This article is part of our Freshman Haze series.
There have been plenty of freshmen over the years that have dominated the non-conference slate before petering out when the competition becomes tougher against conference foes. UNLV forward and future first pick Anthony Bennett comes to mind. He suffered a shoulder injury before Mountain West play and fell way off. The players in this week's Haze have exhibited opposite behavior. They might have been somewhat quiet at the beginning of the season, but have burst on the scene with conference games. You can call them the anti-Bennetts.
Jarrett Allen, forward, Texas Longhorns
I really thought the Longhorns would be the team to challenge Kansas this season in Year Two of the Shaka Smart reign. It hasn't happened, likely due to the team being unable to find solid guards. Smart does not have to worry about one forward slot with the 6-foot-10 Allen. He opened the season with a double-double in the win over Incarnate Word, but was held to single digits in his next three games. Allen has become steadier in conference play with 14.0 points and 9.4 rebounds through five games. Texas has dropped six of its last seven games, so a postseason appearance will depend on some conference tournament magic. Allen looks like he could be a player to build around.
Lamar Stevens, forward, Penn State Nittany Lions
The Nittany Lions are another team looking forward. Stevens, a 6-7 forward, is the third Penn State player profiled in the Haze after Mike Watkins and guard Tony Carr. Penn
There have been plenty of freshmen over the years that have dominated the non-conference slate before petering out when the competition becomes tougher against conference foes. UNLV forward and future first pick Anthony Bennett comes to mind. He suffered a shoulder injury before Mountain West play and fell way off. The players in this week's Haze have exhibited opposite behavior. They might have been somewhat quiet at the beginning of the season, but have burst on the scene with conference games. You can call them the anti-Bennetts.
Jarrett Allen, forward, Texas Longhorns
I really thought the Longhorns would be the team to challenge Kansas this season in Year Two of the Shaka Smart reign. It hasn't happened, likely due to the team being unable to find solid guards. Smart does not have to worry about one forward slot with the 6-foot-10 Allen. He opened the season with a double-double in the win over Incarnate Word, but was held to single digits in his next three games. Allen has become steadier in conference play with 14.0 points and 9.4 rebounds through five games. Texas has dropped six of its last seven games, so a postseason appearance will depend on some conference tournament magic. Allen looks like he could be a player to build around.
Lamar Stevens, forward, Penn State Nittany Lions
The Nittany Lions are another team looking forward. Stevens, a 6-7 forward, is the third Penn State player profiled in the Haze after Mike Watkins and guard Tony Carr. Penn State has five players averaging double-digit scoring (including all three freshmen), so Stevens can get lost in the shuffle a bit. He has scored 20 points or more twice, but has held to single-digit scoring six times, including on Saturday in the win over Minnesota with four points. For the season, Stevens is averaging 12.2 points on 46.3 percent from the field and 5.8 rebounds.
Braxton Key, forward, Alabama Crimson Tide
The Tide basketball team has been subtly trying to take the focus away from the National Championship loss in football by winning three of its first four SEC games. Not much was expected of coach Avery Johnson's squad, but it looks like they have a key piece in the 6-8 freshman named Key. He scored a season-high 24 points in the team's lone conference loss to Florida on Jan. 10 and has scored in double figures in six other games. Key leads the defensive-oriented team with 10.2 points and 5.7 rebounds. He has room to improve his 56.5 percent from the free-throw line.
Markus Howard, guard, Marquette Golden Eagles
Coach Steve Wojciechowski has no shortage of guards to call upon. The former Duke point guard has seven guards averaging at least 16.9 minutes to surround center Luke Fischer. It says quite a bit that the 5-11 freshman Howard is second on the squad with 12.1 points. He does most of his damage from the perimeter and is hitting 55.1 percent of his 3-point shots. Before being held to nine points in 14 minutes in the win blowout over DePaul on Saturday, Howard had scored at least 21 points in three of his four previous Big East games. The guard has hit at least three 3-pointers in nine games.
De'Monte Buckingham, guard, Richmond Spiders
Buckingham started the season coming off the bench, but coach Chris Mooney decided that he needed a more physical presence in the backcourt. The 6-4, 215 lb Buckingham got the call and he has now scored in double digits in eight straight games. He did not top nine points in his first nine games. Like other players in this week's Haze, Buckingham has dialed things up against conference opponents. He is averaging 16.6 points on 58.0 percent from the field and 5.6 rebounds as the Spiders have sprinted out to a 5-0 A10 record.
Josh Ajayi, forward, South Alabama Jaguars
After a pair of quiet games, the 6-7 Ajayi announced his presence to the nation on Nov. 18. He put up 27 points and 10 rebounds in the overtime win over Florida International. He quieted down for the rest of November, but has been doing work for the Jaguars over the last six weeks. Ajayi has scored at least 10 points in seven of his last eight games and had his second double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds in the overtime loss to Georgia Southern on Jan. 9. The Jaguars have been very competitive in Sun Belt play with two one-point games and a pair of overtime contests. An interior presence like Ajayi could be what separates USA from the rest of the Sun Belt.
Adam Grant, guard, Bryant Bulldogs
After winning eight games in 2015-16, it looks like the Bulldogs won't win too many more games in the new season. There is reason for optimism with a young, high-scoring backcourt. The 6-1 Grant has joined sophomore Nisre Zouzoua to give Bryant more than 35 points per game. Add in sophomore forward Marcel Pettway and you have a solid nucleus for future NEC success. Grant had a season-high 32 points on Saturday in the triple-overtime loss to Sacred Heart. He hit nine 3-pointers in 53 minutes. The freshman guard is averaging 15.0 points and is hitting 38.2 percent of his 3-pointers. He has four games of at least 20 points.
