thing from the intro (well, unless that night happens to be against Tennessee). He will be a great post scorer and offense facilitator in the halfcourt but will fade away a bit once the tempo increases. This isn’t necessarily a flaw; the same could be said of Roy Hibbert or Greg Oden last season. And what kept me from dropping him even though he hasn’t been too spectacular lately is that Ogilvy’s success is largely predicated on match-ups. If Vandy gets a draw of teams with like-minded bigs, Ogilvy could be a standout player in March. But if they face a team with guys that can block his shot and beat him to spots on the floor, his impact is lessened. Unlike the other freshmen ahead of him, he isn’t a team leader; but he is one hell of an X-factor.

Stats- 16.8 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.5 bpg, 0.8 spg, 2.3 TO, 58.7 FG%,78.1 FT%

Featured Link- A day in the life of AJ Ogilvy. It includes thrilling things like breakfast, cell phone calls and Caesar salad. Not sure what to make of this but I suppose it is interesting.

9. Nick Calathes, Florida

Based on numbers alone, Calathes is probably one of the top three or four freshmen in the country. No one else puts up 15+ points, and 5+ assists and rebounds. But when you realize he has the ball about 98 percent of the time, playing around 35 minutes for a young, up tempo team, the stats do seem a bit inflated. But even if you think the Gators are a completely fraudulent team that will only make the tournament based on name recognition, it still doesn’t take away how difficult it is to be a freshman point guard for a defending champ with a completely new rotation and win 20 games, even if it’s against ~~middle schoolers~~ the SEC. He actually played pretty well against Tennessee the first time around even if it was in a blowout, but in a really big and huge game for Florida’s postseason hopes, we’ll learn a lot about Calathes tomorrow night. Especially because the Volunteers backcourt is going to try and eat him alive. He also has spiffy hair; what a brownnoser.

Stats- 15.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 6.0 apg, 1.6 spg, 2.9 TO, 42.8 FG%, 72.6 FT%, 36.2 3-PT%

Featured Link- Nice feature on the Calathes family and its many Bubble-dwelling siblings.

10. Jonny Flynn, Syracuse

It’s difficult to write about my Orange given what’s going on with them right now, but I need to recognize what Jonny Flynn has been doing lately. The kid has sat one minute in the past ten games. And because of an overtime period, he has played 404 minutes in those ten games. And he’s averaging 17 points per game in those, six of which, unfortunately have been losses, several of the “soul-crushing” variety. I don’t know if Syracuse can survive the four near misses, any one of which could’ve put them in a great position for the NCAAs, but I do know, with or without Donte Greene, this team is in great hands and a great position to compete at the top of the Big East next year. And for Christ’s sakes Jimmy, get the kid a back-up that either wants to play or knows how to keep his limbs in tact.

Stats- 15.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 5.1 apg, 1.5 spg, 2.7 TO, 45 FG%, 79 FT%, 34.6 3-PT%

Featured Link- As a Syracuse fan, I enjoyed this much the way I’d imagine people enjoy having hot wax poured on themselves.

Heading out- Patrick Patterson, Kentucky; Kyle Singler, Duke

Injured- Patrick Patterson, Kentucky; Blake Griffin, Oklahoma

Honorable mention

11) Kyle Singler, Duke 12) Donte Greene, Syracuse 13) Bill Walker, Kansas State 14) Matt Howard, Butler 15) James Johnson, Wake Forest 16) Robbie Hummel, Purdue 17) DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh 18) Patrick Mills, St. Mary’s 19) Chris Warren, Mississippi 20) JJ Hickson, NC State 21) Kosta Koufos, Ohio State 22) Austin Daye, Gonzaga 23) Anthony Randolph, LSU 24) Dominique Jones, South Florida 25) LaceDarius Dunn, Baylor.

Freshman 10: Beasley Leads Love

Jason Tomassini — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 06:58:57 -0800

I really wish I had something profound and interesting to say this time around but I don’t. And I think that’s kinda fitting for this time of the college hoops season. Earlier in the year we had to create things to talk about in order to justify paying attention to hoops over football and other stuff. But with the sports landscape all to itself and a season that has been exciting but void of any transcendent storylines on the court (and don’t say Memphis, Undefeated because I still can’t find anyone who thinks they are the best team in the country) I think we can all agree that the best way to cultivate interest in hoops again is to let the games do the talking. After all, isn’t that is why we keep coming back? No matter the improprieties within recruiting and administrations and even the stands, college basketball will ultimately satisfy the masses with the most exciting product in sports, culminating in the most exciting event in sports. And with any good climax, there’s going to be intriguing build-up (no sexual innuendo intended) and that’s what we are in the midst of right now.

