 |
 |
|
| | Sunday, January 30 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Recruiting to the mid to low-major level is just as difficult as elite
schools. Finding freshmen who fit your needs, let alone your standards, can
be even tougher than the elite schools. High-major teams have the pick of
the most talented pools but mid to low-majors have to find the hidden gems.
A number of schools in this category have to rely on junior college
players. But plenty of high school seniors get sprinkled in the mix. The Ivy
League always relies on freshmen and Spencer Gloger might be one of the
best. He originally signed at UCLA but the small forward has made his mark
at Princeton and given the Tigers another decent shooter.
San Francisco has had to mix in both freshmen, transfers and junior
college players to compete in the West Coast Conference. Phil Matthews found
a hidden jewel in Darrell Tucker. He can rebound as well as any player on
the West Coast, grabbing 23 in a win over Fresno State.
Willie Green was one of the most sought after players in Michigan
and found a home at Detroit, helping the Titans and Rashad Phillips to the
top of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference. While Ball State has hit a wall
lately, Theron Smith has been a constant for the Cardinals in their quest to
stay atop the Mid-American Conference. Derrick Jackson gave Maine a boost
off the bench as the Black Bears tried to stay near the top in the America
East.
But no player deserves more mention than Leighton Bowie at the
College of Charleston. He's averaging 12.3 points a game after missing all
of last season with a kidney ailment. His presence alone has helped the
Cougars stay atop of the South Division in the Southern Conference.
Statistics through Thursday, Jan. 27.
| ALSO SEE The Weekly Word on college basketball Freshman Watch Statistical breakdown of top 20 freshmen Poll results for top 10 freshmen by conference Top 10 freshmen in the Big Ten Top 10 freshmen in the Big 12 Top 10 freshmen in the SEC Top 10 freshmen in Conference USA Top 10 freshmen in the Pac-10 Top 10 freshmen in the Mountain West and WAC Top 10 freshmen in the ACC Top 10 freshmen in the Atlantic 10 Top 10 freshmen in the Big East  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||