Top-ranked Purdue was shocked 88-72 on Tuesday by Nebraska thanks to a game-changing performance by Fred Hoiberg, who
started eight players. They were not freshman. For countless diaper daddies around the nation, this is their way of life. College
basketball has a long history. Just 36 true freshmen are spread throughout the 14 rosters of the Big 12. The SEC is a bit of an anomaly
with 48 freshmen, whereas the Big East, Big Ten, ACC, and Pac-12 all have 40 or less.
During Big 12 Media Days, Oklahoma coach Porter Moser told 247Sports, “It is hard for freshmen to play in this league.” In the Big 12,
is it possible to sign four or five freshmen these days? It is quite simple to move if they do not play. It is a challenging dynamic.
In Tuesday’s 90-73 victory against a young Oklahoma State, Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland—who started zero freshmen—
reiterated an all-too-common cliche: “If you’re going to have freshmen and they want to have an impact right away, you better get the
right ones.”
It turns out that identifying the “right ones” during the preseason was not as easy as some may have assumed.
Let’s examine the trends in each of the Power 6 conferences’ Freshman of the Year contests. A hint: There has been a substantial
rearrangement.
UConn’s Stephon Castle: Not much has changed since Castle was the preseason Big East favorite. Now that the huge, physically strong
five-star guard is back to full health, UConn desperately needs all the strength he can generate. With 14 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists,
and 2 steals in last week’s road victory over Butler, he packed the stat sheet. Three days prior, Castle thoroughly outplayed DePaul,
finishing with 14 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal. In transition, Castle is a whole freight train. According to Synergy,
he has scored 28 of his 85 points this season in the fast break.
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