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Is it March yet? Hardly. With the NCAA tournament far in the rearview mirror and Midnight Madness several months away, USA TODAY Sports examines several story lines for the 2013-14 college basketball season.
What if LeBron James, Kobe Bryant or Kevin Garnett played college basketball? If they played in this day and age, they'd have no choice. Whether good or bad, the NBA's one-and-done rule has made freshmen matter in NCAA hoops.
Shortly after then-freshman Carmelo Anthony guided the Syracuse Orange to a national title in 2003, Kevin Durant and Greg Oden started the trend of NBA-ready stars lifting their respective college teams to new heights. That season, 2006-07, Oden led Ohio State to the national title game. Durant made history by winning the Wooden and Naismith awards in the same season as winning national player of the year. (And the Portland Trail Blazers still passed on him at No. 1?).
In the 2011-12 season, Kentucky coach John Calipari proved that talent can trump experience as a necessity for winning on the college hoops landscape. He piloted the Wildcats to a national championship behind a freshman-heavy roster that featured top recruits Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist — who went on to be drafted No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in 2012.
While Calipari has long been glorified as a recruiting genius, his 2013 class might be his best ever. The star-heavy lineup of five top-10 recruits has drawn comparisons to Michigan's Fab Five class of the early 1990s. And Calipari doesn't even have the top three players in the class on his team.
This week, we look at the top freshmen and estimate their impact:
1. Andrew Wiggins, Kansas: If you haven't heard about this guy by now, it's time to Google him. His Wikipedia page will tell you he won every high school player of the year award that exists, including most recently winning Gatorade Athlete of the Year. His versatility — combining poise and athleticism — have earned him comparisons to James (at a young age, that is). The nation's unanimous No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2013, the 6-8 Wiggins averaged a double-double with 23.4 points and 11.2 rebounds a game last season at Huntington (W. Va.) Prep. A native of Toronto and a fixture on Team Canada's junior national team, Wiggins has twice anchored bronze medal squads at the international level. His arrival in Lawrence, Kan., undoubtedly gives coach Bill Self a championship-caliber roster. Self's pick-and-roll heavy offense should suit Wiggins well.
2. Jabari Parker, Duke: Before Wiggins shot his way up to the top of the recruiting leaderboard when he declared himself eligible for the 2013 class, Parker stood atop the class as one of the best high school players since James. Except Parker, unlike Wiggins, had a Sports Illustrated magazine cover declaring that sentiment. Parker's skill set and potential should not be overshadowed by Wiggins. Parker, the 2012 Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior, has a smoothness to his game at 6-8 and knows how to do one thing better than anything else: Win. He steered Chicago Simeon (Derrick Rose's high school) to four consecutive state titles. If he leaves an impact with the Blue Devils as he did in high school, coach Mike Krzyzewski's trophy case might need some clearing.
3. Aaron Gordon, Arizona: The U-19 World Championships provided a small sample size for the rim-rising ability that Gordon brings to the table, helping Team USA win gold as the team's tournament MVP, averaging 12.6 points and 6.2 rebounds. Gordon's jump-out-of-the-gym athleticism has landed him comparisons to Blake Griffin. That's not bad company to be in. Additionally, Team USA coach Billy Donovan complimented Gordon's "motor," labeling his energy the best he's seen since Joakim Noah. Wildcats coach Sean Miller will have the difficult task of figuring out the positioning of Gordon, yet he'll have the payback of easy buckets and game-shifting hustle plays at his disposal.
4. Julius Randle, Kentucky: Calipari's recruiting class is stunning mostly for its depth, but when it comes to a game-changing player, Randle will be one of the first players discussed. The 6-9 Randle has the ability to play on the perimeter and also can be a driving force in the Wildcats frontcourt alongside big man Dakari Johnson, Marcus Lee (19.2 rebounds a game in high school) and James Young (14.2 rebounds a game in high school). Following in the footsteps of premier big men Anthony Davis and Nerlens Noel, the Wildcats will have plenty of weaponry in the paint. Randle's stock might have dipped when he suffered a fractured foot in his senior season at Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano, Texas. At full strength, he's a capable 30-point scorer. And that's on a roster loaded with talent, too.
5. Andrew Harrison, Kentucky: Committing to play for the Wildcats with his hot-shooting twin brother, Aaron, Harrison was a top five-recruit while playing at Fort Bend High School in Texas. He's a point guard with size and court awareness. Calipari spent last season stressing headier play and "more heart" during a dreadful campaign that ended in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament. Harrison is the spark plug Calipari has been craving.
Honorable mentions: Tyler Ennis (Syracuse); Dakari Johnson and Aaron Harrison (Kentucky); Wayne Selden and Joel Embiid (Kansas); Noah Vonleh (Indiana); Isaiah Hicks (North Carolina); Chris Walker and Kasey Hill (Florida); Jerrell Martin (LSU).
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