Latest Freshman Rankings for the 2014-15 College Basketball Season

As we ring in the new year, it's time for an updated ranking of the top first-year college basketball players from around the country.

With a couple of exceptions, they're the same players as last time. Syracuse's Chris McCullough plummeted out of the top 10 after four consecutive subpar games, and Utah's Jakob Poeltl slipped from No. 10 into the honorable mentions only to be replaced by another underappreciated stud from the Pac-12.

But the other eight players from our last top 10 are all back, albeit in a slightly different order than before.

Everyone is in a different position except for the top dog.

Jahlil Okafor isn't just the top freshman in the country. If he keeps this up for another three months, he's going to be the best college basketball player of his lifetime.

The battle for second place behind Okafor is a tight one, though. Read on for why we feel Tyus Jones, D'Angelo Russell, Melo Trimble and Myles Turner are the top contenders for the silver medal.

Statistics on the following slides courtesy of ESPN.com, NCAA.com and KenPom.com (subscription required). Unless otherwise noted, statistics are current through the end of play on Wednesday, December 31.

Honorable Mentions

USA TODAY Sports

This list could easily have 15 honorable mentions, but we set a self-imposed maximum of eight in order to really hone in on the first-year players who could be one great game away from cracking into the top 10.

Trevon Bluiett, Xavier

The toughest omission of the bunch, Bluiett is leading the Musketeers in scoring. He is averaging better than 1.4 points per field-goal attempt and is contributing nicely in the rebounds, assists and steals departments.

However, we're less than enamored with the level of competition faced thus far—Wednesday's late game against Georgetown is not included in that statement. If he's still playing this well into the heart of the Big East conference season, he could end up in the top five next month.

Jakob Poeltl, Utah

Poeltl was ranked No. 10 three weeks ago, but he has averaged just 8.0 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in the five games since then. And now that Jordan Loveridge is back for the Utes, Poeltl may be getting even fewer touches per game.

Rashad Vaughn, UNLV

Entering play on Wednesday, Vaughn trailed only Jahlil Okafor for the honor of highest-scoring freshman in the country, but it sure is taking him a lot of shots to get there. Vaughn is averaging 18.1 points per game and 1.19 points per field-goal attempt. Okafor is sitting at 18.3 points per game, but he has a much more efficient ratio of 1.55 points per field-goal attempt.

Justise Winslow, Duke

Through five games, Winslow was averaging 15.4 PPG, had an average O-rating of 117.8 and was arguably the best freshman in the country. Since then, he has averaged 8.7 PPG, has an average O-rating of 96.0 and is unquestionably the third-best freshman on his team. He's no closer to the top 10 than he was three weeks ago.

Devin Booker, Kentucky

Booker has turned out to be quite the incredible shooter, hitting 46 percent of his 50 three-point attempts on the season. However, it'd be nice if he would at least try to develop some secondary skill. In his past six games, Booker has five rebounds, two assists, one steal and eight turnovers in 121 minutes of action. You'd think he could accidentally do better than that.

Tyler Ulis, Kentucky

We would love to include him because he makes such a difference for Kentucky when he is on the court, but he just isn't getting the necessary minutes or numbers. Ulis is responsible for 19.9 minutes, 5.8 points, 3.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Even if we look at those numbers per 40 minutes, he's still a little behind the other point guards in the top 10.

Isaac Haas, Purdue

The big man entered play on Wednesday averaging 25.7 points and 11.7 rebounds per 40 minutes, but you may not have heard of him because the Boilermakers have five losses and he only plays 17.8 minutes per game. He's been good. But we want to see more, and we want to see it amount to more team victories.

Cliff Alexander, Kansas

Alexander can't seem to find his way out of Bill Self's doghouse. He has only started one game this season, but he's averaging a strong 18.0 points, 12.8 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per 40 minutes. If he doesn't start playing more minutes, though, we'll have to start considering Kelly Oubre ahead of him.

10. Jordan McLaughlin, USC

USA TODAY Sports

By the Numbers: 31.6 MPG, 13.3 PPG, 5.2 APG, 3.2 RPG, 1.7 SPG

Previous Rank: Not Mentioned

It might seem hypocritical to rank a kid from USC (KenPom SOS Rank: 289) just moments after dismissing Trevon Bluiett because of Xavier's lackluster schedule (KenPom SOS Rank: 160).

However, their situations are pretty different.

Not only is Jordan McLaughlin averaging substantially more assists and steals per game than Bluiett, but he's really all the Trojans have.

If Bluiett has an off night, no big deal. There are six other Musketeers averaging at least 7.0 PPG.

But if McLaughlin has a bad game, the Trojans struggle with Vermont or get blown out by Akron. He is their sine qua non.

If you haven't seen any USC games this season—and unless you're an alumnus, who could blame you?—take the time on Friday night to watch McLaughlin go up against a very good Utah team. USC has almost no hope of winning that game, but it'll be a great chance to see what McLaughlin can do when facing an upper-echelon opponent.