There is only one more Freshman 10 before Championship Week begins so I will be hunkering down and trying to watch as much basketball as I can, not only to best evaluate these guys but to enjoy some of them in their final college games in what is the best freshman class ever. The gap between 6 thru 25 on this list is extremely small and there are about 10 more guys I felt awful about leaving off the honorable mention. I’m not complaining though, that just means there’s a lot of good basketball to watch. Something most sports fans will soon be realizing.

Send them e-mails.

1. Michael Beasley, Kansas State

Well, I couldn’t hold out any longer. Despite eschewing B-Easy for Love’s dominance in the country’s best conference, you simply cannot drop 40 and 17 in 27 minutes and expect to be placed among mortals. My freshman ranking power was weakened at the hands of Beasley’s numbers and I could no longer provide resistance. I feel dirty. But seriously, the loss to Texas Tech aside, Beasley is basically doing what Kevin Durant did last year. And if you have read any of this column in its brief history, you know that I never thought I’d see a Durantian impact again. Although I’m not as enamored with Beasley’s game as I was Durant’s because they have significantly different styles; Durant’s success was based a bit more on feel and skill while Beasley does it with strength and athleticism (… and a buttload of feel and skill in his own right). I think Frank Martin, Crazy Person, owes it to us fans to keep Beasley in one of these blowouts for like 35 minutes so he can take a shot at 50. When it comes to transcendentally great players, I always think the more shame they can inflict the better. The weird thing is, despite realizing Beasley’s brilliance, I still haven’t gotten a really good look at his game; well, at least not like I have some other guys and not like I did with Durant. So I’m going to try to pay extra close attention Wednesday against Nebraska or, at the very least Monday against Texas, which will probably spawn another unhealthy admiration of a player’s game (I need help).

Stats- 25.7 ppg, 12.6 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.6 bpg, 1.5 spg, 3 TO, 54.8 FG%, 74 FT%, 41.9 3-PT%

Featured Link
- I’ve been critical of the shadiness surrounding this program but they have now gained a place in my heart: Michael Beasley and Jacob Pullen refer to themselves as “Shake and Bake.”

2. Kevin Love, UCLA

The drop in the ranking is not to say Kevin Love has done anything incorrectly. He simply has not had a 40 and 17 game. But he has done something nearly as noteworthy, which is assert himself as the most impressive player on a very balanced, team-oriented, title-contending team. When you watch UCLA play, you would never suspect that Love gets the numbers he does and with the efficiency in which he does it. He rarely looks for his own shot and Ben Howland rarely runs plays for him. Most of his points come in the flow of the offense or as the result of his work on the glass. And he does all of this with opposing fans despising him. Seriously, he’s getting the Redick treatment in Pac-10 play. That being said, he really needs to lose the chinstrap. No matter how much I respect his game, it is very difficult to respect a man that likely has tinted windows on his car.

Stats- 17.3 ppg, 11 rpg, 1.8 apg, 0.9 bpg, 0.7 spg, 2.0 TO, 59.3 FG%, 75 FT%, 15-38 3-PTs

Featured Link-
Given the abhorrent media slobbering he receives, I’m not entirely sure who doubts Kevin Love, but I guess this was a solid feature anyway.

3. Eric Gordon, Indiana

After an obviously rattled performance at Illinois (and I suppose you can’t blame him, it’s pretty hard to have that many people hate you by age 19), I was really impressed by how Gordon responded to the Kelvin Sampson turmoil with 23 in a heartbreaking loss to Wisconsin and an outstanding game (28 points) against Michigan State (given the circumstances, probably his best of the year). Now, keep in mind those two games were at home. It’s going to be really ugly when the Hoosiers go on the road – although their next road game not against Northwestern isn’t for two weeks when they are devoured whole by Michigan State fans – and Gordon/Sampson will once again be the object of the vitriol. This is still a pretty good team, even with the shadiness and much of their fate will be decided by how Gordon responds to all this pressure. I can’t remember a freshman with more non-basketball stuff to worry about. And with DJ White hobbled, there’s no question the weight of Hoosier Nation remains on Gordon and the coach who sold his soul to get him… allegedly.

