As promised, this week’s Frosh Pit will take a look at some highly touted rookies who haven’t lived up to their billing in their first season. Once the Tournament has settled down, I’m hoping to put together a list of freshmen who could blossom in the sophomore seasons, but this one week’s list was pretty simple to compile. Take a look at the Rivals Top 150 recruits from 2009 and find the highest ranked players who haven’t been featured here. Rocket science, I know. And yes, I know that recruiting rankings don’t equal NCAA or fantasy success. DeQuan Jones at Miami is a tremendous example here. But it’s a heck of a starting point when you are searching for the next big thing.
Before I break down these folks, I had a chance to head up to Charlottesville this past Sunday to see the Cavaliers take on an unnamed, hated ACC team that appears to be heading for a #1 seed. UVA’s only option (
Sylven Landesberg) didn’t play because of a bruised thigh and the Cavs clearly needed an offensive spark.
Tristan Spurlock’s line from Sunday – five minutes, 2 of 4 FGs, five points and two steals. If defense was an issue, Spurlock did his part by proving he is willing in garbage time to do what it takes. Something isn’t right here, at all. Spurlock hasn’t done himself any favors while sitting out however. He looks as skinny as can be (from my second to last row seats!) and can clearly benefit from some working out. But I’m officially calling my long lost brother; head coach Tony Bennett, out. Let the young guy play!
Ok, rant over. Bring on the ‘shmen!
What a perfect segue from the rumors of a defenseless Spurlock to the admissions that Hamilton’s lack of defense has limited his immediate success. As
Kirk Bohls of The Statesman points out, Hamilton isn’t bashful about shooting the rock, but “he has gradually accepted the idea that he’ll stay on the floor longer if he defends and crashes the glass better.”
It’s not like Hamilton has been a bust. He has a few 20-point outings this year, but got his first double-double just last night against Oklahoma. At 6 foot 7, 226 pounds, Hamilton has unlimited range and that leads to unlimited potential as an offensive/fantasy player. His minutes and production have been increasingly consistent in February and I look at Hamilton as an excellent fantasy sleeper in March. And with
Damion James’ double-double averages departing at season’s end, Hamilton should make a tremendous jump next season; assuming he is around!
To further hammer home the point that rankings don’t equal immediate success, let me offer this. In my ACC/SEC dynasty league, I targeted Snaer or Clemson’s
Milton Jennings with my first round pick (8
th overall.) I ended up with
John Jenkins, and feel okay with that right now.
Snaer was expected to help ease the Seminoles loss of Toney Douglas in his first season. A 6-foot-5, 200-pound shooting guard, his frame led me to believe he was more than capable of contributing immediately. Snaer instead has been as inconsistent as they come, and has really struggled shooting the ball. For the year, he is shooting just 43.3% from the floor, and pretty lousy 65.4% from the line. It’s not all doom and gloom for Snaer however, as he does have two 18 point outings under his belt and played a season-high 32 minutes in FSU’s last game against Clemson. Maybe Snaer’s career path will play out similarly to FSU’s 2008 prized recruit
Chris Singleton. Singleton has gotten better as a soph, but still has much better days ahead of him. These two blue chippers alone leave the Noles with a lot of talent, and I could see Snaer adding at least five PPG to his current 8.9 average next season.
Abdul Gaddy, G, Washington Huskies - Recruiting Rank: 13th
Here is where things get a little rough. Hamilton and Snaer haven’t played to their potential, but are far from busts. Gaddy, on the other hand, is teetering on that label. It should speak volumes that there hasn’t been a blurb on Gaddy since November. Gaddy’s career-high is just 13 points, he has scored in double-figures only four times all season, and played a season low eight minutes last time out against rival Washington State.
It really is hard to find a silver lining here. Gaddy’s playing time appears blocked by
Isaiah Thomas (at least) and at 5-foot-8, the sophomore Thomas doesn’t figure to be going anywhere anytime soon. And here is a shocker – Gaddy’s best all-around game came Jan. 26 (10 points, five rebounds, five assists, five steals) when Thomas didn’t play. All I can say is this: go back and read my first
Frosh Pit of the season. If there is anything I’ve learned from playing fantasy college hoops over the years, it’s that you have to be patient. A freshman struggling is frustrating. But while you might have drafted him to be a one-and-done, final piece to your championship roster, those struggles mean he sticks around a while, becomes a building block and you don’t rebuild. Ride this one out, at least until conference play next year.
I’ll be honest here and say that I haven’t seen much of Judge this season. Maybe that’s because I don’t get many KSU games in Richmond, VA. Or maybe it’s because Judge is averaging just 10.9 minutes, and has only played 18 total minutes in his last four outings combined.
Here is one thing I want to question. Judge was listed as a 6 foot 9, 218 pound small forward during his recruitment. He guarded Kansas frosh
Xavier Henry during practices for last year’s McDonald’s All American game. Take a quick peek at K. State’s
official roster and tell me what you notice. How about 30 pounds on Judge?
I’m not ready to make the claim that Judge is playing out of position just yet. But six months ago this guy was supposed to compete in a high school dunk contest. 250 pounders don’t do that. So either Judge is loving the on-campus dining, or there is something else going on here. A back injury kept Judge out of that dunk contest, so maybe it’s a lingering thing that he doesn’t want to admit. I think this is worth monitoring during the offseason. But if Judge comes in to next season at 250 pounds, and doesn’t get off to a quick start – he’d be the first one in this column I’d recommend pulling the plug on.
Daniel Orton, F/C, Kentucky Wildcats – Recruiting Rank: 22nd
What would an article about freshmen be without mentioning someone from Lexington? I don’t know how many of you out there really expected an immediate impact from the 6 foot 10, 260 pounder. A quick look at the Wildcat’s front line of
DeMarcus Cousins and
Patrick Patterson, coupled with tempo
John Wall can force, and it would be impossible to view Orton running up and down the court for 30 minutes out of the gate.
I saw Orton last summer when his stock was “sliding” and there were rumors he may not stick with his UK commitment. I’ll be short and sweet here. Orton has plenty of potential in this offense. His struggles at the foul line are somewhat surprising (50.9%) given that he has solid range for a man his size. The aforementioned big men above figure to depart at season’s end, and while Kentucky will have another up tempo point guard running the show, I don’t think their 2010 class will feature many threats to Orton’s playing time. His minutes should double next year if he can keep up with the pace, but his numbers will need to more than double to be relevant in a fantasy realm. He’s capable, and centers are a commodity, so don’t give up on him just yet.
The completion of this article was delayed by the best 15 minutes of UNC basketball all season, followed by the typical 10 minutes of not scoring. For a while, they played with a lot of confidence tonight. I know there are two ways to salvage the season. 1) Win four in a row next week in Greensboro. 2) Win one game in Durham on Saturday. Preferably, I’d choose #1, because that would probably have to go through the unmentioned probable #1 seed. But I’d settle for ruining
this guy's senior night. Anyone who saw tonight’s Miami-UNC game should come away with three things. 1)
Durand Scott is a stud. 2)
John Henson is a force, and if he ever learns to score, yikes. 3) Miami took 34 three pointers. If UNC allows that many to go up on Sunday, they’ll lose by 27!