Midseason Grades for 2014-15 NCAA Basketball Preseason All-Americans

So...how are the guys who were picked as preseason All-Americans by Bleacher Report doing with half of the 2014-15 college basketball season now in the books?

Some, such as Duke freshman sensation Jahlil Okafor, are doing fantastic and living up to the hype. In fact, Duke assistant coach Jeff Capel, who also played for the Blue Devils, offered up some heady compliments about Okafor after Duke's recent win over Louisville.

Capel told The New York Times:

"

I played against (Tim) Duncan (when Duncan was in college at Wake Forest), and Okafor, I think, is much more advanced as a freshman than Duncan was. I haven't seen an offensive big guy in college basketball with gifts that Jahlil has at this age -- and I recruited and coached Blake Griffin at Oklahoma. ... Offensively, I think Jahlil is off the charts.

"

Others, such as Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky, also are off to great starts this season. But for still others projected to be the best of the best this season, it hasn't been all smooth sailing. We grade them all, based on how they're living up to expectations and potential and whether or not they're also doing all the little things to help lead their teams (hopefully) to greatness come March.

Third-Team All-Americans

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Kentucky's Karl-Anthony Towns is a key player on the No. 1 team in the country.

G Juwan Staten, West Virginia: A senior, Staten has mysteriously disappeared offensively in a couple of recent games, and his scoring is down more than three points from last year (down to 15.0 ppg from 18.1), as are his assists and rebounds. But he's still a big reason the Mountaineers got off to a 15-3 start. GRADE: B-

F Stanley Johnson, Arizona: A freshman, Johnson led his balanced and talented team in scoring (14.6 ppg) and rebounding (6.8) while shooting .482 from the field over the first 18 games. The Wildcats won 16 of those contests. GRADE: A

F Georges Niang, Iowa State: The versatile 6'8" Niang is averaging fewer points than last year (14.9 ppg compared to 16.7), but his rebounding is up, he's second on the team in assists (3.5), and he was shooting 36 percent on three-pointers as the Cyclones got off to a 13-3 start. Plus, he's still Iowa State's top scorer. GRADE: B+

F Perry Ellis, Kansas: The 6'8" junior was shooting a career-low .424 from the field through 17 games and needs to become more consistent. He shot nearly 55 percent from the field a year ago and is still averaging a respectable 12.6 points and 6.6 rebounds on a deep Kansas team that began the season 14-3. GRADE: C

C Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentucky: Upon first glance, Towns' averages of 8.5 points and 6.7 rebounds are underwhelming for a freshman whom some (such as ESPN draft analyst Chad Ford via the Louisville Courier-Journal) project as top-five NBA draft pick next June. But they're solid for a team that has nine players averaging 18 minutes or more of playing time but none more than 25.3. GRADE: B

Second-Team All-Americans

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Montrezl Harrell has been a beast on the boards for Louisville.

G Ron Baker, Wichita State: Baker, a junior, leads the Shockers in scoring at 16.3 ppg and is shooting .393 from three-point range. He's been their best player as they've gotten off to another great start at 16-2. GRADE: A

G Caris LeVert, Michigan: LeVert's junior season, and quite possibly his career with the Wolverines, came to an abrupt end when he suffered a season-ending left foot injury during last Saturday's win over Northwestern. The versatile wing player was averaging a team-leading 14.9 points, along with 4.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists, at the time of the injury to the same foot he had surgery on last spring. GRADE: A (but now destined to be Incomplete)

F Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Arizona: Plagued by a propensity to foul too much, Hollis-Jefferson hasn't yet made the big leap expected of him in his sophomore season after a solid freshman campaign a year ago. He could still get there by season's end, though. GRADE: C

F Sam Dekker, Wisconsin: Dekker scored five points in one big game against Duke and only two in another against Marquette. So while his numbers are solid (12.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 52-percent shooting from the field), they're about the same as last year, and he's not really having the breakout season that some expected him to enjoy as a seasoned junior. GRADE: C+

F Montrezl Harrell, Louisville: The 6'8", 235-pound power forward, now a junior, averaged 14.9 points and 9.2 rebounds as the Cardinals opened the season by winning 15 of their first 18 games. He also was shooting .573 from the field and had improved his free-throw percentage dramatically (up to 61 percent after shooting .508 as a freshman and .464 as a sophomore). GRADE: B+

First-Team All-American: Fred VanVleet, Wichita State

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Fred VanVleet still beings a whole lot to the table for Wichita State, but his shooting has been awful this year.

There are so many intangibles that Fred VanVleet brings to the basketball court for Wichita State.

He's a terrific defender, for one. As the point guard who directs the offense, he also rarely turns the ball over and always seems to make the right pass. And he continues to help the Shockers, who got off to a 16-2 start, win almost every game they play by always seeming to be in the right place at the right time and oftentimes making sure everyone else on the court is as well.

