Predicting the All-Freshmen Team for College Basketball 2014-15
The freshmen are coming on strong down the stretch.
With March mercifully closer than it might seem here in the winter doldrums, college basketball's young bucks continue to comprise an ever-larger part of the production both for their teams and the larger national landscape.
As such, they're absorbing a lot more of the attention and gaining more accolades to boot. Here's something they can really put on their mantle: an early prediction as a member of the nation's all-freshmen team.
For the sake of simplicity, let's go with a 12-man rotation for our squad here, with at least one player representing each of the five traditional positions. Rankings based on individual production, importance to their team and overall team success.
12. Eric Paschall, Fordham, Reserve
1 of 12
Position: Shooting guard/small forward
Points per game: 17.1
Rebounds per game: 5.5
Ah, the Fordham Rams. If they continue at this pace, and I think it's pretty safe to suspect they will, they will have achieved their eighth consecutive losing season.
But there's a glimmer of fun for fans of the 5-14 Rams. That would be do-it-all hybrid forward Eric Paschall. The 6'6" freshman from Dobbs Ferry, New York, single-handedly accounts for 27 percent of the team's scoring.
He can play inside and outside, and he can do it on both ends of the court. It's hard to give him too much love because his team is so bad, but at the same time, you have to suspect he'd get a lot more attention if he wore another uniform.
And in any case, every team needs some instant offense off the bench, right?
11. Tyler Ulis, Kentucky, Reserve
2 of 12
Position: Point guard
Points per game: 5.7
Assists per game: 3.6
It's getting harder and harder to ignore Tyler Ulis.
Sure, the backcourt is crowded, and unless the back of your jersey says "Harrison," that's just the way it is this season. But the phrase "making the most of it" applies perfectly to Ulis. Not only is he second on the team in assists, he's first in the nation among freshmen—and sixth overall—in assist-to-turnover ratio with a sparkling 3.45.
That 5'9" frame? Less of an issue every day, it seems. His shooting has improved, and his defense continues to be tenacious despite his obvious size limitation.
And he's earning more minutes with each effort. He's now fifth overall on the team in minutes played with almost 22 per contest. In his last five games, he averaged 22.4 minutes per game, compared with 18.2 in the season's first five.
Add in his invaluable floor leadership, which goes way behind the arc of expectations for any freshman, and Ulis is proving and improving his worth every night.
10. Melo Trimble, Maryland, Reserve
3 of 12
Position: Point Guard
Points per game: 15.7
Assists per game: 2.8
Melo Trimble has cooled off a little bit lately—and Maryland right along with him.
In the Terps' last three games, two of which were losses, he has scored more than two points fewer and committed one less assist than his season averages. It culminated Jan. 29 with a dreadful three points on an 0-of-8 performance (capped off by one assist, a number he equaled in the turnover column) in a drubbing at Ohio State.
But he's still the leading scorer on the nation's No. 17 team. We'll see if Trimble and company can get back on track Thursday when they welcome Penn State to College Park.
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9. Rashad Vaughn, UNLV, 2nd Team
4 of 12
Position: Shooting guard
Points per game: 17.2
Rebounds per game: 4.9
Rashad Vaughn is the leading scorer for the UNLV Rebels. The second-leading scorer, Christian Wood, is almost three full points per game behind him.
It has also taken Vaughn four shots more per game on average (14) than Wood (10) to achieve that number. And for a freshman as touted as Vaughn was coming into the season—and given that this was Vaughn's team pretty much right out of the chute—he hasn't added a ton of other tangibles to the mix. His 1.6 assists per game are fourth on the team, while his two turnovers each contest have him second on the club.
It's not like Vaughn isn't good. He is. He's really good. That's why he's here. But barring a reversal, it looks like the Rebs aren't going to return to the postseason this year. And if that reversal is to happen, Vaughn will have to do more than what he's doing right now—or at least do it differently. That's life in the big chair.
8. Myles Turner, Texas, 2nd Team
5 of 12
Position: Center
Points per game: 11.4
Rebounds per game: 6.7
Myles Turner has galvanized the Texas Longhorns fanbase, and that's a good thing. His production is pretty solid, too.
Turner's numbers are a little milder than they would be if he wasn't platooning with Cameron Ridley and Jonathan Holmes (he's fifth on the team in minutes with 22.4 per game). But he gets the job done when he's out there, patrolling both ends of the court (an eye-popping three blocks per game).
He didn't play much in their most recent game, a 23-point blowout of Baylor that saw him notch only 16 minutes, but he averaged a tidy 25 minutes in the previous five games.
If he wants that line to continue trending upward, though, he'll need to start getting more buckets. He's only averaging 4-of-10 in his last six games, including a 1-of-5 against Baylor and a 2-of-9 against TCU. Gotta do better than that, especially if you're a post player.
7. Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentucky, 2nd Team
6 of 12
Position: Power forward
Points per game: 8.2
Rebounds per game: 5.8
If you're talking ceiling, Karl-Anthony Towns is a lot higher up this list. As it is, Towns has played extremely well for Kentucky, but he continues to struggle through bouts of inconsistency.
