The college basketball season is just one week old, and already the highly-anticipated freshman class of 2024 is stealing the show.
Duke's Cooper Flagg entered the college ranks with more anticipation than any freshman in recent years. While he's had a solid start, the standout performances have come from other freshmen at Duke and otherwise like Derik Queen, Will Riley, Asa Newell, Egor Demin, and Thomas Sorber, among others.
But what about the players ranked in the top 10 in the class of 2024? To answer that, we reviewed game footage and graded each player based on their performances so far. Players are listed in order of player rankings.
No. 1 Cooper Flagg (Duke), B+
30 minutes, 18 points (6-15 FG, 0-4 3pt, 6-6 FT), 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 2 turnovers in a 96-62 win over Maine
25 minutes, 13 points (5-10 FG, 2-4 3pt, 1-3 FT), 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks, 2 turnovers in a 100-58 win over Army
After a strong debut against his home-state Maine, Flagg dominated the first half against Army, controlling the glass, excelling on defense, and asserting himself offensively.
However, cramps limited Flagg in the second half. Afterward, head coach Jon Scheyer said, "We've got to help him. I'm not happy about it, for him. We've got to help him, and we will."
With Tuesday's game against Kentucky, and matchups with Arizona and Kansas in the coming weeks, the tests are mounting. When healthy, Flagg has been as expected, not forcing shots and showcasing impressive passing. He's most effective in the mid-post and has the freedom to initiate the offense off the glass, though his handle could improve. His three-point shooting, a key variable, has returned to familiar set-shot mechanics. Defensively, he's shown resilience and recovery ability, though the real tests begin Tuesday in the Champions Classic against No. 19 Kentucky.
No. 2 Ace Bailey (Rutgers), N/A
Did not play in 75-52 win over Wagner.
Bailey put on a show in a pre-season exhibition game against St. John's, going for 25 points in 36 minutes while knocking down 4 threes. Unfortunately, his chance to replicate that effort for the regular season were delayed when he suffered an injury in practice which head coach Steve Pikiell described as "day-to-day."
No. 3 Dylan Harper (Rutgers), A-
32 minutes, 20 points (9-14 FG, 1-4 3pt, 1-6 FT), 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 4 turnovers in a 75-52 win over Wagner
Harper became the first Rutgers freshman to score 20 points in his college debut in more than 50 years last week. If his first bucket was indicative of what's to come, there are reasons for significant optimism, as it was a tough three from the right hash mark after a lateral dribble. The shooting is considered the major swing skill for Harper since he doesn't possess truly elite explosiveness and was inconsistent at times with his stroke in high school.
Unfortunately, Harper's only other bucket outside the paint in the opener was his last of the game on a shot just beyond the right elbow coming off a curl. He also went just 1-for-6 from the free-throw line. Physically, though, he looks to be in tremendous shape. He did some nice things defensively, especially in the game's opening minutes when he got through screens well. His footwork, dexterity as a finisher, and live-dribble passing when going to his left hand all stood out. The bottom line is that it's essentially just what we expected -- ready to be a major impact player from day one with clear untapped upside if the shooting ascends.
No. 4 Khaman Maluach (Duke), B+
18 minutes, 6 points (3-3 FG, 0-1 FT), 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 blocks, 1 turnover in a 96-62 win over Maine
22 minutes, 11 points (4-7 FG, 0-1 3pt, 3-4 FT), 14 rebounds in a 100-58 win over Army
First of all, Maluach is huge. Even watching on the screen, he looks every bit the 7-foot-1 with the 7-foot-5 wingspan advertised. More than that, he's active and plays with a real motor, so his physical presence in the lane is beyond what shows up in the stat sheet.
Offensively, while he has skill for his size, there are also limitations. He's gotten away with some things (like bringing the ball down in traffic) that he won't once the level of competition increases. But he's willing to run the floor and his hands seem a bit better than advertised coming out of the Hoop Summit last year, even while acknowledging some hard catches and lost balls in traffic. Duke will presumably also get better at utilizing him as a lob threat as the season goes on. Defensively, they are playing him in a drop coverage but bringing him close to the level of the screen. There have been times when the roller has gotten behind him, or when he's struggled to contain penetration, but for the most part he's been encouraging.
The 14 rebounds in 22 minutes against Army were massive and if he can find the balance between controlling the glass and asserting himself as a rim protector, his upside on that end is significant.
No. 5 VJ Edgecombe (Baylor), C+
29 minutes, 4 points (2-11 FG, 0-3 3pt), 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers in a 101-63 loss at Gonzaga
35 minutes, 11 points (3-12 FG, 1-7 3pt, 4-6 FT), 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block, 1 steal, 1 turnover in a 72-67 win over Arkansas
Edgecombe's grade deserves a curve as no one else on this list has faced such a daunting early schedule, including a true road game at Gonzaga. The most glaring positives for Edgecombe has been his truly explosive athleticism and the quality of his motor. He took out his frustration at the end of the Gonzaga game by hammering a true poster on Mark Few's son.
Beyond that, the decisiveness of his moments on both ends of the floor, along with his sheer competitiveness, have stood out. He's just 1-for-10 from three, so unfortunately the shooting still looks unreliable. He's looked sped up at times, but probably more so defensively, when he shows plenty of fight but will overcommit and find him in a bad angle allowing an easy shot. Conversely, he's been great on the glass, shown value as a weakside defender, and also glimpses of how Scott Drew is going to be able to weaponize that explosiveness to get him downhill within Baylor's advanced offensive system.
