Impact Freshmen - College Basketball News, Tips And Picks

Impact Freshmen
By Jim Johnson
Posted: 3:00 am PDT 2006-10-25

They may be wet behind their young ears, but these incoming freshmen (several who would have gone straight to the NBA until the league changed its draft rules) will be critical to their teams' success, or lack of it, during the 2006-07 college basketball season. The odds are that these players will hit some bumps in the road as all freshmen seem to do, but their ability to rise above them is what will make these youngsters special. Watch them while you can because they could very well be playing for pay next season.

Javaris Crittenton, Georgia Tech: For a school that is known for producing great point guards (Mark Price, Kenny Anderson, Stephon Marbury and Jarrett Jack, to name a few), the 2005-06 season was particularly disappointing for Georgia Tech. The main reason the Yellow Jackets fell to 11-17 (the worst record of Coach Paul Hewitt's career) was poor play at the point guard position.

Hewitt has rectified that problem by recruiting Crittenton, who is already comfortable running an offense and getting the ball to a big-time scorer. Crittenton played two years of high school ball with Dwight Howard, now an emerging NBA star with the Orlando Magic. Crittenton is 6-foot-4, quick and a determined competitor who will help Tech at both ends of the floor. He will be able to physically match up with any point guard in the ACC, and his ball handling skills and court awareness will enable the Yellow Jackets to pick up the tempo from last year's pedestrian pace.

Ty Lawson, North Carolina: Tar Heels coach Roy Williams bagged an amazing recruiting class for this season, perhaps the best since the Fab Five arrived at Michigan in 1991. Williams signed the highest rated prep player at three different positions, but Lawson will make the biggest immediate impact in Chapel Hill.

We all know how Coach Williams loves to have his teams play fast, and Lawson is a perfect fit for that philosophy. He is considered one of the fastest point guards scouts have seen in recent years, and he has the skills to move the ball up court quickly on offense and apply pressure to opposing point guards, forcing them to play faster than they are comfortable with. When Lawson penetrates into the paint, he can finish, which will cause opposing defenses to honor that and create open looks for his grateful teammates. He is also a proven winner at Oak Hill Academy, so he will fit right in at North Carolina.

Kevin Durant, Texas: Durant knows a little something about winning himself. He scored 31 points to lead his Montrose Christian team over Lawson's Oak Hill squad last season, breaking its 40-game winning streak. It's no surprise Durant went to Texas; the staff there followed him since he was 14. Coach Rick Barnes will need a major contribution from this 6-foot-9 forward since not one of the Longhorns' starting five from last season is returning.

Durant already has a polished game that dominated the prep all-star games this year and has brought comparisons to Carmelo Anthony, who led Syracuse to a national championship as a freshman in 2003. Durant can already shoot from three-point range and take defenders off the dribble. While his defense and rebounding need some work, and expectations of Durant having a Carmelo-like season would be a stretch, he will be a leader on a very young Texas team.

Spencer Hawes, Washington: Hawes shares a distinction with Crittenton, playing for the hometown school. The son of a former NBA big man, he dominated high school ball in Seattle and could be the most highly touted recruit in school history. He is certainly the jewel of what is considered the best recruiting class the Huskies have ever signed.

Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said about Hawes, "He may be the toughest type of player you can get because he's a 7-footer who can play." He can definitely play, both facing the basket and down in the low post where his soft hands will be able to catch what is thrown in to him.

I don't list Greg Oden here, considered the best player coming into to college this season, because of his wrist injury. It's quite possible he won't be playing regularly until January, a difficult situation for any player but much tougher for a freshman, even one as gifted as Oden.

Other freshmen to watch are Paul Harris (swingman, Syracuse), Thaddeus Young, (wing forward, Georgia Tech), Gerald Henderson (wing forward, Duke, also an NBA prodigy), Wayne Ellington (shooting guard, North Carolina).

It will be very interesting to see if these players, most of whom would have entered the NBA draft if given the choice, actually make the big impact many experts expect them to. If they do, it will pump up the dwindling talent pool in major college hoops. I wonder what we will be writing about this class in the future. Will their entry into college mark a new era in college basketball, or, if most of them go one-and-done as expected, will it have been worth the trouble?

I bet Syracuse fans would tell you that Carmelo Anthony's one year with the Orange was well worth it.

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