The primary culprit is foul trouble. He fouled out against both Alabama and Missouri and hit the four-foul mark five separate times in January. That may be a sign that the game is a little too physical for the young and rangy Towns.
But he may be growing into his game a little more. It would also be nice if he shot the ball a little more. Yes, he only gets 19 minutes per game, but when you're 4-of-4, as Towns was against Alabama, you can probably afford to put it up a few more times. Minutes, shminutes.
After the Alabama game, Towns ruminated on his situation.
"Big time is stop picking up fouls so the other team can't stop me," Towns said, according to 247Sports' Jon Hale. "They're different ways of playing, and the biggest thing for me is just maneuvering my game around what this team needs."
6. Tyus Jones, Duke., 2nd Team
7 of 12
Position: Point guard
Points per game: 11.2
Assists per game: 4.9
With fellow guard Rasheed Sulaimon's dismissal from the team last week, Tyus Jones becomes a bigger presence than ever for the Duke Blue Devils.
Jones seems not only to know that, but not to mind in the slightest. He stepped up big Saturday at Virginia, grabbing the final three of his 17 points with about 10 seconds to play. That iced a huge 69-63 win for the Devils over No. 2 Virginia.
With Sulaimon's dismissal and in the midst of a mini-slump, Duke needed a stabilizing force. It has it in Jones.
"He's wise," said Duke senior guard Quinn Cook, per SI.com's Brian Hamilton. "He’s not a freshman. On the court, he just knows where everybody is supposed to be. He just knows everything."
The Devils will need all they can get from Jones as the winter continues to unfold.
5. Kevon Looney, UCLA, 1st Team
8 of 12
Position: Power forward
Points per game: 12.7
Rebounds per game: 10.0
When you're averaging a double-double as a freshman, there will always be a place for you on my team.
Kevon Looney has been a little inconsistent, which mirrors the 13-9 Bruins. But both entities might be coming around. Looney was relatively quiet (seven points, six rebounds) in the team's recent win over ranked Utah. But in his next contest, the Bruins' leading rebounder, well, rebounded, grabbing three steals and handing out three helpers to go with his 14 points and 10 boards against Colorado.
4. James Blackmon Jr., Indiana, 1st Team
9 of 12
Position: Shooting guard
Points per game: 16.5
Rebounds per game: 5.2
James Blackmon Jr., is the pleasant surprise among this year's freshman crop.
A lot of the attention in Bloomington goes to Yogi Ferrell. And hey, that's fine; it can be "his team." But Blackmon has formed a stiff one-two punch with Ferrell in the backcourt and is actually outperforming the upperclassman in a couple of different areas. He leads him in scoring by a little (Blackmon has a team-high 16.5 points per game to Ferrell's 16.1) and rebounding by a lot (5.2 to 3.3).
Ferrell's efficiency and floor leadership probably still make him The Man, but Blackmon has proven that his steadily improving game, punctuated by a deadly shooting stroke and nasty hops, make him a natural for this team.
3. Stanley Johnson, Arizona, 1st Team
10 of 12
Position: Small forward
Points per game: 14.5
Rebounds per game: 7.0
As the team's leading scorer and rebounder, Stanley Johnson is the rock for the No. 6 Arizona Wildcats.
There's a pretty chance he'll be one-and-done, so fans should soak in his chemistry with point guard T.J. McConnell, forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and the rest of what has emerged as a steady and talented group. They've now won six in a row, with Johnson delivering 16 points, eight boards, two assists and more than one steal on average per game.
In other words, Johnson is getting better as the season wears on. That's a good sign for anyone, much less a freshman.
2. D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State, 1st Team
11 of 12
Position: Point guard
Points per game: 19.4
Assists per game: 5.2
D'Angelo Russell is No. 2 with a bullet.
Russell is now the nation's leading scorer among freshman and second-leading assist man in the same cohort. Behind their red-hot floor general, Ohio State has won three straight, the last two of which were over then-No. 23 Indiana and then-No. 16 Maryland.
In the most recent win, that 80-56 home drubbing of the Terps, Russell directly outdueled fellow freshman sensation Trimble with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting, six assists and a 14 freaking rebounds.
Russell, who was named Big Ten Player of the Week last week, actually leads his team now with 5.6 boards a game. Is there anything Russell can't do? Right now, no, and the streaking Buckeyes are the beneficiaries.
1. Jahlil Okafor, Duke, 1st Team
12 of 12
Position: Center
Points per game: 18.3
Rebounds per game: 9.4
Trust me: I'd love to be able to surprise you with a curveball in this top spot. But Jahlil Okafor is just not going to let me.
No other way to slice it: The guy's a monster. Duke's leading scorer and rebounder is the leader of the nation's second-best team and shows no signs of flagging. He certainly wasn't the reason the Devils fell to Notre Dame; he notched 22 points and 17 rebounds in that contest.
The dazzling post game never lets him down. His 66.4 percent field-goal percentage is second in the nation (way to spoil the party, Belmont's Evan Bradds). And that's not cupcake-padded. In his last five games—the heart of a tough ACC schedule—he's 35-of-54, for a 65 percent clip.
That is pretty good. In fact, among freshmen, it's the best. It might be the best among everybody else, too.
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