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| | Saturday, November 27 | |||||
ESPN.com | ||||||
| NEW YORK -- Remember last summer's 27-member, highly educated college basketball think-tank that looked into making freshmen ineligible?
Had it done that, there might have been a strike from the coaches, players, fans and media. Even the faculty might have jumped on board.
Now, two weeks into the college basketball season, freshmen have dominated the headlines. And, they're not going to be pushed to the bottom of the page at any point this season.
Impact freshmen are popping up all over the country in the season's first two weeks. Cincinnati guards DerMarr Johnson and Kenny Satterfield are the talk of the Big Island Invitational in Hilo, Hawaii. North Carolina won the Maui Invitational behind tournament MVP guard Joseph Forte. Kansas forwards Nick Collison and Drew Gooden have been catalysts at the Great Alaska Shootout. And Michigan wouldn't be off to a 2-0 start without guard Jamal Crawford. "The reason is freshmen have so much competition before we get them," Arizona coach Lute Olson said. "They play in stuff like the Nike camp against other guys who lace them up the same way as they do. They feel they can play with anybody in any situation." That doesn't mean freshmen wouldn't be better served with a redshirt season. But the suggestion is heresy. Wisconsin coach Dick Bennett didn't dare offer it up to high-profile freshman Julien Swartz, although Swartz did. Two games into the season, Swartz changed his mind. "Ten years ago, you wouldn't have seen as many freshmen on the court as you did with these four teams," Maryland coach Gary Williams said of the Preseason NIT final four. "If you have a good program, guys will leave early. If you don't, you don't have to worry about it. If you suggest redshirting to a guy now, there's a good chance he'll transfer. But if a guy is still here as a senior, he thinks something's wrong." Maryland once had the luxury of having its freshmen serve apprenticeships. Duane Simpkins played one year behind Kevin McLinton. Terrell Stokes served his one season behind Simpkins before he started for three. Steve Blake would have done at least one year's service subbing for Steve Francis had Francis stayed. Blake guessed right that Francis would bolt after one year for the NBA. Even though Blake said he would have wanted to play against Francis every day in practice, he might not have chosen Maryland if he wasn't guaranteed time. Williams says a position better be open to land a great player."That's why I came to Maryland, because I wanted to be in the prime time with the best players," said Blake, whose uniform hangs loosely on his underdeveloped frame. "I couldn't sit out and go a year without playing basketball games. I knew wherever I was going, I was going to play as a freshman." Blake, Nicholas and sophomore Juan Dixon are the Terps' three guards. Freshman Tahj Holden is the first forward off the bench for a Maryland team (led by Morris) that may challenge for the top spot in the ACC. "We're thrown into the fire early but this will help us in January and February," Nicholas said. "It will help us against teams that may lose a veteran. Those teams may have to throw a freshman in during a big ACC game in January." Not too many teams would fit Nicholas' description. Purdue and Gonzaga might be the two most experienced Top 25 teams. Relying solely on seniors is clearly unique. Take away freshmen and Arizona has to start two walk-ons in the backcourt. No one is daring enough to call for a ban on freshmen anymore, at least not during the season. | ALSO SEE Arizona beats Kentucky, wins Preseason NIT
Terps fend off Irish in third-place game
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