TOP 5 Incoming Freshman in College Basketball…
Let’s get right to the point. With Midnight Madness less than a month away these 5 players have their campuses very excited and give each program hope for a Final 4 spot in March.
#5….Michael Beasley (Kansas St.) Highly sought after recruit who probably would’ve gone wherever Bob Huggins ended up. Huggins was smart and didn’t waste his year away from coaching. He took the time to establish some good relationships with kids without having to adhere to all the rules that follow coaches. Then Huggins left for West Virginia and Beasley is staying put. Beasley is a 6*9 beast of a player with strong offensive and defensive skills. He is very athletic and will be able to guard most small forwards in college basketball. He’ll be one and done and a lottery pick next season barring injury.
#4…Derrick Rose (Memphis) Rose was clearly the best player in Illinois last year and spurned the Illini for Memphis. He will play for a solid team and a coach with pro experience. Rose is a do it all point guard who has amazing court vision and athleticism. He can get to the rim at will and makes his teammates better. If he develops a consistent jumper he’ll be a top 5 pick in the draft next year. Without it he may be in school for a couple years. My gut feeling is that he’ll have an average season and decide to come out for the draft.
#3…Kevin Love (UCLA) Ben Howland got a great player in Love. After watching video of this kid, he is very polished and ready to play from the start. Great court vision for a player his size and a good passer. Has excellent post moves and is very smooth. I look for Love to be one and done also as he would’ve been a top 10 pick this season had he come out.
#2…Eric Gordon (Indiana) I absolutely love watching this kid play basketball. Great shooter, great scorer and great athlete. Has good size, strength, long arms and can defend. I wish he were wearing the orange and blue but instead he’s Kelvin Sampsons to screw up. Sampson hasn’t produced a lot of pros despite being considered a great recruiter. Gordon will change that as he’ll be gone after one excellent season at Indiana.
#1…Oj Mayo (USC) We’ve all been following him for years and I’m shocked he’s playing in Southern California. Who would’ve guessed this? When he was getting scholarship offers in 8th grade, Tim Floyd was still coaching the Bulls. Now here we are years later and Mayo is in the Pac 10. Great size, strength and the ability to score every time he touches the ball sets him apart. I put on the top because he is going to bring visibility to this program that it hasn’t seen before. USC will be on tv now and start it’s progression away from just being a football school and Mayo is a major factor there. He’ll be a lottery selection in next years draft.
