By VINNIE RULLO
Contributing Writer
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Each year in college basketball there are highly-recruited freshmen right out of high school. These players are highly regarded and will play for some of the top schools in the country. Some of these freshmen will make an immediate impact for their prospective teams this season.
Last year’s recruiting class from the 2013-14 season will be hard to top, which featured Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid from Kansas, Jabari Parker from Duke, and Julius Randle from Kentucky. All of these players were NBA lottery draft picks this past June.
This year’s college basketball freshman class features a lot of talented players. Similar to last year, Duke once again has an impressive recruiting class. The class features three of the highest rated recruits, with center Jahlil Okafor, guard Tyus Jones, and forward Justise Winslow. All three players have been highly rated from multiple pre-season rankings, including ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and USA Today.
Okafor has been regarded as a powerful throwback center because of his size and strength. On NBADraft.net, Okafor has been compared to Charlotte Hornets center Al Jefferson. Okafor has already been mentioned as a possible top five pick for the 2015 NBA Draft and is the early pre-season favorite to win National Freshman of the Year honors.
Tyus Jones should see a good number of minutes at point guard for Duke this season, but he will be competing with senior Quinn Cook for minutes. Justice Winslow should also make an impact this season, as Duke is one of the favorites to win the National Championship this year, only behind Kentucky.
Kentucky, lead by Coach John Calipari, is again bringing in another impressive recruiting class. According to ESPN, Kentucky recruited two freshmen ranked in the Top Ten this year- power forward Trey Lyles and center Karl Towns, Jr. Towns has been regarded as a center who can stretch the floor with his offensive game, which should allow him to play more.
Kentucky’s freshmen make an immediate impact each year, and the program has also produced some of the best NBA players the last couple of years, including John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, and Anthony Davis, to name a few. Overall, Kentucky’s freshmen and the return of the Harrison brothers from last year should give them a favorable chance to win the National Championship.
Another freshman who will stand out this season is Stanley Johnson from Arizona, who will play both shooting guard and small forward. Arizona had a standout freshman on their team last year in Aaron Gordon, who was the fourth player selected overall in last year’s NBA Draft. Johnson has been regarded as a more skilled player offensively than Gordon. Two-way players are very valuable for the next level as well because NBA teams want versatile players on their rosters. Expect Johnson to make an impact for Arizona this college basketball season, and to be a top 15 NBA draft pick this June as well.
Two other freshmen big men that will have an impact this college basketball season are Myles Turner, center from Texas, and Cliff Alexander, power forward from Kansas. Both players have been ranked among the best freshmen recruits according to ESPN’s rankings, number second and third respectively, only behind Okafor.
Turner has been highly regarded because of his uniquely large wingspan. According to NBADraft.net, he is 6’10”, 242 pounds with a 7’4” wingspan and 9’3” reach. Turner is a very athletic big man, and should be one of the top picks in the NBA Draft this June.
Alexander is an excellent rebounder, with incredible strength. He has been compared to Thomas Robinson, who plays for the Portland Trailblazers and also played for Kansas a couple of years ago. Robinson is known as a great rebounder.
Of all the notable college basketball players, I think most of them will go pro to after this college basketball season, also known as “one and dones.” These players are highly talented and some of them could even play in the NBA already, but rules prevent them from doing so. These players will be very interesting to watch this college basketball season. Be sure to look for them to stand out.