Stats-
21.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.3 apg, 0.6 bpg, 3.4 TO, 47.1 FG%, 85.7 FT%, 40 3-PT%
Featured Link-
Really good recap of the Illinois-Indiana game from ESPN.com’s Pat Forde.

4. Jerryd Bayless, Arizona

Touch yourself all you want over Michael Beasley’s recent heroics, but NO ONE has been better individually over a three-game span than Bayless has been in the past week and a half. Even though they lost two of the games (getting robbed against Stanford), Bayless has went 39, 33, 31 against Arizona State, Cal and Stanford respectively. The rest of the Cats only had 15 points (!) vs. ASU and 35 against the Cardinal so you can see the weight that has been put on this kid. And with Nic Wise out, Bayless has had to assume most of the ballhandling and point duties. To be quite honest, I don’t really see much of a difference at this particular moment between Bayless and the three guys above him. Despite using almost 30 percent of Arizona’s possessions, he has the second-lowest turnover rate in their rotation and still shoots almost 50 percent from the floor. With the way he has kept this team together lately, he’d be a POY favorite in most other conferences.

Stats-
21.1 ppg, 4.4 apg, 2.8 rpg, 1.1 spg, 3.0 TO, 48.9 FG%, 84.9 FT%, 45 3-PT%
Featured Link-
If you are late to the Bayless appreciation thing, here’s a great feature on him from the Arizona Daily Star.

5. Derrick Rose, Memphis

Surprise, surprise, Rose is back at his familiar five-spot. But since he has an actual opponent coming up Saturday, I will finally be inclined to make an actual evaluation and move him up or down. Apparently he was pretty bad against UAB but I suppose most people would have trouble hitting a 10-foot floater with a bottle hurtling toward your head. The key against Tennessee is whether Rose can handle being the focal point. Because of Tennessee’s pressure and up-tempo style, it will be a rare game for a balanced Memphis team where Rose is the most important player on the court. He needs to be careful with the ball, under control in spite of the speed and cognizant of when to push and when to pull the ball out. And while I think Rose is good enough to handle that, I do wonder if he can drastically heighten his focus, in the midst of all these mindless blowouts, to play the No. 2 team in the country. But on the bright side, he probably won’t have to wear a helmet.

Stats-
13.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.2 spg, 0.4 bpg, 3 TO, 44.6 FG%, 68.8 FT%, 31.3 3-PT%
Featured Link
- If you haven’t seen this yet, it’s a must-read for serious hoops fans: Grant Wahl discovers the secret of Memphis’ Dribble Drive Motion offense, for which Rose is so perfect.

6. James Harden, Arizona State

I finally got my first really good look at Harden against Stanford and I was extremely impressed. I knew how great he had been this season, even ranking him as high as No. 4, but the way he put the Sun Devils on his back that game was incredible (he scored 23 points overall, including 12 straight over the end of regulation and start of OT). He gets his points not by shooting or physicality or athleticism but by relentlessly attacking the basket (with an incredible first step) and being one of the best finishers I have seen this year. Call him the Tyler Hansbrough of guards when it comes to making shots (or getting to the line) around the basket. Granted, I probably saw one of his best games of the season and he followed the upset with a stinker in a loss to Cal but obviously, being a freshman, consistency does not come easily. I saw a certain winning swagger from Harden in that Stanford game and I’m hoping the weight of playing on the Bubble the next couple weeks will bring out that killer instinct more often.

Stats-
18 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 2.8 apg, 2.0 spg, 0.6 bpg, 2.5 TO, 53.2 FG%, 74.5 FT%, 42.6 3-PT%
Featured Link
- It really is remarkable how quickly the Sun Devils have turned things around.

