ESPN analyst Steve Fisher recently opined that this year's freshman class might be the most talented in history. We don't ordinarily approve of such hyperbolic statements -- especially this early in the season -- but Fisher is uniquely qualified to judge underclassmen. As coach at Michigan, he recruited the immortal "Fab Five" freshman class of Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose, Ray Jackson and Jimmy King that played for the NCAA Championship in 1992 and 1993.
It's certainly fair to say that the NBA rule change aimed at keeping high schoolers out of the draft has led to an influx of phenoms in the college ranks. Two years ago, guys like Derrick Rose and OJ Mayo would likely have made the jump directly into the Association and never seen the inside of a classroom.
(Perhaps that's a bad example… but we're not here to comment on their GPAs.)
'Course, we also don't have to go back very far for another contender for that "best freshman class" title. Just last season, super-freshmen Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr. were one game shy of a national title with Ohio State, and Kevin Durant was dominating the Big 12. We'll reserve judgment on their place in history until April, but let's take a look at some of the new arrivals causing all this buzz.
- Michael Beasley - Kansas State
- Kevin Love - UCLA
- OJ Mayo - USC
- Derrick Rose - Memphis
