This is the penultimate edition of the Frosh Watch, our weekly ranking of the 10 most impressive freshmen in college basketball. CBS Sports once again teamed up with the United States Basketball Writers Association and its Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award to present this every-Tuesday feature. Each week, we open with the national Freshman of the Week honoree.
CBS Sports / USBWA Freshman of the Week
ANTHONY EDWARDS, GEORGIA: With only one more week of the Frosh Watch to watch, it's Edwards winning his second honor of the season, his first since the debut Watch published on the first Tuesday of December.
While Georgia remains mired in mediocrity, Edwards has been playing his best basketball of the season over the previous 10 games. Last week, he averaged 31.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 steals in Georgia's games against South Carolina and Arkansas. Edwards hit 53% of his shots, the highlight coming with 36 points against South Carolina. Edwards is closing in on Vernon Carey Jr. for top spot in the Frosh Watch. Carey comfortably held the position for two-plus months, but the stretch run here actually has provided a real race.
The Bulldogs host Florida on Wednesday, then finish up the regular season at LSU on Saturday. The program hasn't won an NCAA Tournament game since 2002, but fans have, at the very least, been able to witness a player whose NBA ceiling is clearly top-three of any 2020 prospect.
Frosh Watch
These are the top 10 freshman performers through 18 weeks of play.
1. VERNON CAREY JR., Duke
Key stats: 17.6 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 1.6 bpg | Last week: No. 1
Duke snapped its two-game skid Monday by beating the brakes off NC State as Carey posted 17 points, seven boards and two blocks. And that's just another night in the office for the Blue Devils freshman, who is quietly powering this Duke team as an irreplaceable post presence. He leads all ACC freshmen in points and rebounds, and continues to gain confidence as Duke gears up for March Madness.
2. ANTHONY EDWARDS, Georgia
Key stats: 19.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.9 apg | Last week: No. 2
Georgia coach Tom Crean has given almost complete control of the offense over to Edwards at this point, and considering how that can be beneficial for future highly-ranked recruits who might consider playing for Crean, it's of little surprise. Edwards takes 32% of Georgia's shots when he's on the floor and is a factor in 29.5% of the team's possessions, a top-five usage rate in the SEC.
3. ONYEKA OKONGWU, USC
Key stats: 16.2 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 2.7 bpg | Last week: No. 4
USC captured two critical wins this week over Arizona and Arizona State while Okongwu amassed 21 points, 14 boards and four blocks while going 6 of 13 from the floor. He also hit his first career 3-pointer ... from the parking lot.
He hit this from the opposite 3-point line 😱#SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/fZH6SGlrGB
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 28, 2020
Jerry Palm is projecting USC as an 8 seed as of now, and what a treat that will be if Okongwu -- one of the best shot-blockers in all of college basketball regardless of classification -- slips into the field of 68. The Trojans will go as far as he can take them.
4. ZEKE NNAJI, Arizona
Key stats: 16.2 ppg, 8.6 rpg, .8 apg | Last week: No. 3
The Pac-12 is a jumbled mess now thanks to UCLA's late-season surge and Arizona's late-season swoon, but don't fault Nnaji for the Wildcats' struggles. He's been terrific. Even amidst their most recent three-game losing streak, he's carried the torch as the team's most consistent player. Zona has Washington State and Washington to close out its regular season slate this week.
5. ISAIAH STEWART, Washington
Key stats: 16.7 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 2.1 bpg | Last week: No. 5
Washington is the biggest disappointment in the Pac-12, losing 10 of their last 11 and sitting alone at the bottom of the conference standings, but Stewart continues to be a bright spot. His production has tailed off a bit in recent weeks statistically thanks to endless double-teams and decreased efficiency, but he's holding steady at No. 5 this week after another double-double on Friday -- his 12th on the season.
6. TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS, Indiana
Key stats: 13.7 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 121.1 ORtg | Last week: No. 6
It was an interesting week for IU coach Archie Miller, who was angry -- rightfully so; his team lost both games and he was caught on camera in his disgust in the midst of Indiana's games vs. Purdue and Illinois. The Hoosiers are not definitely in the NCAA Tournament yet, but they're still on track to get there thanks to Jackson-Davis, who had a down week (9.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks). Jackson-Davis has a case as a better freshman IU big than Noah Vonleh or Thomas Bryant, and might be the best in crimson and cream since Cody Zeller.
7. KOFI COCKBURN, Illinois
Key stats: 13.6 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 53.4 2-pt% | Last week: No. 8
Illinois' 67-66 win over Indiana on Sunday was witness to Cockburn's best shot-swatting showing of the season. The big Jamaican had six blocks on the Hoosiers and finished with 15 points on six shots. Cockburn hasn't had more than 15 points in a game in his past 10 contests, but maybe that's a good thing because if he's about to clear the freshman wall and figure it out even more, Illinois is a viable Sweet 16 threat.
8. PRECIOUS ACHIUWA, Memphis
Key stats: 15.5 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 1.9 bpg | Last week: No. 7
Yowza was Precious Achiuwa good over the weekend. He scored 22 points and grabbed 22 rebounds -- yes, 22 rebounds! -- in an overtime win over Tulane on Saturday, becoming one of only two players all season to post at least 22 points, 22 rebounds and five blocks in a single game.
9. LANDERS NOLLEY, Virginia Tech
Key stats: 16.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 2.4 apg | Last week: No. 9
The redshirt Virginia Tech freshman remains in the top 10 because of his traditional-stat standings and how strong they are overall. Nolley's not that efficient (45.1 eFG%, only 91.2 ORtg), but he is still getting numbers -- he just needs more possessions than VT coach Mike Young would like. Nolley is 17th in the country in possession usage (33.2%) and could wind up as an absolute stat monster a season from now.
10. JAHMI'US RAMSEY, Texas Tech
Key stats: 15.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.2 apg | Last week: No. 10
Ramsey hangs on to the 10th spot for the second straight week, but fair warning: Cole Anthony is coming and is threatening to crack his return to the Watch next week, which would be the final one of this 2019-20 season. Ramsey had back-to-back 13-point games in back-to-back losses for a Texas Tech club that's dancing on the at-large fence. In Big 12 play, Ramsey has hit 41.5% of his 3s, which is No. 5 in the conference.
Previous FOTW winners:
- Dec. 3: Anthony Edwards
- Dec. 10: Vernon Carey Jr.
- Dec. 17: Onyeka Okongwu
- Dec. 24: Isaiah Stewart
- Dec. 31: Tyrese Maxey
- Jan. 7: Precious Achiuwa
- Jan. 14: Precious Achiuwa
- Jan. 21: Jermaine Couisnard
- Jan. 28: Rylan Jones
- Feb. 4: Vernon Carey Jr.
- Feb. 11: Justin Champagnie
- Feb. 18: Jaden Shackelford
- Feb. 25: Trayce Jackson-Davis