Overall, we're calling it a C+ because he's a combined 5-23 from the floor so far, but relative to the level of competition, that's more like a B with the curve.
No. 6 Tre Johnson (Texas), A
39 minutes, 29 points (10-23 FG, 5-10 3pt, 4-5 FT), 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover in an 80-72 loss to Ohio State
30 minutes, 28 points (11-18 FG, 5-8 3pt, 1-2 FT), 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover in a 90-59 win over Houston Christian
To put it plainly, Johnson has been the best freshman in the country so far. His 29-point performance broke Kevin Durant's program record for most points in a debut. The fact that he came back and almost matched it, with increased efficiency, albeit against lesser competition, was equally encouraging.
Johnson has always been aggressive looking for his individual offense, but what's been encouraging has been the versatility of his shot-making thus far. He's shown deep range, made threes off the catch and the dribble, shown some progress coming off screens (which was an area of untapped potential in high school), and been a threat with pull-ups and mid-posts inside the arc. Beyond just the scoring though, Johnson has exceeded expectations as a passer and has generally been in a lot of the right spots defensively.
There are undoubtedly going to be nights when shots aren't falling, but if he can sustain what we've seen in the rest of his floor game, that will be significant growth.
No. 7 Jalil Bethea (Miami), C+
13 minutes, 9 points (4-9 FG, 1-3 3pt), 2 rebounds, 1 steal in a 113-72 win over FDU
16 minutes, 13 points (3-8 FG, 2-5 3pt, 5-5 FT), 1 rebound, 3 assists, 2 steals in an 88-64 win over Binghamton
The expectation for Bethea at Miami was that he would have an opportunity to play an immediately significant role from Day 1. That hasn't necessarily been the case so far. He's getting clear rotation minutes, but as part of Miami's second unit. Coach Jim Larrañaga understands he has a delicate situation on his hands.
"He's got a major challenge ahead of him because he has such high expectations," Larrañaga said. "Any time there is that expectation as a player, you tend to put pressure on yourself to deliver every single time you touch the ball. I like his effort in practice and I like his attitude. I think he needs to continue to learn cause as a freshman, like all our freshmen, they have to impressive to help at the highest level."
The biggest adjustment for Bethea is with his shot selection and decision-making. Simultaneously, he needs to get stronger and continue to mature in terms of his emotional reactivity after getting ejected in a preseason game for throwing an elbow.
No. 8 Ian Jackson (North Carolina), B-
12 minutes, 5 points (2-7 FG, 1-4 3pt), 1 rebound in a 90-76 win over Elon
15 minutes, 10 points (4-5 FG, 2-2 3pt), 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover in a 92-89 loss at Kansas
Not unlike Bethea, Jackson has also had to recalibrate some initial expectations as he too is coming off the bench to start the season. Much of that is for reasons not having anything to do with him as Seth Trimble as exceeded all expectations and forced his way into the line-up. Jackson was quiet in the season opener against Elon, and prior to that in an exhibition game against Johnson C. Smith, but was getting credit for accepting the initial role with a positive attitude. There were some real signs of growth at Kansas though, and for a freshman to step in in that hostile of an environment speaks to the competitiveness that Jackson was known for in high school.
The improved shooting we saw last year has carried over while his defensive fight is intact as well. If Jackson can get more active on the glass that could help coach Hubert Davis justify experimenting with smaller line-ups, and thus open up a chance for more minutes and shots. Nonetheless, the belief around the program is that Jackson is on a positive trajectory even if we've had no real explosion just yet.
No. 9 Jayden Quaintance (Arizona State), B
18 minutes, 2 points (0-6 FG, 0-2 3pt, 2-3 FT), 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 steals, 6 blocks, 3 turnovers in a 55-58 win over Idaho State
32 minutes, 5 points (2-3 FG, 0-1 3pt, 1-3 FT), 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks, 2 turnovers in an 81-74 win over Santa Clara
28 minutes, 9 points (3-5 FG, 0-0 3pt, 3-4 FT), 1 rebound, 1 steal, 2 blocks in an 88-80 loss to Gonzaga
Context is critical here because Quaintance is just 17-years-old and won't turn 18 until July. That makes him more than a year younger than some of the players on this list. It also means he's not age-eligible to be a one-and-done and so will presumably return to college basketball next season. The should-be high school senior is averaging three blocks per game through his first three college games. He's also blocking shots in all different types of ways -- roaming the paint as a rim protector, with quick second bounces, and even flying out to the arc.
The offense is clearly a work in progress and is going to require quite a bit of patience, but for a 17-year-old to show this type of early defensive impact and motor, even when the offense has been hard to find, is very encouraging.
No. 10 Liam McNeeley (UConn), A-
27 minutes, 18 points (6-11 FG, 3-6 3pt, 3-6 FT), 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers in a 92-56 win over Sacred Heart
29 minutes, 10 points (2-6 FG, 1-3 3pt, 5-6 FT), 11 rebounds, 1 turnover in a 92-53 win over New Hampshire
McNeeley is the first UConn player since 1978 to open his freshman season with consecutive double-doubles. He's been as good a fit in Dan Hurley's offense as expected, picking up advanced concepts, understanding the nuances of how to operate within those actions, and being very efficient with his dribble. His 40% shooting from the three-point line is right in line with what we expected.
The rebounding has been beyond anyone's expectations but it could be an important development for a Husky team that has seen Samson Johnson get in foul trouble and may be at their best offensively when they elect to play without a true center. That's certainly something to watch as the season goes on and the level of competition increases.
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