This article is part of our Freshman Haze series.
We have come to the end of the Freshman Haze's rainbow. Things opened with the season being billed as the Year of the Freshman, but you don't hear about that too much anymore. Of the players in the top seven, maybe three or four players will be playing in the NCAA tournament. If the top seven tells us anything, it is that the Pac-12 has had a very nice season. There are no Kentucky Wildcats at the top of the list, but there are four players from the Pac-12. The season seemed prearranged to have Washington guard Markelle Fultz at the top of this list, but you will have to read on (or just scan down the page a bit) to find out if the Husky guard fulfilled his destiny.
7. Shamorie Ponds, guard, St. John's Red Storm
It is apparent that coach Chris Mullin can recruit guards. He landed two freshman guards to lead the Red Storm back to respectability. Ponds and redshirt freshman Marcus LoVett combined to score more than 34 points per game. The 6-foot-1 freshman outperformed his fellow guard by providing more assists (3.1) and steals (2.0). Ponds seemed to take off in the three games in which LoVett sat out in early December. He averaged 23.0 points in those contests and scored 20 points or more five times after that. As Mullin tinkered with the starting lineup, Ponds continued to start while LoVett became a scorer off the bench. The team has won four of
We have come to the end of the Freshman Haze's rainbow. Things opened with the season being billed as the Year of the Freshman, but you don't hear about that too much anymore. Of the players in the top seven, maybe three or four players will be playing in the NCAA tournament. If the top seven tells us anything, it is that the Pac-12 has had a very nice season. There are no Kentucky Wildcats at the top of the list, but there are four players from the Pac-12. The season seemed prearranged to have Washington guard Markelle Fultz at the top of this list, but you will have to read on (or just scan down the page a bit) to find out if the Husky guard fulfilled his destiny.
7. Shamorie Ponds, guard, St. John's Red Storm
It is apparent that coach Chris Mullin can recruit guards. He landed two freshman guards to lead the Red Storm back to respectability. Ponds and redshirt freshman Marcus LoVett combined to score more than 34 points per game. The 6-foot-1 freshman outperformed his fellow guard by providing more assists (3.1) and steals (2.0). Ponds seemed to take off in the three games in which LoVett sat out in early December. He averaged 23.0 points in those contests and scored 20 points or more five times after that. As Mullin tinkered with the starting lineup, Ponds continued to start while LoVett became a scorer off the bench. The team has won four of its last seven games and could jump into NCAA tournament consideration next season if both guards stick around.
6. Lauri Markkanen, forward, Arizona Wildcats
The Arizona frontcourt was supposed to suffer a drop in production after Ryan Anderson and Kaleb Tarczewski moved on. Enter the 7-0 Markkanen and last year has been placed in the distant past. The Finnish big man stepped into the void and kept the Wildcats winning while the rest of the roster swirled around him amid injuries and suspensions. These rankings were made before an early February swoon in which Markkanen averaged 6.5 points over a four-game span. He bounced back during a trip to Washington last weekend with 22.5 points and 12.0 rebounds in wins over the Cougars and Huskies. The forward is averaging 15.7 points and 7.5 rebounds and has hit 45.7 percent of his 3-pointers.
5. Keith Braxton, guard, St. Francis (PS) Red Flash
Each season there are huge surprises among the freshman. The 6-4 Braxton qualifies as a surprise for the Red Flash. As shown by this ranking, there are no real holes in his game. Braxton excels at rebounding and provided 8.7 boards to go with 13.3 points, 3.0 assists and 1.6 steals. He is not a volume 3-point shooter, but has converted 40 percent of his long-range shots. Braxton suppressed his offense during a four-game winning streak that ended on Feb. 4 in which he averaged just 9.5 points. In his last four games, Braxton has provided 16.5 points on 63.4 percent from the field, but St. Francis has won just once.
4. Markelle Fultz, guard, Washington Huskies
So much for destiny. Fultz was as good as advertised for the most part. No, he did not lead the Huskies to many wins, but it is hard to deny the appeal of his 23.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.9 assists. The 6-4 guard was hurt by two deficiencies: turnovers and free-throw percentage. His 3.2 turnovers ranked as the fifth most of the freshman and hit converted just 64.9 percent of his freebies. Fultz missed a pair of road games last week with knee soreness, but he has produced against Pac-12 competition (despite the Huskies winning just two conference games). Fantasy owners that took him early in drafts should have been satisfied by his production, which was one of the best freshman guards in recent memory.
3. Macio Teague, guard, UNC-Asheville Bulldogs
Teague is one of the players who you may see playing in the Big Dance. He has helped the Bulldogs lead the Big South with a 14-2 record. The 6-3 is a wizard of ball control. Despite playing 34.1 minutes, he averaged just 0.9 turnovers. Teague also shot very efficiently (47.2 percent from the field, 45.9 percent on 3-pointers and 89.1 percent from the free-throw line) to make him a player that makes mighty contributions to a winning team. The freshman guard pumped in 30 points on 16 field goal attempts in the Feb. 11 win over Longwood. With junior forward Ahmad Thomas, UNCA – winners of nine straight games -- might rule the Big South again next year.
2. Lonzo Ball, guard, UCLA Bruins
Usually, when a team has established veterans, freshmen must adapt their games to the older players. For this year's Bruins, it was the opposite. Bryce Alford, Isaac Hamilton and Aaron Holiday took a backseat to the 6-6 Ball. While the veterans are all heady scorers, none of them have Ball's wonderful court vision. He made the entire team better. His winning intangibles weren't the only things in his favor: he put up fine numbers. Ball led all freshmen with 7.6 assists to go with 15.4 points and 6.1 rebounds. Despite his awkward looking flick-shot, he hit 55.5 percent of his field goals and 43 percent of his 3-pointers. Time will tell if Ball will stay in Westwood to play with his brother LiAngelo or vie with Fultz to be the top pick in the 2017 NBA draft.
1. T.J. Leaf, forward, UCLA Bruins
I just didn't think there would be enough shots for Leaf to be anything more than a decent rebounder. As it turned out, UCLA pushed the pace and gave more opportunities for all of its players. Even with Kentucky's recent recruiting dominance, the Wildcats never had the top two players in the Haze final countdown. Leaf led all freshmen with 8.7 rebounds and was second in field goal percentage at 62.8 percent. He put together 11 double-doubles and eight 20-point games, punctuated by a 32-point, 14-rebound game on Feb. 1 in the win over Washington State. His numbers were similar to another UCLA power forward: Kevin Love. It remains to be seen if Leaf can be Love in the NBA.