But something is a little off this year. After shooting .484 from the field last year, including nearly 42 percent on 91 attempts from three-point range, VanVleet was shooting .392 from the field through 18 games this season and had made only 17 of 51 attempts from beyond the arc (.333).

There also is the matter that Wichita State has played only one ranked opponent thus far this season. So how will VanVleet fare if and when the ranked opponents start coming rapidly in the NCAA tournament? It's a legitimate question.

GRADE: C

First-Team All-American: Marcus Paige, North Carolina

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North Carolina's Marcus Paige has been battling uncharacteristic inconsistency this season.

There is still time for Marcus Paige to make this a season to remember at North Carolina.

So far, there have been glimpses—like his recent outing against Atlantic Coast Conference rival North Carolina State when he totaled 23 points, nine assists and four steals without committing a turnover and also hit a couple of clutch three-pointers in an 81-79 victory.

But that was only the second time this season he scored 20 or more—a feat he accomplished routinely and seemingly with ease for a total of 11 times last season. He has struggled often not only because of being slowed by a foot injury that he has tried to play through but also because, by his own admission, his confidence level has been down.

"I've kind of tricked myself into being confident, because I haven't been playing real well, so I have to do that," Paige told the (Raleigh) newsobserver.com, according to Luke DeCock.

The overall numbers don't lie: Through the first 18 games, in which North Carolina went 14-4, Paige's scoring was down to 13.5 ppg from 17.5 a year ago and so were all his other key numbers, including assists, rebounds and steals—but especially shooting percentage.

As defenses have focused more on him, he's settled for the outside shot, usually a three-pointer, way too often and was shooting a woeful .376 from the field overall after 18 games. 

GRADE: C-

First-Team All-American: Terran Petteway, Nebraska

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Terran Petteway led the Big Ten in scoring last year and is on pace to better his scoring average this season.

Nebraska's Terran Petteway is a pure scorer, one of the best not only in the Big Ten but in the entire country.

Yet three years removed from a forgettable freshman season at Texas Tech (one year that he had to sit out after transferring and then last year's breakout sophomore season at Nebraska), he has emerged as so much more.

In addition to averaging 19.4 points over the first 17 games this season (up from his Big Ten-leading average of 18.1 last year), Petteway's averages also were up in rebounds (now 5.2 per game), assists (2.6), blocks (1.2) and steals (1.2). He also was shooting a career-high 35 percent on three-pointers.

There have been some negatives to his game this year, however. His turnovers are up—he's averaging 3.6 per game—and his free-throw percentage is way down (.663 this year compared to .819 last year). For a guy who is 6'6" and can slash to the basket, oftentimes getting fouled in the process, that can be a problem in tight ballgames.

GRADE: B+

First-Team All-American: Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin

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Kaminsky's numbers are up all across the board when compared to last year.

Frank Kaminsky was solid for Wisconsin all last year and then spectacular on the biggest stage in the NCAA tournament.

This year, as a senior, he's even better. In fact, Kaminsky should be a poster man-child touting the benefits of staying in college for all four years of eligibility.

This year he averaged 17.2 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.1 steals through Wisconsin's first 18 games, as the Badgers started out 16-2. Those numbers are all up from his junior season, as is his average of 2.2 assists per game—which ranks second on the team and is indicative of his considerable array of all-round skills.

He can even make three-pointers with ease that usually escapes a 7-footer (he was shooting better than 40 percent from beyond the arc after 17 outings).

One of Wisconsin's two losses came against Rutgers in the only game Kaminsky has missed (because of illness). That's a testament to how valuable he is on a team that made the Final Four a year ago and should be in the mix to win it all again when this March rolls around, with Kaminsky at the center of it all.

GRADE: A+

First-Team All-American: Jahlil Okafor, Duke

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Okafor appears to have Duke pointed in the right direction—at least most nights.

Sometimes reality doesn't match the hype for incoming freshmen in college basketball. But with Duke's Jahlil Okafor, that hasn't been the case this season.

The big man with the skills of a smaller player averaged 18.9 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game through his first 17 contests as the Blue Devils went 15-2. He also shot .675 from the field.

None other than ESPN basketball analyst Jay Bilas, a former Dukie himself, has commented on-air that he believes Okafor is the best player in the country. Bilas recently added on Twitter: "Watching tape of Duke's Jahlil Okafor. Offensively, he's the best freshman low-post player I've ever seen in the ACC. Remarkable talent."

If there is a criticism to be made of Okafor, it's that Duke is so young as a team that he and his teammates sometimes fall into the trap of getting a little too comfortable for their own good—like all they have to do is show up and they'll win by 20. He also sometimes spends too much time and energy harping on officials about perceived injustices, another sin of many players young and old these days.

But that's nitpicking. Overall, Bilas is right. No one in the country is better right now—and he's likely to keep getting even better as the season progresses.

GRADE: A

Joe Menzer is the author of six books, including one on college basketball entitled "Four Corners." He now writes about that and other sports for Bleacher Report while also working as a writer and editor at FoxSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @OneMenz.