9. Kevon Looney, UCLA

Chris Carlson/Associated Press

By the Numbers: 31.5 MPG, 12.8 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.6 BPG, 1.2 SPG

Previous Rank: 3

We wrote at the end of Kevon Looney's slide in the last update, "We'll see if he can make some waves in upcoming games against Gonzaga (Dec. 13) and Kentucky (Dec. 20)."

He played pretty well, posting a total of 23 points, 17 rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks against two of the best teams in the country. However, his efforts did little to help the team, as the Bruins were destroyed in both outings.

That wasn't really a big deal until UCLA proceeded to push its losing streak to three games with a loss to Alabama in which Looney had just four points and six rebounds.

Looney scored at least 10 points in each of his first 10 games, including seven double-doubles. He has since gone three games without a double-double and has failed to reach 10 points in either of his last two games, scoring 13 points on 21 field-goal attempts.

We're still big fans of what he did through the first month of the season, but he better turn things back around in a hurry if he wants to remain in the top 10 any longer.

8. James Blackmon Jr., Indiana

USA TODAY Sports

By the Numbers: 29.6 MPG, 17.2 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 1.4 APG

Previous Rank: 5

James Blackmon Jr. has very impressive shooting numbers on the season, but they haven't been nearly as impressive as of late.

Since December 9, Blackmon is shooting 39.0 percent from the field and 30.6 percent from the three-point line while averaging 14.2 PPG. Over those six games, he has averaged just 1.04 points per field-goal attempt as opposed to an absurd ratio of 1.63 through his first eight games.

But Indiana is playing well, and Blackmon has been contributing in other ways by increasing his rebounding and becoming more of a ball distributor.

Yogi Ferrell is still the most important Hoosier, but Indiana would be lost without Blackmon in the starting lineup. Every other player ranked above him on this list has the luxury of being just one of the many important pieces for his team.

Should Blackmon rediscover his shooting stroke and help lead Indiana to the NCAA tournament, it would be hard to rationalize not ranking him as the third or fourth most valuable freshman in the nation.

7. Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentucky

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

By the Numbers: 19.5 MPG, 8.2 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 2.4 BPG, 1.1 APG

Previous Rank: 4

It hurts to drop Karl-Anthony Towns three spots, but we're still bitter about the game against North Carolina in which he had just two points and two rebounds without a single field-goal attempt.

Yes, Kentucky is overflowing with talent, but can you really be considered one of the best freshmen in the nation when your team beats a very good opponent without needing you to do anything during your 19 minutes on the court?

He has done a little more than that in recent games against UCLA and Louisville, but where's the Towns who had 19 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots against Eastern Kentucky? When do we again get to see him post 13 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three blocks like he did against Texas-Arlington?

Were we duped into buying too much stock in his impressive performances against not very impressive teams?

Putting up 10 points and nine rebounds against Louisville is certainly nothing to scoff at, but let's hope John Calipari unleashes the freshman beast in upcoming SEC games against Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Missouri.

If nothing else, we want to see him start blocking some shots again. Once arguably thought to be the best shot-blocker in the nation, Towns has just three blocks in his last 65 minutes.

6. Stanley Johnson, Arizona

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

By the Numbers: 28.4 MPG, 14.5 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.7 APG, 1.8 SPG

Previous Rank: 7

With most freshmen, there's no telling what you're going to get from night to night. Their per-game averages are merely the central point of a wide range of outcomes.

But with Stanley Johnson, you can just about take it to the bank that he's going to score 11-18 points on roughly 10 field-goal attempts with around seven rebounds and great on-ball defense to boot. Pick any game that Arizona has played in the past six weeks, and that's what you'll find in the box score.

Perhaps one day soon he'll get hot and drop 30 points on an unsuspecting team from Oregon or Washington, but for now he's a finely tuned machine with an occasional glitch in the turnovers department.

Johnson was the scapegoat in Arizona's loss to UNLV because he missed an easy layup and committed one of his seven turnovers in the final seconds, but think how much worse off the Wildcats would have been without his 13 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and three steals.

The man simply delivers on a nightly basis, and his consistency will be one of the primary things that gets Arizona right back to its winning ways.

5. Tyus Jones, Duke

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

By the Numbers: 29.4 MPG, 10.8 PPG, 5.5 APG, 3.6 RPG, 1.7 SPG

Previous Rank: 8

Tyus Jones can kill you in any number of ways.

Sometimes he does it with points. He's only averaging 10.8 PPG on the season, but he has at least 15 points in six of those 12 games and is shooting 38.9 percent from three-point range on the season.

Other times, he'll pass you to death. Jones has five games with at least seven assists, helping steer the Blue Devils to a 12-0 record with all 12 wins coming by double digits.

What's more, he can ruin your day with his defense. Jones had four steals against Wofford on Wednesday—his eighth game with at least two steals. We feel he has been unfairly labeled as a subpar defender.

Throw in the fact that he is committing just 1.6 turnovers per game and shooting 86.0 percent from the free-throw line, and people need to start talking about Jones being more than just a great freshman.

