Updated Stock Watch for the Top Freshmen in College Basketball in 2014-15

Time to check in on those investments...

In most cases, the top-rated freshmen in college basketball plan to spend no more than one season in school, often only because that's what is mandated by the NBA.

In effect, this makes that lone college season like purchasing small blocks of stock in commodities that you plan to speculate on much further a year from now.

With that in mind, now is a good time to evaluate these future pros to see if their value is on the rise or if the price is dropping. It might not matter for the investors themselves, as NBA teams have shown over the past few years their willingness to take a risk on a player even if his college numbers don't seem stellar.

Here's our look at the stock values of some of the top freshmen in college basketball this season, as well as a suggestion for a good time in the near future to check in on what their stock is doing.

Cliff Alexander, PF, Kansas

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Holding steady

Cliff Alexander has made several trips to Kansas coach Bill Self's dog house this season, usually because of a lack of effort or because his "motor" didn't look good. But when the 6'8", 240-pound power forward does find the right gear to play in, he's been showing just why he was one of the most coveted recruits of this past class.

This "motor" was heavily on display on Monday, when Alexander came off the bench and had 13 points and 13 rebounds in 24 minutes during Kansas' up-and-down home win over Oklahoma.

"It's just an energy thing," Alexander told Rustin Dodd of The Kansas City Star. "Me and (Coach) both think that I need to play with a high motor. I agree with him."

For the season, Alexander is averaging 8.3 points and 5.8 rebounds in only 18.4 minutes per game. Consistency remains an issue, as in the Jayhawks' previous game he only logged 14 minutes and hardly played in the second half of that 86-81 loss at Iowa State because of a lack of effort and energy.

Next stock evaluation: Jan. 24 at Texas

Devin Booker, G, Kentucky

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Rising

Arguably the least exciting (or intriguing) member of Kentucky's latest heralded recruiting class, at this point in the season there may be no player on the Wildcats playing more above expectations than Devin Booker.

Even without having started a game, thanks to Kentucky's platoon system, the 6'6" shooting guard has been the most indispensable part of the team other than forward Willie Cauley-Stein.

A 50 percent shooter for the season—both from two- and three-point range—Booker has been on an absolute tear since mid-December. Right after missing a game because of illness, he began a seven-game stretch where he went 30-of-50 from the field and made 20 of 28 three-pointers.

"It's just like I'm shooting into the ocean now," Booker told Larry Vaught of The Advocate Messenger. "It’s really coming easy for me. At the beginning of the year I started out in slumps, but I kept telling everybody, 'shooters keep shooting.' That's what I did, and now it's falling."

Though he's part of Kentucky's second unit, he's made that his role and run with it. Aaron Harrison is the team's starting 2-guard and leading scorer, but Booker is second in scoring, and his efficiency is far better.

Next stock evaluation: Feb. 7 at Florida 

Stanley Johnson, F, Arizona

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Rising

Stanley Johnson has been Arizona's leading scorer for pretty much the entire season, but it took starting a game on the bench to get him to become one of the Wildcats' leaders.

Johnson did not start Arizona's Pac-12 opener against Arizona State, yet he still managed to tie for the team high in scoring with 13 points along with seven rebounds. Since then, back in the lineup, the 6'7", 245-pound Johnson has averaged 15.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and only committed five turnovers in those four games.

Asked to make up for the loss of Nick Johnson's scoring punch, Aaron Gordon's athleticism and the defense of both departed Arizona stars, Stanley Johnson has been up and down throughout the season.

However, he has been showing more willingness to take over lately. He had a career-high 22 points last week against Colorado, and after going scoreless in the first half on Saturday against Utah, he finished with 18 points and nine rebounds. 

"At one point Johnson scored nine in a row, all coming in different ways: a three-pointer, an offensive putback, a breakaway dunk off a steal and two free throws," Doug Haller of AZCentral.com wrote. 

Next stock evaluation: Jan. 22 at Stanford

Tyus Jones, PG, Duke

Timothy D. Easley/Associated Press

Falling 

Tyus Jones opened this season on fire, playing with far more composure and poise than you'd expect from a freshman. His work on various national teams, playing in international competitions, was paying off during the nonconference portion of Duke's season.

But as first-year players often do, the 6'1" Jones has started to hit a wall over the past few weeks. Before erupting for a career-high-tying 22 points in Monday's win over Pittsburgh, Jones had averaged 6.0 points over the previous six games while shooting 27.8 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from three-point range.

For the year, Jones averages 10.1 points, 5.1 assists and shoots 42.1 percent, which are solid numbers, but ones that had been padded during the less important part of the season.

Where he hasn't lagged throughout, though, has been in facilitating the Blue Devils offense through crisp passing, as his 3.03 assist-to-turnover ratio shows.

Next stock evaluation: Jan. 25 at St. John's 

Kevon Looney, F, UCLA

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

Holding steady

As Kevon Looney goes, so has UCLA. This wasn't meant to be the plan, but it's how things have worked out for the Bruins this season.

The 6'9" power forward was sensational in UCLA's first 10 games, when it started 8-2 and he averaged 13.9 points, 11.2 rebounds and had seven double-doubles.