7. Jonny Flynn, Syracuse

Just got done watching the Orange lose another lung-crushing heartbreaker to a top Big East team and Flynn actually went to the bench… for one minute. This was after playing every second of the previous seven games. Although Syracuse is a considerably worse team, Flynn’s gutty performance has reminded me of DJ Augustin’s similarly taxing freshman season for Texas. For a freshman point guard to log the minutes he has and consistently make sound decisions – especially with your freshman cohort jacking up shots like he’s got a terminal illness – is impressive, no matter what his numbers are. And it just so happens that Flynn’s numbers are solid as well. He’s had two turnovers or less in seven of his last nine games and is shooting 46 percent despite routinely having the ball with the shot clock dwindling. It’s funny because when Syracuse had a full roster they were one of the faster teams in the country and now they play considerably slower. All the while Flynn didn’t miss a beat. The Orange will surely be on the Bubble again this year and if they get in, look no further than the point guard position for praise once again.

Stats-
15.5 ppg, 5.2 apg, 2.7 rpg, 1.6 spg, 2.7 TO, 46 FG%, 78.4 FT%, 34.6 3-PT%
Featured Link-
Nice feature on the adjustments Flynn and Boeheim have had to make with the obscenely short bench.

8. Andrew Ogilvy, Vanderbilt

Thanks to a five-game winning streak for Vandy and some serious redemption against Patrick Patterson and Marrese Speights – two guys that killed him in previous meetings – Ogilvy has found his way back on the Freshman 10. I’m assuming it’s already a national holiday in Australia. The game against Patterson (19 and 12 in 24 minutes) in the horrific 41-point destruction of the Wildcats last week was a good sign for Ogilvy, as it showed a competitive streak in not wanting to be dominated by his fellow SEC freshman again. Andrew Bogut – with whom Ogilvy will be forever compared and probably buried next beside – had that fire and it’s something we need to see more of from AJ. Obviously it’s easier to show that when you are destroying said opponent like they did Kentucky but whatever, it’s something. And he has another opportunity next Tuesday to redeem a poor performance against the erotically named Wayne Chism and Tennessee, especially with the game against Memphis still in the Vols’ rearview.

Stats-
17.2 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.4 bpg, 0.8 spg, 2.4 TO, 58.3 FG%, 77.8 FT%.
Featured Link-
A comparison of non-conference and conference play for Ogilvy.

9. Patrick Patterson, Kentucky

Speaking of Patterson, I was tempted to drop him off the list just a week after his long overdue debut on the Freshman 10 because of a few pedestrian games. But the beatdown from Vandy aside, Kentucky is still winning and if they can do it without Patterson carrying them, well I’m not going to penalize the freshman for that. Looking ahead for the Cats, they have four of their last six at home with one road game at South Carolina (the other is at Tennessee in a revenge game; they will lose by 80) and if they can go 5-1, beating Arkansas, Mississippi and Florida in the process, they deserve to be considered for the NCAAs. And if that happens, Patterson really ought to be considered for SEC POY. His main competition is Jamont Gordon, Ogilvy and Shan Foster, none of whom have as paltry a supporting cast (Kentucky only has three players that have played more than 11 games and average over five points) as Patterson and none will have orchestrated a starker turnaround. Plus he plays as hard as anyone in the country and plays a ton of minutes… and he can juggle… OK, POY may be stretching it a bit but he should at least win Freshman of the Year over Ogilvy and Calathes. Just give him something.

Stats- 16.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 1.8 apg, 0.9 spg, 1.3 bpg, 2.3 TO, 58.7 FG%, 72 FT%.

Featured Link-
A fantastically apocalyptic recap of the Vandy beatdown last week from the great UK blog Sea of Blue. This is what it’s like to be A Crazy Kentucky Fan.

10. Kyle Singler, Duke

A guy who was highly touted in the preseason but has been forgotten a bit because of Duke’s balanced, interchangeable attack, Singler recently had three monster games starting with the UNC win. He had 14 and 10 against the Heels, then 24 and 10 against BC and 26 and 7 against Maryland, shooting 12-22 from three combined. And while the scoring numbers there are nice, the rebounding may be even more important, as he has helped Duke’s most glaring weakness disappear. Because of his shooting, ballhandling and size, Singler is really perfect for the Blue Devils’ system and it seems he has finally become comfortable over the past few weeks. It’s hard to really describe his game because his amazing versatility keeps one aspect from standing out so I recommend just watching him closely (God knows you will have plenty of opportunities). When his shot is falling he’s easier to recognize but it’s his toughness and underrated defense that is probably most valuable for Duke.

