College Basketball's All Week 2 First-Team: Top Performers at Every Position

If the first week is any indication, expect the unexpected. That's as far as teams go.

The beauty is that a lot of terrific performances came from all over the place, too, last week. We saw freshmen shine right away, which is all fans of the sport could hope for. We saw a Dukie bounce back. A Michigan State standout became an even bigger star.

Then there's players, like a certain Miami Hurricanes center, who stepped successfully into someone else's spotlight.

We're starting something new here: On Sunday we'll have our picks for the best performers from the week. It'll go position by position, even including some off-the-bench studs. There's a first-teamer and a second-teamer as well.

Statistical excellence counts. But there's also consideration for the magnitude of the game or the storylines behind it.

This week—amid all of the scoreboard chaos—we saw a lot of familiar names get off to big starts.

Other great players and performances missed the cut this week, but hook back up with us in the comments and let us know where we can do better.

On to the weekly highlights...

Point Guard: Shaquille Harrison (Tulsa)

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Nov. 17 vs. Wichita State: 20 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist

Nov. 20 vs. Ohio: 31 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists

We didn't just pick Tulsa's Shaquille Harrison because we'd all kill for those biceps and finger-roll.

He can play, too, posting 20 points in a win against Wichita State that really gets the Golden Hurricane off to a terrific start. That's a pretty good week in itself.

But then Harrison made it first-team style by sparking a 19-point comeback against Ohio. He finished with 31 points, nine boards, five assists and five steals. Tulsa will be right in the thick of its conference race (American) and a top-25 crew after bringing back all five starters from last season and other contributors.

Harrison, a 6'4'' senior guard, has scored 73 points in three games (24.3 ppg). According to the Tulsa World, that's the hottest start to a season start since Shea Seals—now a Tulsa assistant—had 76 points in the first three games in 1993-94.

Interestingly, he took 30 shots last week (making 15) and needed just three three-pointers (making two). Harrison was also 19-of-25 from the foul line.

Second Team: Wes Washpun (Northern Iowa)

Nov. 17 vs. Stephen F. Austin: 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists; Nov. 21 vs. North Carolina: 21 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists

Apparently Seth Tuttle graduating hasn't totally knocked out the Panthers. Washpun (a 6'1'' senior) had a big second half as UNI ousted the No. 1-ranked team at home, taking advantage of Tar Heel Marcus Paige's absence.

Shooting Guard: Grayson Allen (Duke)

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Nov. 17 vs. Kentucky: 6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist

Nov. 20 vs. VCU: 30 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists

You could argue Allen had a so-so week: One clunker, one terrific game.

But we'll argue it this way. That was one heck of a bounce-back against another good team on another big stage (Madison Square Garden).

For all of the pressure/expectations on Allen this year—on a Blue Devils team that simply isn't as good as last year's—he responded to a benching and provided a torching of VCU. He went from a 2-for-11 shooting game against Kentucky to making nine of his 15 field-goal attempts and half of his eight three-point tries.

Apparently this Krzyzewski guy knows how to get through to players.

"For us, it's all about moving on," Allen said after the VCU outcome. "There was obviously a rough film session after the Kentucky game where we talked about the improvements that needed to be made. Once you see that you move on to the next game. You make those improvements and move on. For me, coming off the bench it was nothing different as if I was starting. It's the same aggressive, attacking mindset."

Second Team: Kenny Gaines (Georgia)

Nov. 20 vs. Murray State: 35 points, 3 rebounds

Sometimes we've just gotta celebrate the hot hand. A week after being plagued by foul trouble in an overtime home loss to Chattanooga, he torched Murray State—hitting 10 of his 18 shots, and no Bulldog teammate scored more than eight points in the 63-52 win.

Small Forward: Denzel Valentine (Michigan State)

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Nov. 17 vs. Kansas: 29 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists

Nov. 20 vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff: 7 points, 7 rebounds, 11 assists

Ball in his hand, eyes up the court, like in the picture above. Shoot, that's not just a snapshot. That's how Denzel Valentine lives.

Especially last week, as he flamed Kansas in Chicago for the first triple-double against the Jayhawks in 36 years. It might be the single-best performance produced all season and it came in the opening week.

