Updated Freshman of the Year Rankings in College Basketball for 2016-17

A quick glance at the latest national player of the year rankings might give the impression that freshmen aren't having nearly as significant of an impact on college basketball this season as in years past. Far from it.

While freshmen haven't been as dominant in 2016-17 as in previous campaigns—at least to the level of being their teams' best player and burdened with having to carry those squads all year—there are still plenty of standouts. And as the regular season ends this weekend, the race to decide who was the best of the lot is intense.

In most cases, these players have been integral to getting their teams to where they are as we approach conference tournaments and the NCAA tournament. Where does each stand in the rankings entering the final weekend of the regular season?

Follow along and see for yourselves.

Honorable Mention

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Michigan State's Miles Bridges

At this point, the race for freshman of the year isn't as wide-open as it was early on, and as a result we've pared down the list. The following slides will go into detail on the top six candidates, but they weren't the only ones under consideration.

Among those who missed the cut:

• Bam Adebayo, Kentucky

• Miles Bridges, Michigan State

• De'Aaron Fox, Kentucky

• Jonathan Isaac, Florida State

• T.J. Leaf, UCLA

• Lauri Markkanen, Arizona

6. Markelle Fultz, Washington

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Previous rank: 3rd

2016-17 stats: 23.2 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 5.9 APG, 47.6% FG, 41.3% 3-pt FG, 64.9% FT

It's a downright shame Washington is such a bad team, since it means the potential No. 1 player in the 2017 NBA draft has had to spend most of his freshman year playing in front of small home crowds and in games where his team has been soundly beaten. With that in mind, it's not surprising that a scout told Bleacher Report's Jason King "he's so good I think he gets bored."

If Draft Express and other sites are correct, Fultz could end up playing for the worst college team to ever produce the No. 1 overall pick. Washington is 9-20 entering its regular-season finale at USC. The 20 losses are already six more than Ben Simmons' LSU team had a year ago, and the nine wins are only one more than Loyola (Chicago) had in 1972 when eventual No. 1 pick LaRue Martin was on the team.

Despite the Huskies' poor overall play, Fultz has been dominant. He's the highest-scoring freshman in the country, averaging 1.5 more points per game than Kentucky's Malik Monk, and he is the only player in Division I averaging 20 points, five rebounds and five assists.

A sore knee has caused Fultz to miss four of Washington's last six games, and with his draft stock so high, his college career might be over.

5. Dennis Smith Jr., North Carolina State

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Previous rank: 4th

2016-17 stats: 18.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 6.3 APG, 46.1% FG, 36.9% 3-pt FG, 71.7% FT

Entering Friday, there had been 25 triple-doubles recorded in college basketball this season by 23 different players. Dennis Smith Jr. has achieved this feat multiple times, with his two triple-doubles coming in very different situations.

The first, on Jan. 4 against a ranked Virginia Tech team, was an indication Smith might be able to lead North Carolina State back to the NCAA tournament after a down season in 2015-16. The other, in a Feb. 1 home loss to Syracuse, came in the middle of a seven-game ACC losing streak that ensured the Wolfpack weren't likely to be playing in the postseason.

That means we may have only one game left to see Smith before he heads to the NBA, since NC State's regular season ended with a loss Wednesday at Clemson to drop to 4-14 in the ACC. Smith had 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists in that game, the eighth time this season he's had at least 10 points, five boards and five dimes.

4. Jayson Tatum, Duke

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Previous rank: 6th

2016-17 stats: 16.1 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 2.2 APG, 43.9% FG, 35.2% 3-pt FG, 87.5% FT

Jayson Tatum's 2016-17 season began later than most, as a foot injury held him out of Duke's first eight games until early December. But since making his debut Dec. 3 with 10 points in 20 minutes against Maine the 6'8" forward has been on a steady upward climb with few bumps.

He had 22 points in his second game, against a Florida team that's among the hottest in the country, and in mid-February his 28 points helped the Blue Devils rally to win at Virginia. He's had two double-doubles, and his 163 rebounds are second-most on the team to Amile Jefferson despite playing the fifth-most minutes.

Tatum has become Duke's most reliable foul shooter, too, and his rate is just behind Luke Kennard's 88.9 percent as a freshman in 2015-16. He's made 20 straight free throws and is 28 of his last 29.

3. Josh Jackson, Kansas

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Previous rank: 2nd

2016-17 stats: 16.3 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 3.0 APG, 50.4% FG, 37.3% 3-pt FG, 55.9% FT

On almost every other team, Josh Jackson would be far and away the most important player on the court. But Kansas isn't like most teams. In addition to the 6'8" wing, the Jayhawks also have leading national-player-of-the-year contender Frank Mason III.

Don't let that make you think Jackson is any less valuable to Kansas' national-title hopes, though. If anything, having Mason there to shoulder a healthy part of the burden has allowed Jackson to thrive in a way that most freshmen of his ilk aren't able to.

Jackson started slowly this season but has been on a tear in the second half. Six of his eight 20-point games have come since early January, capped by a 31-point, 11-rebound performance Feb. 11 at Texas Tech in which he was 12-of-15 from the field and the rest of the team shot 17-of-44 (with Mason going 4-of-13).

All that's keeping Jackson from being the complete package is horrid foul shooting, as he's made two-thirds of his free throws in only 10 of 30 games.

2. Malik Monk, Kentucky

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Previous rank: 5th

2016-17 stats: 21.7 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 2.4 APG, 46.9% FG, 41.6% 3-pt FG, 83.9% FT

Malik Monk isn't the highest-scoring freshman in the country—that would be Washington's Markelle Fultz—but there's no question he's the most explosive offensive weapon among first-year players. And he's on pace to be the most prolific freshman that coach John Calipari has ever had, a season after Jamal Murray averaged 20 points per game in his lone year under Calipari's tutelage.

The 6'3" guard has shown the ability to go off at a moment's notice, leading to four 30-point games, including a 47-point eruption against North Carolina back in December. Most of Monk's offense comes from the perimeter, his 92 three-pointers accounting for nearly 43 percent of Kentucky's long balls. That's also six more than the Wildcats' next three top distance shooters.

He has six games with at least five threes, and Kentucky is 12-1 when he makes four or more from deep. But he also makes more than 51 percent of his two-pointers, with many of those baskets coming on the drive as defenders play him too close and make it possible for him to turn the corner.

1. Lonzo Ball, UCLA

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Previous rank: 1st

2016-17 stats: 15.0 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 7.6 APG, 55.7% FG, 42.2% 3-pt FG, 66.3% FT

Where would UCLA be without Lonzo Ball? Certainly not sitting with 27 wins and in contention for a No. 1 seed, which is what the Bruins are looking at ahead of Saturday's regular-season finale against Washington State. That is very likely to be the 6'6" point guard's final game at Pauley Pavilion, since he's expected to be one of the first players taken in the 2017 NBA draft, per DraftExpress.

And odds are Ball will go out with a bang similar to what he did Wednesday when he had 19 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and four steals while shooting 8-of-10 from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range. The effort kept him first in the nation in assists per game and 11th in offensive rating.

Ball is also UCLA's best defensive player, or at least the one most interested in defending. His 58 steals are tied for the Pac-12 lead, and he's blocked 24 shots.

Take him out of the equation and UCLA would still be a talented team, but so was the 2015-16 version that had many of the same players and went 15-17.

All statistics courtesy of Sports-Reference.com, unless otherwise noted. All recruiting information courtesy of Scout.com, unless otherwise noted.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.