Best college basketball freshmen of 2015-16
Best college basketball freshmen of the 2015-16 season.
Dwayne Bacon, G/F, Florida State
Bacon helped make Florida State's recruiting class one of the best in the country and is among the country's leading scorers. He's averaged 20.6 points per game, shooting nearly 58 percent.
Malik Beasley, G, Florida State
Already one of the country's top scorers, Beasley has shot lights out early in his freshman season. He's averaged 20 points, shooting better than 62 percent from the field and 58 percent from three-point land in five games.
Isaiah Briscoe, G, Kentucky
We don't often expect a 6-3 freshman to average more than six rebounds per game, but Briscoe has done just that while adding 12.2 points per contest. The top recruit has added 3.3 assists per game.
Jaylen Brown, F, California
Cal's phenomenal recruiting class is led by Brown, and he's been great early on. Brown has average 15.7 points while playing only 24.7 minutes per game through seven games.
Marquese Chriss, F, Washington
Chriss has given Washington a great front line, averaging 13.2 points per game while playing 22 minutes per contest. He excelled vs. Texas in a losing effort, playing 34 minutes and scoring 15 points.
Chris Clarke, G/F, Virginia Tech
Clarke was a much-needed blue chip talent for the Hokies, and he's lived up to the billing. The 6-6 freshman has averaged 11.4 points and 8.9 rebounds per game through seven contests.
Tyler Davis, C, Texas A&M
A top center prospect, Davis has scored 12.7 points per game for the Aggies. His performance has included some tough early-season matchups vs. Texas, Gonzaga and Syracuse.
Cheick Diallo, F, Kansas
Diallo finally got on the court when the NCAA ruled him eligible. The Jayhawks survived without him, but Diallo had an impressive debut with 13 points in only 16 minutes vs. Loyola.
Henry Ellenson, F, Marquette
Ellenson is already averaging nearly a double-double for the Golden Eagles, with 15.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. He went head to head with Ben Simmons early in the season and put up 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Jawun Evans, G, Oklahoma State
Evans has shown an ability to distribute the ball in his freshman season, with 4.3 assists per game. He's added 9.2 points per game and was a consensus top 50 recruit.
Ethan Happ, F, Wisconsin
The 6-9 Happ has big shoes to fill after the graduation of Frank Kaminsky. A redshirt freshman, Happ has averaged 10 points and 7.6 rebounds through seven games.
Aaron Holiday, G, UCLA
Holiday is among the leaders in minutes this season as the distributor of UCLA's offense, averaging 32.1 minutes per game. He's put up 13.0 points and 3.1 assists per game.
Brandon Ingram, G/F, Duke
Ingram has struggled with his shooting so far, but he's still averaged 10.9 points per game. Despite his struggles, Coach K has ramped up his minutes as the season has progressed.
Derrick Jones, F, UNLV
Jones' early playing time has been somewhat limited, but he's put up some big games against the Rebels' sub-par opponents. For the season, he's averaged 13.0 points and shot 63 percent while averaging less than 20 minutes per game.
Skal Labissiere, F, Kentucky
The top recruit in the country not named Ben Simmons, Labissiere has been a scorer early on with 12.9 points per game while shooting nearly 61 percent. The 6-11 forward follows in the footsteps of some impressive recent big men at Kentucky.
Dedric Lawson, F, Memphis
Memphis head coach Josh Pastner has been an excellent recruiter during his time with the Tigers, and Lawson is his top prize this season. Lawson has averaged 13.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game in the early going.
Tyler Lydon, F, Syracuse
Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim loves his big men, and Lydon shows plenty of potential. The top recruit has average 11.5 points and 8.7 rebounds through six games.
Dejounte Murray, G/F, Washington
Already averaging 28.8 minutes per game, Murray is putting up 13.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per contest for the Huskies. Despite early losses to Gonzaga and Texas, Murray showed himself well.
Jamal Murray, G, Kentucky
Murray wasn't the top recruit in Kentucky's class, but he's certainly played like it. He's been a scoring machine, averaging 15.0 points while taking nearly 12 shots per game.
Kevin Puryear, F, Missouri
Puryear is getting plenty of opportunity on a team that's shown major turnover during the last year, and he's made the most of it. He's average 13.0 points per game, averaging nearly 30 minutes per game for Mizzou.
Malachi Richardson, G, Syracuse
Richardson is a shooting guard who has had plenty of opportunities from three, attempting 6.5 threes per game in the early going. He's averaged 13.8 points per game over Syracuse's six wins.
Ben Simmons, F, LSU
The consensus No. 1 NBA prospect in college basketball, Simmons was considered by most publications to by the country's top recruit. The native Aussie has backed up the hype early on, averaging 16 points and 15 rebounds through six games.
Diamond Stone, C, Maryland
Maryland has really limited the 6-11 Stone's minutes, but that hasn't stopped him from producing. He's averaged 9.0 points per game and shot nearly 57 percent in only 16.7 minutes per game.
Caleb Swanigan, F, Purdue
An elite big-man recruit, Swanigan has nearly averaged a double-double through seven games. He's dominated sub-par opponents without the size to defend him.
Stephen Zimmerman, C, UNLV
UNLV had a great recruiting class, and Zimmerman is one of the headliners. The 7-foot center has averaged 10 points and 8.7 rebounds while playing only 21.5 minutes per game.
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