Ranking the 10 Best NCAA Basketball Freshmen so Far in the 2015-16 Season
You're only as good as your best freshman.
That's not exactly the case, but the importance of freshmen in today's college basketball game makes it seem as if not having one who is tearing it up is a black mark for a team. And since the top first-year players tend to make that their lone season, it's best to get as much out of them while you can.
We've played a month of the 2015-16 season, and at this point, the list of the top freshmen in the country is a mix of some of the expected names along with some unexpected standouts. It's not as stellar a group as the one that played last year, but there are still plenty of good players, including several who have shined brightly so far.
We've ranked the 10 best based on their overall performance in comparison to other freshmen as well as how much it's helped their team's play to this point.
10. Stephen Zimmerman, UNLV
1 of 10
UNLV is off to an impressive 8-2 start that includes wins over ranked Indiana and Oregon teams. The Runnin' Rebels have been aided by two impact freshmen, and while Derrick Jones has provided the highlight-reel footage with his dunking, it's been Stephen Zimmerman doing a lot of the dirty work.
The 7'0” center averages 10.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting 50.8 percent. He has four double-doubles, including 12 points and 12 rebounds along with four blocks when UNLV handed Oregon its only loss this season thus far.
9. JaQuan Lyle, Ohio State
2 of 10
It's looking very likely that Ohio State will miss the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2008 unless it kicks into another (and much better) gear once Big Ten play comes along. The Buckeyes are 4-5 with losses at home to Louisiana Tech and Texas-Arlington, and most recently they lost by 20 to Connecticut.
The team results haven't been strong, but JaQuan Lyle is showing the future is bright if he stays in college beyond this season.
The 6'5” guard averages 8.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game, helping to replace the distribution skills that D'Angelo Russell took with him to the NBA after one year. Lyle still has a way to go as a shooter, though, as he's hitting only 36.8 percent of his shots and is 8-of-28 from three-point range.
8. Tyler Davis, Texas A&M
3 of 10
One of a handful of freshmen from the Lone Star State that Billy Kennedy is building his team around, Tyler Davis is only one of those freshmen who's starting for the Aggies on a full-time basis. And the 6'10” center is holding his own under the basket, particularly on the offensive end.
Davis averages 11.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 75.5 percent. That ranks 11th-best in Division I.
When defending the rim, Davis blocks 7.2 percent of shots taken by opponents when he's on the court, leading to a defensive rating of 85.9 that is best on the team.
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7. Deyonta Davis, Michigan State
4 of 10
It came as quite a surprise during the spring when prized recruit Caleb Swanigan abruptly backed out of his commitment to Michigan State and opted to play for Big Ten rival Purdue. The Spartans would have loved to have Swanigan in the frontcourt, but considering they already had another promising big man coming in, the loss wasn't that big a deal.
And now that we've seen Deyonta Davis in action, we understand why.
The 6'10” forward is tied for seventh nationally with 26 blocked shots, which have come in just 18.5 minutes per game off the bench. He's also averaging 8.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game and has sunk 44 of 71 field-goal attempts for a strong 62 percent efficiency.
Of Davis' 67 rebounds, 31 have come on the offensive end, one of many factors for the Spartans' 11-0 start.
6. Caleb Swanigan, Purdue
5 of 10
Much like Michigan State, Purdue is off to an 11-0 start thanks to the contributions of a physical freshman big man. The biggest difference between the Boilermakers' Caleb Swanigan and MSU's Deyonta Davis is the sheer volume by which Swanigan is pitching in.
The 6'9”, 260-pound forward has started all 11 games and leads Purdue in total minutes at 299. In that time, he's averaging 9.9 points and 9.2 rebounds, with the vast majority of his boards coming on the defensive end.
Swanigan's 81 defensive rebounds rank him fifth in the country, and his 80.0 defensive rating is fifth-best nationally but only second-best on his team behind 7'0” senior A.J. Hammons.
Swanigan still has some work to do on his offensive game. Thanks to a solid last three games, he has upped his shooting percentage from 35.4 to 41.8 percent.
5. Dedric Lawson, Memphis
6 of 10
Adding the father of a recruit to the coaching staff reeks of desperation, yet it's not an uncommon practice in college basketball. Memphis head coach Josh Pastner went this route in July 2014, hiring Keelon Lawson from an area high school program to join the Tigers for the 2014-15 season that would include incoming prospect K.J. Lawson.
