Freshman Power Rankings 3.0

1. Jared Sullinger, Ohio State, 6-9 280
Buckeye frosh is nation's most dominant player and a huge reason why Thad Matta's squad is ranked number one in the country.
previous rank: 1

2. Terrence Jones, Kentucky, 6-8 245
Versatile big brings to mind Tim Thomas.
previous rank: 3

3. Brandon Knight, Kentucky, 6-3 185
The kid's a lottery pick, and the whole country would realize how fantastic he's been if we weren't so busy comparing him to John Wall.
previous rank: 5

4. Tristan Thompson, Texas, 6-8 225
Thompson, who plays bigger than his measurements would suggest, more than held his own against the Morris twins in the Longhorns' victory at the Phog.
previous rank: 7

5. Tobias Harris, Tennessee, 6-8 220
With all due respect to Scotty Hopson, Tobias Harris is the Vols' best player, and he needs more touches.
previous rank: 4

6. Cory Joseph, Texas, 6-3 185
Joseph's heady play at the point is the biggest reason Texas has bounced back from last year's mess of a season.
previous rank: NR

7. Bruce Ellington, South Carolina, 5-9, 195
While Ellington isn't quite Devan Downey at this early stage of his career, he's doing his best impression.
previous rank: NR

8. Perry Jones, Baylor, 6-10 220
Scott Drew's prized recruit is putting up nice numbers for an underachieving team, but we're getting close to over-hyped territory with young Perry.
previous rank: 6

9. Josh Selby, Kansas, 6-2 185
Selby is still working out the kinks after missing the first nine games of the season, but his explosiveness is evident.
previous rank: NR

10. Doron Lamb, Kentucky, 6-4 195
That the sweet-shooting New York product is the tenth best freshman in the country and only the third best freshman in Lexington is a testament to Coach Cal's recruiting prowess.
previous rank: NR

Exits: Kyrie Irving (Duke), J.T. Terrell (Wake Forest), Harrison Barnes (North Carolina), DeShaun Thomas (Ohio State)

Freshman Power Rankings 1.0

1. Jared Sullinger, Ohio State, 6-8 260
Burly big man reminds me of Elton Brand and may end up the most dominant player in all of college basketball.

2. Harrison Barnes, North Carolina, 6-7 210
Has all the tools, but can he help the Heels rebound from an embarrassing 2009-10 season?

3. Brandon Knight, Kentucky, 6-3 185
Cerebral point follows in footsteps of Rose, Evans, and Wall.

4. Joe Jackson, Memphis, 5-11 160
There's some Iverson in this waterbug's game.

5. Tobias Harris, Tennessee, 6-8 220
Do-it-all big will be the best player on Bruce Pearl's roster from day one.

6. Tristan Thompson, Texas, 6-9 240
Think LaMarcus Aldridge with some Ed Davis sprinkled in.

7. Josh Selby, Kansas, 6-2 185
Explosive combo guard with ability to take over needs to be a team player on ultra-talented Jayhawks squad.

8. Adreian Payne, Michigan State, 6-10 215
Izzo's most talented post player since Zach Randolph.

9. Kyrie Irving, Duke, 6-2 175
In unique position of starting at point guard for defending champion expecting to repeat.

10. Reggie Bullock, North Carolina, 6-5 190
Big, athletic two-guard with tons of upside.

Thoughts on the Jordan Brand All-Star Game

We can only glean so much from high school all-star games, but I'm sure as hell not going to waste my time watching no-hitters and historic pitching duels when I can see a bunch of giant minors refuse to play defense. My reaction to the Jordan Classic:

More of the Same…..

Jared Sullinger continues to look impressive. If you want to be critical of him, he does seem to have a lot Samardo Samuels in him, in that he tends to play below the rim. That’s really more of an NBA concern, though, and Sullinger should do just fine in the barbaric Big Ten.

I wish Terrence Jones was my son. He seems able to do everything…like a great big Swiss Army knife.

Harrison Barnes is a whole bunch of awesome, and he doesn’t care if you’re already sick of hearing about it. He had 20 points and 15 rebounds and shared co-MVP honors with Kyrie Irving.

Josh Selby announced that he’s going to Kansas. I really don’t know enough about the off-the-court allegations to judge him or make predictions about how he’ll work out based on that sort of thing. What I do think is that Selby is the most dynamic scorer in the entire class. He’s explosive, confident, and creative with the rock. He also picked a great school because Kansas has used shoot-first point guards with great success in the past. That said, there is a whole lot of mustard in his game, and he’s going to have to reign it in to help Kansas be successful.

Jay Williams seemed very impressed with Duke signee Kyrie Irving. The Admiral has pontificated on this point in the past, and I’ll steal his intellectual property for the purpose of this post. Coach K was embraced and lauded by Kobe, LeBron, et. al, following the Team USA Olympic experience. That seems to have given Coach K some sort of “street cred” that he had been lacking for a few years. Irving is the sort of player that Duke had been unable to corral since the likes of Jay Williams left Durham. He has shown that he is athletic, sharp-shooting, competitive, and from all indications, very coachable. Duke will miss a lot about Scheyer, but Irving will be a nice replacement, and one that should not take three years to develop.

Minor Revelations…..

C.J. Leslie’s motor is almost as impressive as his athleticism. He’s also got a much a better handle than I would have expected. If he play All-Star games exclusively, I think he might be one of the top three players in the class. I think his biggest issue is mental lapses. If his college coach can get him focused on playing through every possession, Leslie could be a potential one and done.

Will Barton was rated as one of the top prospects in the country going into the 2010-11 season, but curiously did not get selected for the McDonald’s Game. I figured his stock dropped a little for whatever reason. Whoever dropped his stock has his head up his ass. Barton can score in a variety of ways. Last night he showed that he has no problem scoring in traffic. Maybe his slight frame makes him a defensive liability? I didn’t see it last night, because nobody played any defense, but Barton has long arms and appears bigger than his listed height. Plus he wears an arm sleeve, and I’m pretty sure you have to be pretty damn good to pull off one of those things.