[KDThunder35Participant]

I was wondering who everybody’s break-out freshman is going to be this year?  In the prior year we had some pretty stellar performances by freshman that were a little unexpected and some that were expected and met expectations.  Trey Burke of Michigan was an out of nowhere instant impact.  BJ Young was a stud for Arkansas, Cody Zeller also had a phenomenal year.  Other highly impactful freshman were obiviously those on Kentucky (A.Davis & MKG).  

For this year, I am going to say that Grant Jerret for Arizona is going to be a stud.  Even though he is was lower on the recruiting rankings behind Brandon Ashley & Kaleb Tarczewski for most of the senior season (I believe his ranking ended up passing Ashley on the final rankings), Jerret has a very skilled post game.  He only has average athleticism at best, but his footwork and length can make up for that shortcoming.  He can step out and knock down the three, or back you down and connect with a sweet jump hook.  I think he can be a bigtime player and rise up the rankings in the mock draft. 

I would like to hear some of your guys picks and reasons for their potential success.

[SubZeroParticipant]

I think Katin Reinhardt has the ability to surprise some people this year at UNLV. I think the team as a whole will surprise people

[SiggyParticipant]

 Joel James- UNC has no beef on the interior. James is a bully who’s improved greatly since he lost weight.  He might be forced into big minutes out of necessity to battle ACC centers.

Semaj Christon- IMO the most physically gifted freshman PG in his class.  Xavier has experienced a complete overhaul on their roster from last year.  Semaj is practically the only bright spot on it.  He’ll be allowed to play through his mistakes and will be depended on to carry a big portion of the scoring and playmaking load.

Danuel House- He’s a big fish in a small pond playing at the U of Houston.  He’ll be counted on even more with fellow 4 star freshman Chicken Knowles being ruled ineligible.  He’s got prototype wing size and athleticism, can defend and can shoot from deep.

Josh Scott-He’s received very little hype, but I think he’ll be one of the most productive big man freshmen in his class.  He runs the floor well, is fundamentally sound, knows how to play the game, can use both hands and most importantly, he’ll be counted on to be productive right off the bat for Colorado. 

[TRC1991Participant]

3 guys to me:

PF- Ricardo Gathers – Baylor

Will he be a 2nd coming of Quincy Acy?

SF- Davonta Pollard – Alabama

With Tony Mitchell gone, Bama could use an athletic big wing

SF- Glenn Robinson Jr – Michigan

If he’s anything like his dad, as a freshman, he will make that Wolverine team really competitive

[SiggyParticipant]

 Gathers is nothing like Quincy Acy.  Gathers is a wide body, space eater who’s not a great athlete.  Acy was an undersized pogo stick with go-go gadget arms.

I considered Pollard but he’s kinda raw.  If he starts it might have to be at the 4, where he would have trouble since he’s physically underdeveloped. I expect ‘Bama to start: Releford, Lacey and Randolph in a 3 guard set which would put Pollard at the 4.

I love GR3’s game and consider him a deep sleeper to be one and done, but the Michigan system is a fairly difficult one to learn so it could take him a couple of yrs. 

[KDThunder35Participant]

How in the heck is Ricardo Gathers not a great athlete? Have you seen tape on him?  He is an athletic specimen.  He may not have as much up and down bounce as Acy, but he may be the more fluid athlete of the two.

See the link below, I don’t know how to embed videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1U-YpOgjwU

[SiggyParticipant]

 He looks great in the open floor but in the halfcourt I’ve seen him be flustured by guys who can’t be physically bullied, looking ground bound and not having the lift to compensate for his lack of height and length (he’s got fairly short arms too).  I don’t think he has the type of lateral quicks and vertical athleticism, in particular, quick leaping ability for 2nd and 3rd jumps, to be quite the defensive player or offensive rebounder that Acy was for Baylor.

[KDThunder35Participant]

His lateral quickness looks better than Acy’s to me.  Acy was very stiff his first couple of years at Baylor (not vertical though). However, I agree with the vertical athleticism, as I stated in the previous post.  There are VERY FEW people who can jump as high and quick on their vertical as Acy.  He is in an elite class when it comes to that.  To say Gathers is not a great athlete in his own right is just not accurate in my opinion.

 

[Chilbert arenasParticipant]

Is Ricardo Gathers related to the late great Hank Gathers? 

[RUDEBOY_Participant]

1.Kyle Anderson-Has a high Basketball IQ,good shooter & ball handler…

2.Shaq Goodwin-Memphis-Goodwin is that inside bully they havent had since Joey Dorsey graduated…

3.Archie Goodwin-Might turn out to be the best of the Wildcats hyped freshmen…

4.Isiaah Austin-

5.Nerlens Noel-

(Shabazz will be the nation’s top freshman if he becomes eligible)

[UNCbasketballbumParticipant]

JP Tokoto at UNC-I’m curious as to why a guy with such great athleticism was ranked in the 70’s of his recruiting class.  Now I’m not saying that Tokoto will be a star at UNC, but after after tapes of his leaping ability and athleticism, I’m definitely looking forward to seeing him finish on the wing and perhaps catch a couple sick alley-oops from Dexter Strickland and Marcus Paige. 

[chrsw003Participant]

 Marcus Hunt, Georgia Tech, should get alot of minutes very skilled and good size for a sf.

[TRC1991Participant]

Deonte Burton at Marquette also 6’4” 215 strong bodied 2 guard

(yeah, there’s a Deonte Burton at Nevada as well lol)

[MUbballfanParticipant]

Burton is in the class of 2013 and wont be a freshman at MU until next year (trust me I am an MU fan). He will be very good next year.

[druneave3Participant]

I really like Rasheed Sulaimon, archie goodwin is solid, alex poythress will be nice.

[akhan786Participant]

Alex Poythress is REALLY going to surprise people…kid is a monster.

No doubt the best freshman on the Kentucky squad.

[RotelaParticipant]

 Braxton Ogbueze – Florida

[F_S]

 jerami grant, syracuse

[c’mon craigParticipant]

 marcus smart at ok state. he’s a winner and is going to make the team a lot better, especially if ford plays him at the pg majority of the time. sleeper team in the big 12

[MUbballfanParticipant]

J.P. Tokoto – UNC – amazing athleticism (being called UNC’s next Vince Carter) and to go along with that nice ballhandling and a pretty stroke.

Sam Dekker – Wisconsin- one of the best incoming freshman scorers in the country and has nice athleticism. Also will likely start right away.

Gabe York – Arizona – very athletic guard with a nice stroke

Kyle Anderson – UCLA – point forward with many skills

Justin Anderson – Virginia – very athletic guard/forward

[Wahoo757Participant]

 The only problem with Anderson is that he really doesn’t have a clear postion. I saw him the other day and he looks like he’s 6-4 but is supposed to be a small forward, but his size suggests he should be a shooting guard. An underrated recruit for UVA is Mike Tobey. He was a 4 star recruit but hasn’t got that much pub even though he was tearing it up overseas in the summer. UVA doesn’t have much height or length on their roster, so Tobey could got some significant PT.

[lalailaParticipant]

i really like Rodney Purvis

[GoJOSH HUESTISParticipant]

Grant Jarettt. I’ve been talking about him on here and other sites before he was even ranked back when he was a freshman, that kid has a very advanced post game and high basketball IQ

[F_S]

 kyle anderson, i was thinking about it and i think he’s gonna be a one-and-done. he already has a very polished game and he’s not getting any more athletic.

he will be a problem for college defense next year, huge mismatch

[theballerwayParticipant]

going to Cuse. Fairly mobile big body, soft touch

[Author]

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