Big Ten: Top 5 Freshman Performers
By AJ King
The Big Ten enters a new age with Maryland and Rutgers joining the crowd to make it a 14-team conference. There is no shortage of young talent in the league this season, and many of the best newcomers will be true freshman. Below are the top five impact freshman in the Big Ten in 2014-15.
No. 1: D’Angelo Russell – Ohio State
The Buckeyes desperately need this 6-foot-4 swingman from Louisville, Ky., to be effective this year to help put some points on the board. In 2013-14, the Buckeyes personified all the worst perceptions of the Big Ten.
Ohio State had no floor spacing, no No. 1 option, and lacked the presence of a true point guard.
Russell could represent all these things in the new season for the Buckeyes. Russell’s eligibility was in question over the summer, but now that he is enrolled, he will begin making an impact on the program right away.
He can play the 2-guard and also has the ability to run an offense for significant stretches of a game. His shooting range will allow Ohio State to space the floor and open up driving lanes for his teammates.
Russell was a 2014 McDonald’s All-American and led Montverde Academy (Fla.) to a national high school championship. He will not be struck by the bright lights of the Big Ten.
No. 2: James Blackmon Jr. – Indiana
James Blackmon Jr. is another sharpshooter straight off the McDonald’s All-American team. He is the prized possession of the 2014 Indiana recruiting class and is a lock to make Tom Crean’s starting lineup in 2014-15.
Blackmon will be able to take some pressure off point guard Yogi Ferrell and add some much needed scoring punch.
Blackmon is a Marion, Ind., product with a deep 3-point shooting range. He shot a tremendous 47 percent from beyond the arc in his senior season at Marion High School.
He’s also shown the ability to fill up the basket against the nation’s best competition, dropping 13 points in the McDonald’s All-American Game and 23 points in the Jordan Brand Classic.
Hoosier fans are hoping Blackmon can come close to replicating Eric Gordon’s freshman season in Bloomington, when he averaged 20.9 points per game and shot 43.3 percent from the floor. If not the fans, Crean will certainly be hoping for some production from Blackmon because his seat will start to become hot if he misses another NCAA tournament.
No. 3: Keita Bates-Diop – Ohio State
More offensive firepower is on its way to Columbus, Ohio, in the form of 6-foot-7 small forward Keita Bates-Diop. The Bloomington, Ill., product is a pure scorer with a silky smooth touch.
He can play facing up and with his back to the basket, and can finish around the rim with both hands.
Bates-Diop is already on a mission to show the fans in Ohio what he is made of. He made a big impression in February when he dropped 31 points for University High School at the Flyin’ to the Hoop Invitational in Kettering, Ohio.
He spoke about how it felt to perform in front of the Buckeye state with Cleveland.com:
"“Most of those (Ohioans) haven’t seen me play,” said Bates-Diop, a signed member of Ohio State’s 2014 recruiting class. “I wanted to give them a taste of what they’re going to be seeing.”"
The Buckeyes have a special recruiting class on the way and it’s all about how coach Thad Matta decides to incorporate them into the offense.
No. 4: Kameron Chatman – Michigan
The defending Big Ten champions are going to need some help replacing Big Ten Player of the Year Nik Stauskas and NBA first-round pick Mitch McGary. That’s where freshman forward Kameron Chatman steps in.
Chatman, a product of Portland’s Columbia Christian Schools, is a multi-talented athlete with the ability to score from the perimeter and the interior.
Chatman is ranked No. 25 in the Rivals class of 2014 rankings and is no stranger to banging down low with big men. The 6-foot-8 wing is one of the best rebounding forwards in the class, according to Rivals, and has a solid midrange game to add to it.
He has continued to impress at Michigan’s practices this summer and, according to the Detroit Free Press, he can begin to fill Glenn Robinson III’s shoes this winter.
“I knew college was a different level from high school, so I came in expecting dudes were going to be faster, you weren’t going to be able to make the same plays like you would in high school, so you’ve just got to be smart,” Chatman said. “I knew because of the offense, being able to read screens and read players and stuff like that, I was going to do pretty well.
This is all great news for fans in Ann Arbor.
No. 5: Jae’Sean Tate – Ohio State
Ohio State’s third major addition to its 2014 recruiting class is local product Jae’Sean Tate from Pickerington Central High School just outside of Columbus. Tate signed with the hometown Buckeyes in November 2012 and has continued to rise up the recruiting ranks since.
He is ranked as the eighth best small forward in the 2014 class by ESPN and 28th overall.
The 6-foot-5 forward should be another immediate impact player for the Buckeyes, whether he’s starting or coming off the bench for Matta’s club. Tate had shoulder surgery in February and is still working to get back to full strength.
He told the Columbus Dispatch that he was looking forward to the regular season and contributing to a Big Ten title and Final Four team. If he can return and provide some offensive punch for a very talented team, the Buckeyes could be playing late into March, which would be a return to normalcy in 2014-15.