Then the Bruins went into a tailspin, losing five straight, and Looney's numbers plummeted simultaneously. He shot 37.8 percent during that stretch, compared to 46 percent for the season.

But since UCLA has bounced back and run off three straight wins, Looney's performances have also risen, including a 27-point, 19-rebound effort in a double-overtime win over Stanford.

Looney has shown flashes of superior play, but until he can establish consistency and not just fall in line with the performance of the rest of his teammates, he's got work to do.

Next stock evaluation: Jan. 29 vs. Utah

Jahlil Okafor, C, Duke

USA TODAY Sports

Rising

Jahlil Okafor has been far and away the best freshman in the country this year, and he may very well be the best player in all of college basketball.

Very rarely does a player who came in with as much hype as the 6'11" Okafor—who was rated No. 1 in the 2014 recruiting class by 247Sports and other scouting services, and had his name on various preseason All-American lists—actually live up to those expectations, but that's what Okafor has done to this point.

Besides being in the top 40 nationally in scoring at 18.6 points per game, Okafor is third in the ACC in rebounding (8.9), and his shooting percentage (67.0) is No. 2 overall. Only his foul shooting (58.9) leaves something to be desired, but he's made 69.4 percent of his free throws since ACC play began.

Of the three freshmen whom Duke (16-2, 4-2 ACC) is starting, he's been the most consistent and the one least susceptible to first-year jitters or frustration. He's shown it, at times, when dealing with double-teams, but his instincts in the post are unlike any player of his age in quite some time.

Next stock evaluation: Jan. 25 at St. John's

Kelly Oubre, G, Kansas

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Rising

For the first month of the season, it was almost like Kelly Oubre wasn't going to be part of Kansas' plans. His playing time was not indicative of what top-flight recruits at power programs end up getting, as in five of his first seven games he didn't log more than eight minutes on the court.

At some point, though, a light must have come on in the 6'7" Oubre, and as a result, he started to figure out what it took to get more minutes.

Now that he's part of the starting lineup, he's starting to play like someone who actually learned from the lessons taught during those early games.

Oubre has averaged 13.8 points and 7.2 rebounds over his last nine games, including Monday's 19-point, nine-rebound effort against Oklahoma that didn't show the level of hustle he's instituted into his game.

Not known much for defense coming into college, it's become a key part of Oubre's arsenal and has enabled him to thrive.

Next stock evaluation: Jan. 24 at Texas

D'Angelo Russell, G, Ohio State

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Holding steady 

Arriving in college with a reputation as a guy who could take over a game, D'Angelo Russell has taken every opportunity possible to show this in his first season. When it works, Ohio State looks unbeatable, but when he can't get it done, the Buckeyes can't beat anyone.

Russell leads Ohio State in scoring (18.6) and rebounding (5.1) and is second in assists (4.8) while shooting 44.4 percent on three-pointers. The 6'5" guard plays a team-high 32.5 minutes per game—one of the highest rates of any freshman in the country—and also takes nearly as many shots per game as any two other Buckeyes.

It's a live-or-die situation for him and for OSU, as seen by his win-loss splits: In five losses, he's shot 30 percent from the field and 24.3 percent on three-pointers; in the 14 wins, those rates are 53.4 and 53.8 percent, respectively.

There's no doubt Russell is an electric player, but when his shot isn't falling, he needs to find another way to contribute.

Next stock evaluation: Jan. 25 vs. Indiana

Karl-Anthony Towns, F, Kentucky

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Falling

The highest-rated of Kentucky's freshmen in terms of recruiting rankings, Karl-Anthony Towns has been the lone freshman in the starting lineup in 12 of 18 games.

He's been in there alongside junior Willie Cauley-Stein to provide one of the most difficult-to-deal-with front lines in college basketball, but on the offensive end, Towns is still trying to establish himself.

While the 6'11" Towns leads the team in blocks with 46 and his rebounding average of 6.6 per game is second-best on the team, he's not been able to get it done offensively.

His 49.5 percent shooting is not indicative of a big man playing in the paint, though some of that comes from roaming toward the perimeter and attempting long twos or the occasional three-pointer.

He hasn't found his place in the Wildcats system when on the offensive end, but because of his strong defensive skills, he remains a key asset. He's still sixth on NBADraft.net's Aran Smith's Big Board for 2015, but that's a drop of three spots since that site's last evaluation.

Next stock evaluation: Feb. 7 at Florida

Myles Turner, C, Texas

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Holding steady

Myles Turner is Texas' leading scorer and rebounder—11.8 points and 6.8 boards per game—yet he's made only three starts. His two starts in Big 12 play were his among his worst performances of the season, and since then, coach Rick Barnes has moved him back to a reserve role.

That seems to be how Turner fares best. In the past three games, he's averaged 15.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and blocked eight shots while making 18 of 21 free throws.

The 6'11" Turner would be starting at most schools, but Texas has a large group of bigs that can rotate in and stay fresh. He's found himself a role as that rare effective big man off the bench, and he can make that his own. 

Next stock evaluation: Jan. 24 vs. Kansas

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.