NCAA Basketball Players Thriving in New Roles in 2014-15 Season

Change comes to us all, especially in the churn of college basketball. With the very eldest of the on-court statesmen staying a mere four seasons, big adjustments are a key part of success.

Sometimes, that means shifting your role for the good of the team, better to account for the latest roster arrivals and departures. Sometimes that works out, and sometimes it doesn't. 

Here are the players for whom that approach is working so far in 2014-15. They are the ones who are either playing in a different position than last season or are taking on new or greater responsibilities with their team. They are ranked here in the order of their individual contributions, the degree to which their role has changed and the level of their team's success.

All stats from ESPN.com.

7. Norman Powell, UCLA

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With 80 percent of last season's starting lineup gone, there weren't a lot of great expectations for UCLA. And, well, that's good, because they're 9-7.

But imagine how much worse it would be without Norman Powell, the lone returning starter and senior leader for the Bruins.

After the mass exodus, coach Steve Alford made his expectations for Powell clear. He needed to step in and be the top guy. And Powell embraced the challenge, working out hard over the offseason and coming in ready.

Though it's been rocky for the team as a whole, Powell has been nothing but a rock. His minutes per game are up by nearly seven over the previous campaign. He's in the top three on the roster for averages in points (14.9), rebounds (4.4), assists (2.1) and steals (1.8).

He may not be a lottery prospect, but his stock for the Bruins faithful couldn't be higher. 

6. Dorian Finney-Smith, Florida

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Dorian Finney-Smith won't repeat his award-winning effort from last season.

That's when he received the SEC Sixth Man of the Year award as a key spark to Florida's Final Four team. This season, however, he's in the starting lineup, and he's doing pretty well with the expanded role.

In two additional minutes per game, he has raised his scoring average by about five points per game. Florida, now sitting at 8-6, isn't a favorite to make another Final Four, but it's not because of Finney-Smith, who is second on the team in scoring with 13.9 points per contest.

5. Olaf Schaftenaar, Oregon State

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He's not exactly marinating in the limelight, but that's OK. Olaf Schaftenaar seems plenty comfortable where he is.

And that's as the fourth-leading scorer on the 10-4 OSU Beavers. Doesn't sound too impressive until you consider that last season, the 6'10" junior Dutchman was 11th on the team in that category.

He began his OSU career as almost a novelty, a tall three-point shooter who was brought in to chuck it up. But this year he's a low-post player, working closer to the rim more often and even chipping in on defense.

As a result, Schaftenaar's minutes are up to 29.5 per contest from nine in 2013-14. That's big. And his scoring is up to 10.3 per game over 2.2 last season. Rebounding is up to 4.0 per game from 1.3. And if you don't think 0.4 blocks per game is impressive, just compare it to the 0.1 he carved out a year ago.

4. Willie Cauley-Stein, Kentucky

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Only in Lexington could a seven-footer ever be considered an afterthought. Coming into the season, Willie Cauley-Stein was just that, buried below the fold thanks to Karl-Anthony Towns, Dakari Johnson, Trey Lyles and other, younger, supposedly higher-ceilinged prospects.

But here in his junior season, Cauley-Stein, who spent a not-insignificant portion of his previous two seasons watching from the bench because of injuries or because he was backing up Nerlens Noel, is in a new role as the leader and best player on the top team in the nation.

Now a fixture in the starting lineup, his playing time is up by two minutes per game over 2013-14, from 23.8 to 25.1 minutes per game. That's an especially significant increase when considering the Wildcats regularly play two separate lineups.

Cauley-Stein's scoring, rebounding and steals also are up. He is scoring 9.9 points per game this year compared with 6.8 points per game last season, 7.0 rebounds compared with 6.1 rebounds last season and 1.9 steals per contest this season compared with 1.2 steals last season. He's in at least the top three of all of those categories for the team, by the way.

3. Josh Richardson, Tennessee

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There wasn't much expected of the Volunteers this season, seeing as how they only returned four scholarship players. And while they've had challenges in their 9-4 season so far, they've had their successes, too—and those are due in large part to Josh Richardson.

Last season, Richardson worked mainly at shooting guard and was used as a defensive stopper. This year, he is at the point guard position and is leading the Vols in both scoring (16.1 ppg) and assists (3.7 apg). He has found his rhythm playing heavy minutes for Tennessee, with his assist totals improving as the team has started to hit its stride. 

He could stand to do something about those turnovers (2.8 per game), but it's still an impressive showing from the Vols' unquestioned floor leader. 

2. Quinn Cook, Duke

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With freshman point guard Tyus Jones on campus, Quinn Cook is no longer the straw that stirs the Blue Devils' drink. And as such, the senior's assist numbers are down from the averages he reached as a junior and a sophomore (3.1 assists this season compared with 4.4 assists per game last season).

But you know what's funny? His scoring is up, from 11.6 points per game last season to 14.4 this season. His shooting is more accurate, too, with a 46.9 percent overall mark compared with 43.2 percent last season. And the team is faring pretty well with him off the ball, considering it's undefeated. Not a bad transition for the former point guard.

1. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Arizona

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It could not have been easy for Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to go to the bench. But after starting and starring down the stretch for Arizona last season, he returned to the pine this year so that head coach Sean Miller could try different lineups.

As a result, Hollis-Jefferson—a likely NBA lottery pick—is fifth on the team in minutes played. But at the same time, the 6'7" forward is third on the team in scoring, second in rebounding, third in steals and first in blocks. All of those numbers are up over last season's totals.

He has also proven himself a team-first player and a leader for the No. 7 Wildcats. It's pretty good when you have a guy like this helping you set your tone.