The Big 12 again became the home to some of the nation’s top incoming freshman, including two of the top three overall commits with Myles Turner going to Texas and Cliff Alexander becoming a Jayhawk, along with another McDonald’s All-American in Kelly Oubre.
With the college basketball season now in full swing, we’ve had the chance to see a bit of each of them on the big stage and we’ve been given some glimpses of how good these guys could be through their first few weeks on the hardwood.
With that said, let’s take a look at how the Big 12’s top freshman have fared through their first handful of games.
Myles Turner – Texas
There’s no question that Rick Barnes is coaching the best freshman in the Big 12 down in Austin right now. Myles Turner had a coming out party of sorts in his dominating 25-point, 10-rebound effort in Texas’ win over St. Francis, but for the most part, his potential success has been rather limited due to a Longhorns’ congested frontcourt.
Turner has only played more than 20 minutes in the St. Francis game, but he’s been about as good as you can expect for a kid only six games into his college career.
More from Hoops Habit
- The 5 most dominant NBA players who never won a championship
- 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
- Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
- Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
- Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
Turner has made his impact on the scoreboard in a couple games, but his presence as a rebounder and rim protector is where Barnes has reaped the benefits of his prized freshman thus far. In only 119 minutes of action, Turner has rejected 18 shots and snagged 40 rebounds.
Who knows when this kid will finally get the opportunity to break out as he currently sits behind some veteran talent, but he’s already shows his ability to be an extremely versatile weapon on both sides of the floor and has the humble, hardworking attitude to compliment it.
Â
Cliff Alexander – Kansas
Just as with Turner, Cliff Alexander has shown some glimpses of promise, as well as failing to be as dominant as some expected him to be coming into college.
Alexander was expected to come in and become a walking double-double for the undersized Jayhawks’ frontcourt, but with some limited minutes at only 18.5 per game for the freshman, Alexander has registered double figure scoring only twice in six games.
But on the other hand, for a freshman that’s playing less than half a game on average to have already come across the likes of No. 1 Kentucky and No. 20 Michigan St. in his first six games, being able to put up 9.7 points and six rebounds on 56 percent shooting is pretty good.
Also, don’t sleep on Alexander’s ability to protect the paint, as he’s blocked eight shots in his last four games.
Â
Kelly Oubre –Kansas
Kelly Oubre was a guy we expected to see great things from this season, but up to this point, he’s been confined to the bench for all but 7.8 minutes per game as he sits behind some more experienced Jayhawks.
There’s not really much to say about a guy who’s played so little thus far, but his struggles in what minutes he does see likely are why he’s remained on the bench so often, as he’s only his two of his seven attempts in his last four games and after only seeing 15 minutes in his last three games, the near future for Kansas doesn’t appear to feature too much Kelly Oubre.