Five freshmen who outplayed their high school ranking
With the college basketball season coming to an end, it’s also interesting to look back and see which players overachieved and which players underachieved. Today, Rivals.com’s Travis Graf takes a look at five of the freshmen who out-performed their high school ranking.
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Rivals had Miller ranked as a five-star and he ended as the No. 17-ranked prospect in the 2022 class, but something still needs to be said for his performance this season. He’s been hands down the best freshman in the country and took home Freshman of the Year honors in the SEC, a league that’s been the most competitive across the board as it’s been in years. Miller has averaged 18.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per game so far this season, good for first and second among freshman in each category. Yahoo Sports' Krysten Peek has Miller slotted to go third in her most recent mock draft.
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Howard was ranked No. 45 in the final installment of the 2022 Rivals150. He’s had a terrific freshman year despite the Michigan Wolverines struggling as a whole. He’s put up 14.4 points per contest and shot 37-percent from the outside, and Peek has Howard projected as a lottery pick in her latest mock draft for Yahoo Sports. He’s utilized his combination of scoring chops and size to have a big impact on this season.
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Sensabaugh finished his senior season of high school ranked No. 69 in the Rivals150 and outside of the top-10 small forwards. The Ohio State Buckeye put everyone on notice this year, shooting the highest percentage from the outside among freshmen who have 100-plus attempts at 44-percent. Sensabaugh has averaged 16.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per game up until this point, and Peek has the freshman wing projected to go 18th overall in her most recent mock draft.
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Hendricks has been the biggest surprise of the freshman class this season. Ranked at No. 65 in the 2022 Rivals150, he really out-played his ranking during his first season at UCF. Hendricks has averaged 14.8 points and 6.7 rebounds while providing solid rim protection at just under two blocks per game. Krysten Peek currently has Hendricks projected to go just outside of the lottery in her latest mock draft.
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Isaacs might be the only player on this list who doesn’t enter for the draft, but he had a very promising freshman campaign at Texas Tech nonetheless, averaging 11.7 points and shooting 38-percent from the outside for the Red Raiders. With Mark Adams not returning to the Texas Tech sideline, it will be interesting to see if Isaacs stays put in Lubbock or if he enters the transfer portal, where he’d be one of the top targets for programs across the country.