Freshman Tracker: Thriving on the edges
As Rivals.com has tracked college basketball’s top freshmen players through the 2015-16 season, much of our focus has been on the traditional “power six” hoops conferences. But, some highly rated guys ended up in the Mountain West and American Athletic Conference and there’s been some totally off-the-radar guys putting up huge numbers in the MAC, Big South, Big Sky and even the SWAC that deserve some publicity.
Stephen Zimmerman, C, UNLV
This season: 11.1 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game.
How he got here: One of the most heavily sought after players in 2015, Zimmerman considered and visited bluebloods like Arizona, Kansas, Kentucky and UCLA before deciding to stay home and attend UNLV.
Analysis: The Rebels' season has been a bit of a disappointment and the firing of Dave Rice midseason certainly hasn’t made things easy for anybody on the team. But, the former five-star prospect Zimmerman has been pretty good in stretches. He’s rebounded very well, showed the faceup skill he was celebrated for and been a presence as a shot blocker.
Dedric Lawson, PF, Memphis
This season: 14.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists per game
How he got here: Part of a true package deal, Lawson’s father Keelon Sr. was hired as an assistant by Josh Pastner. The Tigers also landed Lawson’s older brother Keelon Lawson a four-star prospect.
Analysis: A top 35 prospect in the class of 2015 because of his ability to create scores for himself and others while handling the ball as a faceup power forward, Lawson got off to a great start. However, Memphis has been struggling mightily of late and he’s struggled along with them shooting just 31.2 percent from the floor during conference play.
Derrick Jones, SF, UNLV
This season: 10.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game.
How he got here: Though he listed programs like Kentucky, Kansas and Auburn until the end, the only other program that really competed for Jones was Connecticut. Though it looked like he might wait until the spring of his senior year to commit, he picked UNLV in the fall.
Analysis: One of the most extreme athletes in the class of 2015, Jones made his way into the top 50 on upside alone. He has been a crowd pleaser at UNLV because of his high flying ability but his play has been a bit inconsistent. He’s gone for huge numbers against inferior opponents in less structured games while being hit or miss in tighter contests. He’s trending up and still has huge upside as he learns to play within structure.
Shake Milton, SG, SMU
This season: 10.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.
How he got here: A four-star prospect, Milton chose SMU over home state Oklahoma, Illinois and Indiana.
Analysis: A skilled and crafty scorer on the high school level, the only question about Milton was how quickly he would adapt to the athleticism in college ball. He adapted so well that he took former five-star prospect Keith Frazier’s starting earlier this season before Frazier ended up transferring to North Texas. Milton was more of an off-the-dribble, mid-range scorer in high school but has impressed with his deep jump shooting making over 40 percent of this three-point attempts.
Jeremy Hemsley, SG, San Diego State
This season: 13.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.
How he got here: A top 75 player in the country out of Southern California, Hemsley seriously considered Washington among others but was sold on San Diego State’s willingness to play him as a point guard.
Analysis: Hemsley was a tough, off-the-dribble scorer in high school who could get hot from deep and played very good on the ball defense. However, he wasn’t somebody that we viewed as a point guard prospect and there were some worries about how he would handle the move. Hemsley has emerged as one of the best freshman on the West Coast and has done ok while running a team but we still feel he would flourish playing off the ball and alongside a true point guard.
Jahmal McMurray, PG, USF
This season: 15.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.
How he got here: Hardly recruited by Division 1 programs after a standout high school career in Topeka, Kans., McMurray headed to prep school. At Bel Aire (Kans.) Sunrise Christian, he drew the attention of USF playing in the same program as current teammate Luis Santos.
Analysis: McMurray was passed on by many because he was considered an undersized shooting guard. USF has certainly had their struggles in a 5-19 season, but McMurray has proven to be quite legitimate. Maybe most impressive is that he’s only turning the ball over 2.3 times in 35.4 minutes a game as USF’s only real ball handler.
James Thompson, PF, Eastern Michigan
This season: 15.5 points, 10.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.
How he got here: A one-time four-star prospect and member of the Rivals150, Thompson signed with South Carolina as a member of the class of 2014. Legal issues led to him and USC going in separate directions and Thompson eventually landing at EMU.
Analysis: Early in his high school career, Thompson impressed with his length, athleticism and ability to rebound at a high rate. Unfortunately, Rivals.com wasn’t able to see him enough during the latter stages of his career to feel comfortable leaving him as a four-star prospect. As it turns out, South Carolina’s loss is EMU’s gain as Thompson has been outstanding in his first season. He’s bouncy, aggressive and efficient making nearly 70 percent of his field goal attempts.
Chris Clemons, PG, Campbell
This season: 18.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.
How he got here: Like we see many times, big programs are nervous when it comes to recruiting smallish point guards. Despite freakish athleticism (as shown above), schools worried about Clemons 5-foot-9 size and he was able to slide to Campbell.
Analysis: One of the most exciting open floor players in the class of 2015, we saw a lot of Ole Miss star guard Stephan Moody in Clemons. It’s not likely he would be putting up the same numbers at a high major program, but Clemons has proven he could have played at a higher level.
Derrick Griffin, PF, Texas Southern
This season: 13.3 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.
How he got here: What a wild ride it’s been for Griffin. He was the No. 3 ranked wide receiver in the class of 2013 and signed with Miami after originally committing to Texas A&M. He didn’t qualify and after sitting out for some time paid his own way to Texas Southern, red shirted while getting his grades in order and is now playing.
Analysis: While Griffin decided to go the football route coming out of high school, he was also a top 50 level basketball recruit and one of the freakiest all-around athletes we have covered in the last 10 years. He’s actually pulling double duty at Texas Southern and came over to the basketball team after a 36-catch, 713-yard,11-touchdown season. Texas Southern’s 10-11 record is a little misleading because they are 8-0 in SWAC play, where Griffin has been a complete monster because of his blend of strength and athleticism.
Tyler Hall, SG, Montana State
This season: 15.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.
How he got here: A product of the state of Illinois, Hall was heavily recruited by regional mid-majors but chose Montana State because of head coach Brian Fish’s vision of building the program around him.
Analysis: Unfortunately, Rivals.com was not able to evaluate Hall during his days as a high school player but he’s been immensely impressive as a freshman. He shoots the ball well from distance, rebounds his position and looks like a future conference player of the year in the Big Sky.