Stats-
14.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.4 apg, 0.8 bpg, 1.0 spg, 2.4 TO, 49.8 FG%, 77.1 FT%, 38.8 3-PTs.
Featured Link-
With the backdrop of the Maryland game, probably the best of his career, a nice article on Singler’s sudden emergence as one of Duke’s go-to guys.
Heading out
- OJ Mayo, USC; Donte Greene, Syracuse; Matt Howard, Butler.

Honorable mention

11) OJ Mayo, USC 12) Donte Greene, Syracuse 13) Bill Walker, Kansas State 14) Matt Howard, Butler 15) Nick Calathes, Florida 16) Blake Griffin, Oklahoma 17) DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh 18) Patrick Mills, St. Mary’s 19) Chris Warren, Mississippi 20) JJ Hickson, NC State 21) James Johnson, Wake Forest 22) Austin Daye, Gonzaga 23) Robbie Hummel, Purdue 24) Dominique Jones, South Florida 25) LaceDarius Dunn, Baylor.

-- Freshman-Related Games to Watch
(February 19 to March 3)

Purdue at Indiana
, February 19 (7 ET ESPN) – I don’t think there is any question that Indiana is a more talented team than the young Boilermakers but there aren’t many teams you will see this year with better chemistry and heart than Matt Painter’s bunch. There isn’t a “standout” freshman like Indiana has but it does seem like among Scott Martin, Robbie Hummel, E’Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson, a different young buck steps up each game. It was “Professor Frink” Hummel at Wisconsin and against Michigan State, it was Moore with 28 against Northwestern, it was Martin earlier in the year. That being said, Indiana really needs this game in the standings and with all the turmoil surrounding the team, can’t afford to lose much in front of its fans. Gordon seems to be breaking out of his mini-slump and should shine again.

Kansas State at Baylor
, February 23 (8 ET) – Lost in the recent devastation Michael Beasley has enforced upon the Big 12 has been the outstanding play of his teammate Bill Walker and Baylor guard LaceDarius Dunn. “Pee Pants” Walker is averaging a quiet 16 and 6 this year and Dunn has had 23, 26 and 19 in the Bears’ last three, all against good backcourts. Also don’t forget Wildcats freshman point Jacob Pullen (a.k.a. Shake), who hasn’t been willingly giving the ball to the other team that much lately.

USC at Arizona
, February 28 (9 ET, ESPN) – It seems like the Pac-10 has a great freshman match-up every night, but this game should go a long way to settling the Bayless/Mayo debate (assuming there actually is one, of course). In the first game, Mayo played better but Arizona won on the road, which pretty much tells you a lot about the two players. Bayless is probably as important to his team as any player in

the country, while Mayo’s success never seems to coincide with the Trojans’ wins/losses.

USC at Arizona State
, March 1 (3 ET) – Yeah so, the Pac-10 is a lot better than everybody else. As mentioned above, I am now a huge James Harden fan and would love to see him outplay Mayo, not because I dislike OJ but so Harden is finally mentioned right along with Mayo on a national level. Out of nowhere, ASU has a rabid fanbase and chances are they will have disparaging things to say about Mr. Mayo. Just a guess.

St. Mary’s at Gonzaga
, March 1 (8 ET) – In a rematch of one of the best games of this season so far, the Gaels and Zags will duel in national obscurity the second time around as this one isn’t on TV. I’m still reeling from what I saw Gonzaga freshman Austin Daye do in the first meeting as he dazzled with a display of long-range bombs, crossovers, shot fakes and mid-range touch (he’s 6-10 by the way). He then decided to disappear for a few games so by March 1 he should be ready to embarrass folks. And if you think Spokane won’t have a plethora of Australia-related jokes for St. Mary’s’ freshman point Patty Mills, well you just don’t understand Pacific Northwest basketball fans.

Honorable Mention

Ohio State at Indiana, February 26 (7 ET ESPN)

Mississippi at Kentucky, February 27 (8 ET)

Duke at North Carolina State, March 1 (12 ET CBS)

Pittsburgh at Syracuse, March 1 (12 ET ESPN)

Memphis at Southern Miss, March 1 (4 ET)