But it was Keelon Lawson's second-oldest son, Dedric Lawson, who was the real target in the entire transaction. The move paid off, because Dedric Lawson committed to Memphis four days later, and he's looking like the player Pastner needed to help save his job.
The 6'8” forward leads Memphis in scoring (16.5 points) and rebounding (8.9) along with 1.9 blocks and 1.5 steals per game. He's shooting 49 percent overall but has made 22 of his last 34 field goals.
4. Allonzo Trier, Arizona
7 of 10
Arizona has had a one-and-done freshman each of the previous three seasons, two of whom (Aaron Gordon and Stanley Johnson) were no-brainers while the third (Grant Jerrett) was a head-scratcher. Allonzo Trier falls somewhere in between, though if he continues to be as efficient on the offensive end as he's shown so far, his time in Tucson will be short.
The 6'4” guard is third on the team in scoring at 13.2 points per game, doing so by shooting 54.8 percent from the field. A high-volume shooter in high school and on the traveling circuit, Trier has displayed the ability to score a lot without needing to take many shots in his first 10 college games.
He takes only 7.3 shots per game but gets to the line more than five times per night. In November, he had 22 points on just five shots, thanks to going 14-of-14 from the line. And on Dec. 9, he had a career-high 27 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
“When he’s in the open court, he’s a freight train coming at the rim,” Arizona coach Sean Miller said, per Anthony Gimino of Today's U Sports.
3. Malik Beasley, Florida State
8 of 10
Florida State's top two scorers this season are freshmen, ones who pledged to Leonard Hamilton's team on the same day in September 2014. In the interest of fairness and spreading the love, we only went with one of the Seminoles' young stars, choosing the one who has been one of the top outside shooters in the country.
Malik Beasley is shooting 45.7 percent from three-point range, helping him shoot 53.7 percent overall. He's leading FSU in scoring at 18.3 points per game, which is second only to LSU's Ben Simmons among freshmen.
FSU has lost twice already and doesn't have a signature win, which is keeping Beasley from getting a lot of attention. That could change early in ACC play, as the Seminoles host North Carolina on Jan. 4.
2. Henry Ellenson, Marquette
9 of 10
Steve Wojciechowski inherited a rough situation when he succeeded Buzz Williams at Marquette before the 2014-15 season. But while the on-court results didn't go well that year, on the recruiting trail he was setting the tone for the future by pulling star in-state recruit Henry Ellenson away from Kentucky and Michigan State, among others.
The 6'10” forward didn't get to finish his high school career, suffering a hand injury in March that required surgery. The offseason was more than enough time for that ailment to heal, and he's been at full strength since the Golden Eagles' season began.
Ellenson averages 16.5 points and 9.0 rebounds, both of which are team highs, helping Marquette to a solid 8-2 record. It lost two of three to start but has since claimed seven straight wins, most recently at rival Wisconsin when Ellenson had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Earlier this season, he went toe-to-toe with LSU star Ben Simmons and held his own with 16 points and 11 boards.
1. Ben Simmons, LSU
10 of 10
Though team performance did factor into these rankings, it wasn't to the point to where an outstanding freshman on a struggling club would get penalized for his team's record. Ben Simmons was likely locked into the top spot no matter what criteria we used, however, since he's been everything he was hyped to be.
The 6'10” forward has been far and away LSU's best player and the best freshman in the country. His 19 points per game is the best average among first-year players, while he leads Division I in rebounding at 14.8 per game. Simmons' 5.9 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.6 blocks per game are also team highs.
But Simmons is also proof that one guy can't do it all, as the Tigers are 4-4 with losses to Arizona State and Marquette in the Legends Classic and at Charleston and Houston. The last one was on Sunday, in overtime, with Simmons fouling out in regulation despite 13 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks.
Projected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft by NBADraft.net, among others, Simmons might never get to play in the NCAA tournament unless his team is able to win more frequently.
“Ben Simmons is going to set every NIT record that’s ever existed,” Gary Parrish of CBS Sports tweeted.
All statistics courtesy of Sports-Reference.com.
Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.
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