The 6'5'' senior was a clunky 2-of-9 shooting three days later, but so what? He still had 11 dimes and has already established himself as a front-runner for Big Ten and national Player of the Year.

Second Team: Jake Layman (Maryland)

Nov. 17 vs. Georgetown: 15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists; Nov. 20 vs. Rider: 11 points, 11 rebounds

Rarely flashy, Layman just gets it done. All of his points against the Hoyas came in the second half in a 75-71 win. He knows how to work his way around point guard Melo Trimble and new, looking-good big man Diamond Stone.

Power Forward: Ben Simmons (LSU)

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Nov. 16 vs. Kennesaw State: 22 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists

Nov. 19 vs. South Alabama: 23 points, 16 rebounds, 3 assists

We promise we're not just going to name this slide after Ben Simmons and put him in here every week. He still will play much tougher competition and have to prove himself. But you've got to hand it to the LSU freshman—he came to play right away, and he is already averaging nearly 19 points and 13 rebounds in his young career.

And we're not hearing about NBA teams tanking for this guy like they did for Andrew Wiggins or Jabari Parker? For shame. Let's enjoy this kid before he's doomed to be part of a total rebuild.

What's so cool is he doesn't seem to force the action—making 20 of his 31 shots last week. He's smoother than a fresh jar of Skippy. And yes, he'll (uptown) funk some teams up this winter.

Second Team: Domantas Sabonis (Gonzaga)

Nov. 18 vs. Northern Arizona: 26 points, 7 rebounds; Nov. 21 vs. Mt. St. Mary's: 15 points, 14 rebounds

Sabonis was one game from a Final Four last year, but he hasn't started this season sloughing. The 6'11'' sophomore needed just 21 minutes to get his big numbers against Northern Arizona. We'd say 19-of-23 shooting for the week is satisfactory.

Center: Tonye Jekiri (Miami)

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Nov. 16 vs. Louisiana Lafayette: 4 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist

Nov. 19 vs. Mississippi State: 8 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists

Nov. 20 vs. Utah: 20 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist

The NBA scouts weren't exactly there to see him, but Jekiri put himself in fantastic position to become more rico in Puerto Rico. The 7-foot senior outplayed likely-high-NBA-draft-pick Jakob Poeltl with a breakout performance that also played a big part in a 90-66 drubbing of the top-20 Utes.

Draft boards had hardly offered much interest in Jekiri who had offseason surgery, yet he had five offensive rebounds, only one fewer than Poeltl's total for the game.

Second Team: Bradley Hayes (Georgetown)

Nov. 17 vs. Maryland: 16 points, 8 rebounds; Nov. 20 vs. Wisconsin: 4 points, 2 rebounds

Go figure; Hayes had a bit of a quiet clunker against the Badgers, but his team still won. It came close to beating top-five Maryland, thanks to his career game. Let's praise the 7'0" senior for development. He scored 16 points all of last season and 14 as a sophomore.

Off the Bench: Korey Billbury (VCU)

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Nov. 16 vs. Radford: 15 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists

Nov. 20 vs. Duke: 8 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists

The Oral Roberts transfer was eligible right away, and it's guys like him who will make sure VCU won't see a significant drop despite coach Shaka Smart leaving.

He was the most productive player off the bench in the Duke game....well, if we don't count Grayson Allen, who came off the bench but played starter's minutes (37) on the way to his career day.

Second Team: Brannen Greene (Kansas)

Nov. 17 vs. Michigan State: 6 points, 1 assist

This may come off as rude to some, but Greene bears some mentioning. Seemingly healthy after offseason hip surgery, he still is averaging 12 points—despite not even taking a shot from the field (or his specialty, the three-point line) against the Spartans. He made all six free throws.

We figure the guy deserves a little love after landing back on coach Bill Self's ticked-off side after apparently demanding more playing time, as reported by Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star. Now he's not going to Maui. That's a travesty for all parties. This is a tricky time because the Jayhawks could use his outside shooting (or even the sheer threat of it). But this is hardly the first time he and Self haven't seen eye-to-eye, which makes KU fans have to wonder what the future holds. The previous week, he made all six shots (including five threes) against Northern Colorado.