Rival Views: Which programs are off to surprisingly hot starts?

Which teams are off to a surprisingly hot start to the 2017-18 season? How could those starts impact the direction taken this winter and beyond in recruiting efforts? As usual, Rivals.com national analysts Eric Bossi and Corey Evans offer Rival Views.

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There are a handful of pleasant surprises this year but Arizona State and its 7-0 start has to be near the top of the list. It's not a surprise that the Sun Devils are better this year, but I don't think anybody expected Bobby Hurley's team to look this good and to play such a wide-open style of basketball, putting up 93 points a game.

The Sun Devils have a good recruiting class with an international flair featuring high-end four-star shooting guard Luguentz Dort from Canada and sharp-shooting wing Elias Valtonen from Finland. They would probably still like to account for the upcoming loss of senior point guards Shannon Evans and Tra Holder but freshman Remy Martin looks like the future there, and perhaps Dort and Rob Edwards (who is redshirting this season after transferring from Cleveland State) can share in the duties.

But perhaps more important is finding another big body. Romello White has been a revelation as a freshman but with the status of Kansas transfer Carlton Bragg - who is currently away from the team - up in the air, the Sun Devils likely need to find another big man this winter in case Bragg doesn't make it back.

No one in college basketball is hotter than Oklahoma freshman Trae Young. We all knew the Sooner State phenom was good, but this good? His numbers are eye-popping, creating a Buddy Hield-like feel around Norman and causing headaches for opponents.

Thanks to Young's sterling play this season, Lon Kruger and the Sooners are off to a 6-1 record with a neutral-site win over Oregon under their belts.

Young leads the country in scoring at 29 points per game, but also ranks top-five in assists with more than eight per contest. His play on the floor, entertaining flair and the near limitless range on his jumper adds even more to his game.

While Young’s quick ascent is a giant blessing in the short-term, it could also be a curse from a college basketball perspective. It was initially thought that the five-star guard would be around college basketball for at least a couple of years, but now the odds are growing that Young will be a one-and-done player as his polished offensive abilities and feel for the game tops everyone else at the point guard position. The Sooners have Rivals150 guard Jamal Bienemy coming in as a 2018 recruit, but they weren't counting on having to replace Young for another year and they've already landed a top 50 point guard in 2019 in De'Vion Harmon. With few high level options available at the point, the Sooners may need to hit the junior college ranks and scan the transfer market to replace as much of Young's production as possible.