First impressions: How Aziz Olajuwon, Marcus Spears Jr. and other prominent freshmen fared in CBB debuts

The No. 1 guard from New York in the 2026 class, Dylan Mingo handled the lead guard duties well, using the attention he drew on an early drive to kick out to an open teammate along the perimeter for a great look from three.

Later in the first half, Mingo drew a double-team and managed to find junior guard Brett Decker Jr. for one of his five makes from beyond the arc.

"Dylan's a stat-sheet stuffer," coach Scott Drew told reporters afterward. "He's an all-conference-type defender and really does a good job passing the ball."

With games against No. 7 Texas and No. 20 Alabama looming on the schedule before the end of the month, Mingo has early opportunities to raise his profile further.

Houston Cougars center Arafan Diane

Listed at 7-feet, 280 pounds, Diane will be a matchup nightmare for opponents this season. On Monday, he came off the bench for Houston in its 94-55 win over La Salle, playing 21 minutes and finishing with 10 points, four rebounds and two steals.

Midway through the second quarter, he showed some explosiveness in the post when confidently going up for a slam dunk off an excellent assist from forward Delrecco Gillespie. Diane was also a seamless fit into coach Kelvin Sampson's elite defensive scheme, with Stat Broadcast crediting the freshman with four stops, tied for the most among Houston's bench squad.

Kansas Jayhawks small forward Tyran Stokes

The No. 1 overall recruit and potential first pick of the 2027 NBA Draft showed off his athleticism in a 95-65 win over Fordham. Stokes scored his first collegiate points on a slam dunk in transition off a turnover a little over five minutes into the first half. Later in the period, he soared to complete an alley-oop for his second make.

Stokes was a perfect 3-of-3 from the court in the second half while showing off more of his range with a jumper and three, ultimately finishing with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting, seven rebounds, one assist and one block.

North Carolina Tar Heels small forward Maximo Adams

Michael Malone's North Carolina debut was more uncomfortable than he would have liked as the Tar Heels emerged Monday with an eight-point victory, 80-72, over the Western Carolina Catamounts. But there were still positives to take away, particularly Adams, who had the team's second-highest offensive rating (147.1), according to Stat Broadcast.

The five-star forward from California was most productive during the first half when scoring seven of his 10 total points in only nine minutes, but Malone went away from him down the stretch of the close game. Getting Adams reps in crunch time will be the next step in his development.

Stanford Cardinal small forward Aziz Olajuwon

The son of Pro Basketball Hall of Fame center Hakeem Olajuwon, Aziz, a four-star recruit, beat the first-half buzzer for Stanford with a three in a 74-65 win over Eastern Washington.

But his biggest contributions came on the defensive end, where Olajuwon racked up six steals, including four in the first half. He led the Cardinal with 10 stops while producing a team-low 78.9 defensive rating; no other Stanford player had a defensive rating below 100.

Texas Longhorns power forward Marcus Spears Jr.

During pregame ahead of Monday night's game between the Chicago Bears and Seattle Seahawks, the "Monday Night Countdown" crew surprised analyst Marcus Spears by showing video of his son walking through the tunnel before his first regular-season college game at Texas.

The elder Spears admitted he almost didn't come to Seattle so he could be in Austin for his son's debut. "But then I thought about it," Spears said, "and I was like, my wife and myself have prepared him to be where he at. So, he'll be fine."

Father knows best, because Marcus Spears Jr., who reclassified from the 2027 to play this season, handled himself like a fifth-year senior in a 109-59 win over Chicago State. Coming off the bench, Spears played 20 minutes and finished with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting with five rebounds, four blocks and an assist. He attacked the basket early, drawing an and-1 seven minutes into the first half on a successful drive.

Thanks to his early enrollment, Spears won't be eligible for the NBA Draft until 2028, making Monday a preview of what Texas can expect for the next two seasons.

UConn Huskies small forward Colben Landrew

Landrew took the difficult route to his first collegiate points, shooting over two taller defenders near the basket. But that was just one of several things the five-star freshman made look easy in a 86-46 win over the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs. Landrew led coach Dan Hurley's bench with 11 points on an efficient 4-of-6 shooting while adding five rebounds, three assists and a steal.

Landrew had an all-around excellent effort, with Stat Broadcast data showing UConn scored on 58.2 percent of his possessions, the team's second-highest rate. Gardner-Webb also didn't score on an estimated 51.9 percent of his defensive possessions.

West Virginia Mountaineers point guard Miles Sadler

Sadler, a 247Sports composite five-star and No. 2 point guard in the 2026 class, had 16 points, nine assists, three steals and two rebounds in a 91-46 win over the Niagara Purple Eagles.

He displayed his quickness scoring his first basket off a steal, but Sadler most impressed with outstanding court-vision and passing.

Sadler connected with forward Javan Buchanan on a no-look pass inside the paint moments after scoring his first points. Later, he drove to the rim and dished to center Mouhamed Sylla after drawing his defender, leading to a slam dunk. During the second half, his pick-and-roll with Sylla ended in a sharp pass for an alley-oop.

Sadler showed remarkable control of West Virginia's offense in only his first start. With more reps, his command should grow even stronger.