He might be the best point guard in the country, regardless of years of eligibility remaining.

4. D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State

David Banks/Getty Images

By the Numbers: 30.4 MPG, 17.4 PPG, 5.2 APG, 4.6 RPG, 1.7 SPG

Previous Rank: 2

D'Angelo Russell's numbers look so incredible right up until you remember the caliber of team Ohio State has been playing against for most of the season.

Take a look at this breakdown of games based on opponent, and you might consider it a miracle that he's in the top 10 at all.

Russell vs. teams outside KenPom top 125 (10 games): 53.5 FG%, 53.6 3P%, 19.6 PPG, 5.4 APG.

Russell vs. teams in KenPom top 125 (four games): 27.6 FG%, 22.2 3P%, 11.8 PPG, 4.8 APG.

Against awful teams, Russell is averaging a stellar 1.52 points per field-goal attempt. That ratio drops to 0.81 when he is facing above-average teams.

To be fair, though, what else are the Buckeyes going to do? If it's not Russell jacking up 17 shots against quality opponents, Thad Matta would have to ask Marc Loving or Sam Thompson to pick up that slack—and that doesn't sound like a great recipe for success.

Maybe things will even out once he gets used to facing better-than-average opponents on a nightly basis, but we're cautiously skeptical that Russell is quite as good as his season averages suggest.

3. Melo Trimble, Maryland

Leon Halip/Getty Images

By the Numbers: 32.4 MPG, 15.9 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.3 SPG

Previous Rank: Honorable Mention

There are plenty of things to love about Melo Trimble, but our favorite is that he is averaging a ridiculous 2.04 points per field-goal attempt.

Part of that is because of great shooting, but it's mostly due to well-timed aggression. Trimble is averaging 7.7 free-throw attempts per game and has converted on 90 percent of those opportunities.

Typically, those are numbers you see from savvy veterans. They're figures reserved for seniors like BYU's Tyler Haws (7.1 attempts, 88.7 percent), Georgia Southern's Jelani Hewitt (6.9 attempts, 92.8 percent) and Iowa's Aaron White (7.3 attempts, 87.3 percent) who know when to pick their moments to capitalize on years of training.

Trimble doesn't have that kind of experience, though. He's only 14 games into his college career yet has already attempted 14 free throws in four different games.

Trimble has done an outstanding job of distributing the ball. Despite playing several games without key players in Dez Wells and Evan Smotrycz, he has recorded at least three assists in nine of Maryland's last 10 games.

But when the game hangs in the balance, it might not be Wells but Trimble driving to the rim in hopes of a bucket and a foul.

No wonder Seth Allen, Nick Faust and Roddy Peters transferred away from Maryland this summer. They must have known this kid was going to come put them all out of a job.

2. Myles Turner, Texas

Michael Thomas/Associated Press

By the Numbers: 21.0 MPG, 12.0 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 2.7 BPG, 1.1 APG

Previous Rank: 9

If you think we're crazy for having Myles Turner this high, maybe this favorable comparison to Jahlil Okafor (prior to Wednesday's game against Wofford) will change your mind.

Okafor per 40 minutes: 25.7 points, 12.4 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 2.2 assists, 1.2 steals

Turner per 40 minutes: 22.9 points, 12.7 rebounds, 5.1 blocks, 2.1 assists, 0.9 steals

Rebounds and assists are a complete wash, and whatever marginal edge Okafor has in points and steals is completely wiped out by Turner's shot-blocking dominance.

Why Turner is only playing 21.0 minutes per game might be the biggest mystery of the entire 2014-15 season. It wasn't until the 13th game of the season that he was finally awarded a spot in the starting lineup, and he responded with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting, despite still receiving only 22 minutes of playing time.

He has had a couple of duds here and there—usually due to foul trouble—but Turner has been primarily outstanding. We're really looking forward to the day when Rick Barnes just turns him loose to find out what he can do with 34 minutes.

1. Jahlil Okafor, Duke

Ellen Ozier/Associated Press

By the Numbers: 28.8 MPG, 18.8 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 1.5 BPG, 1.5 APG

Previous Rank: 1

Since our last update, Jahlil Okafor has played four games.

It would have taken some kind of awful streak for us to consider dropping him from No. 1. Quite the contrary, though, he averaged 22.0 points and 11.0 rebounds in those games while shooting 76.6 percent from the field.

He dealt with some foul trouble at the beginning of December against Wisconsin, but he has committed a grand total of three fouls in his last 126 minutes.

Poor free-throw shooting (50.0 percent) is the only part of his game that could remotely be considered an Achilles' heel, but griping about that is roughly the equivalent of complaining about the headrests on a brand-new Jaguar.

Okafor has been nothing short of spectacular, and he's just now starting to really flex his muscles.

Kentucky might be the most dominant team of the past 20 years, but Okafor is on the fast track to the honor of most dominant individual player in more than two decades.

Kerry Miller covers college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @kerrancejames.