We have once again teamed up with the INTEGRIS Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award, meaning our weekly feature on the best freshman in the country will work hand in hand with the Tisdale committee and the United States Basketball Writers Association. The winner of the Wayman Tisdale Award will be announced in March and presented at the Devon Energy College Basketball Awards gala April 14 at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.
Freshman of the Week for Jan. 6-12: UCLA's Kevon Looney.
In the history of its conference play, there have been 58 players from UCLA who've earned player-of-the-week honors. That's magnificent. Kevon Looney became No. 58 when he was named Pac-12 Player of the Week on Monday.
And he's been named the CBSSports.com/USBWA Wayman Tisdale freshman of the week as well. Looney had an outstanding pair of games, putting up 21.0 points, 13.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists at a critical time. The Bruins held serve at home, beating Stanford and Cal. tHE 27/19 showing in the Stanford game (a double-OT win) was a great example why Looney should be a no-doubt-about-it top-15 pick in next year's draft. There are a lot of raw qualities to his game, but Looney's undoubtedly talented and proving already to be one of the best rebounders in college hoops. He has the knack.
The 28/19 marked the first time a UCLA player put up such a line since 1994 (Ed O'Bannon).
And except for two weeks ago, when his averaged dipped into the single digits, Looney remains/is again the only freshman in the nation averaging a double-double (13.1 PPG, 10.3 RPG).
Now, our overall freshman watch, a tally of the most consistent first-year performers across college hoops.
(Quick key for two critical stats listed below: PER = player efficiency rating. ORtg = offensive rating. Explanations for both are in those links. Anything above 30 in PER is exceedingly good; topping 35 is elite. And anything above 120 in ORtg is undeniably great, while cracking 130 is absolutely remarkable.)
Here they are, the top five (and following five) freshmen in college basketball.
| RANK | PLAYER | WAYMAN TISDALE AWARD WATCH |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | JAHLIL OKAFOR | Duke Blue Devils Stats: 19.2 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 1.7 bpg, 36.62 PER, 122.3 ORtg Okafor just took his sixth frosh-of-the-week award in the ACC after putting up 17.5 points, 11.5 boards, 2 blocks and 1.5 steals in Duke's last two games. The Devils falling at N.C. State didn't happen because Jahlil was held in check. Okafor was 8 for 11 from the field, made seven foul shots and scored 23 in that one. His lead in the season-long category remains chasm-like. Duke was bound to get taken out at some point in ACC play. The question is, will Okafor feel the need to be even better/more responsible in the coming weeks? | |
| 2 | D'ANGELO RUSSELL | Ohio State Buckeyes Stats: 17.9 ppg, 4.9 apg, 4.6 rpg, 26.33 PER, 114.5 ORtg This week, more than at any point in this season, I feel there's a squish (or squeeze, if you will) for No. 2 through No. 4. Russell's getting the second slot here because, as of this moment, he feels the most vital to his team over any player between second and and fifth. Maybe even beyond that. Ohio State won at Minnesota but lost at Indiana last week. Going 1-1 there is OK. Russell averaged 20 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in those games. | |
| 3 | STANLEY JOHNSON | Arizona Wildcats Stats: 13.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.6 spg, 23.85 PER, 106.1 ORtg Every player in the top five took a loss last week. Johnson and Arizona took probably the worst. A 58-56 outcome at Oregon State. Johnson would be second here if not for scoring seven points on four shots and committing four fouls. A comedown from his 14/7/3 effort in the win at Oregon three days prior, on Jan. 8. The Wildcats need Johnson to be more aggressive. He's not a terrific foul shooter, but he gets other teams into foul trouble with how well he can take a hit and draw contact in the lane. | |
| 4 | MELO TRIMBLE | Maryland Terrapins (↑ from 5th) Stats: 15.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.9 apg, 23.69 PER, 117.5 ORtgTrimble dribbles up to No. 4 in the yearly watch, his highest standing to date. Maryland is 15-2; the Terps got 14 points and 4.5 boards per game in their 1-1 run last week. That included a loss at Illinois but a win at Purdue. Again, splitting road tests in league play in a span of 3-5 days is almost always acceptable. Trimble's free throw rate is an outstanding 88 percent. That's top-20 in hoops and superb for a guard. | |
| 5 | JAMES BLACKMON, JR. | Indiana Hoosiers (↓ from 4th) Stats: 16.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 40.4 3-pt%, 23.52 PER, 119.3 ORtg Indiana still needs Blackmon to put up at least 15 a game, but int he past month he's made his way from second to fifth on the watch. IU lost at Michigan State but won at home over Ohio State in the past seven days. Good showing from Blackmon in the win, scoring 18 and grabbing seven. Though he's listed at 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds, Blackmon plays about two inches taller and 20 pounds heavier than that. The Hoosiers are 12-4 and in the Big Ten chase in good part because Blackmon hasn't hit a wall yet. |
Next five up: Kevon Looney, UCLA (↑ from 8th); Myles Turner, Texas (↓ from sixth); Rashad Vaughn, UNLV; Tyus Jones, Duke (↑ from 10th); Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentucky (↑ from unranked).
Freshman statistical leaders in major categories:
Points: Jahlil Okafor, Duke (19.2)
Rebounds: Kevon Looney, UCLA (10.3)
Assists: Kahron Ross, Lehigh (5.7)
Blocks: Jordan Bell, Oregon (3.69)
Steals: Jevon Carter, West Virginia (2.19)
PER: Okafor (36.62)
ORtg (In highest usage block; min. 28 percent of possessions used): Okafor (122.3)
Previous freshman of the week winners:
Week 1: Stanley Johnson, Arizona
Week 2: Tyus Jones, Duke
Week 3: Jahlil Okafor, Duke
Week 4: Elijah Stewart, USC
Week 5: Tyler Ulis, Kentucky
Week 6: Okafor