This article is part of our College Basketball Waiver Wire series.
February is upon us, and it's a great time to make some moves to position yourself for the stretch run in your league. A theme for this week's top pickups are young players who have really started to figure it out over the last month.
Power Conferences
Rodney Rice, G, Maryland
Since the start of 2025, Rice has logged six games with 20+ fantasy points. Over that stretch he is averaging 14.1 points and 2.1 three-pointers on 48 percent shooting from the field and 40 percent from behind the arc. Maryland has established itself as one of the best offensive teams in the Big Ten and has some matchups with shootout potential over the next couple weeks.
John Mobley, G, Ohio State
Mobley has emerged as one of the top freshman in the Big Ten. He has now started the last 11 games, but has really turned up the wick over the last few weeks. Mobley is putting up 16.4 points, 4.2 assists and 3.0 three-pointers over his last five games. The 6-1 Mobley profiles as more of a combo guard, but he has done a really nice job finding teammates of late, which takes his fantasy value to the next level.
Wesley Yates, G, USC
It took Yates awhile to crack the starting lineup, but he has really taken off and is giving coach Eric Musselman an option that I'm not really sure he thought he might have back in the summer. The redshirt freshman that
February is upon us, and it's a great time to make some moves to position yourself for the stretch run in your league. A theme for this week's top pickups are young players who have really started to figure it out over the last month.
Power Conferences
Rodney Rice, G, Maryland
Since the start of 2025, Rice has logged six games with 20+ fantasy points. Over that stretch he is averaging 14.1 points and 2.1 three-pointers on 48 percent shooting from the field and 40 percent from behind the arc. Maryland has established itself as one of the best offensive teams in the Big Ten and has some matchups with shootout potential over the next couple weeks.
John Mobley, G, Ohio State
Mobley has emerged as one of the top freshman in the Big Ten. He has now started the last 11 games, but has really turned up the wick over the last few weeks. Mobley is putting up 16.4 points, 4.2 assists and 3.0 three-pointers over his last five games. The 6-1 Mobley profiles as more of a combo guard, but he has done a really nice job finding teammates of late, which takes his fantasy value to the next level.
Wesley Yates, G, USC
It took Yates awhile to crack the starting lineup, but he has really taken off and is giving coach Eric Musselman an option that I'm not really sure he thought he might have back in the summer. The redshirt freshman that transferred in from Washington has scored at least 20 fantasy points in eight of the last nine games, averaging 16.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.8 three-pointers and 1.2 steals over that stretch. Coach Muss has really shortened his bench of late, and Yates is playing 35+ minutes most nights now.
Dontrez Styles, G/F, N.C. State
Styles is coming off his best week of the season, and it happened to be against in the best two teams in the ACC. First, he put up 18 points and two blocks on 4-for-6 shooting from behind the arc against Duke, and then went for 24 points and five boards on 6-for-8 shooting from deep against Clemson. Brandon Huntley-Hatfield continues to struggle with injuries, and Styles should keep getting the ball his way offensively going forward for a team that really doesn't have many weapons.
Morez Johnson, F/C, Illinois
Johnson has now started the last four games for coach Brad Underwood. He is coming off a huge performance in the win over Ohio State when he put up 14 points and 15 rebounds. That's the fifth time in the last eight games that Johnson has had at least eight rebounds. Over that stretch the 6-9 freshman is averaging 9.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks. Johnson is definitely a player to monitor on a team that averages a lot of possessions.
Layden Blocker, G, DePaul
It's been another rough go of it for DePaul in Big East play, but one positive has been this Arkansas transfer. Blocker has come on the last few weeks and averaging 12.0 points, 4.0 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 steals on 59 percent shooting over the last five games. He has started the last three games at shooting guard and there's really no reason why he should get taken out of the lineup the rest of the season.
Other Conferences
David Terrell, G, UTEP
Terrell has just been filling up the stat sheet of late. Over the last eight games he is averaging 10.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.4 steals per contest. Terrell's last two games against Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee in particular saw him hit north of 35 fantasy points. The sophomore will keep dominating the rock going forward for a scrappy UTEP team.
Deuce Jones, G, La Salle
After an up and down start to the season, Jones has become not just one of the best freshman in the A-10, but one of the best guards in the A-10. Over the last seven games he is putting up 17.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.4 steals and 1.6 three-pointers per contest. Jones has the look of some of the great guards coach Fran Dunphy had over the years during his time at Temple. Expect him to rise to the challenge of facing likely the best team in the A-10 in VCU this week.
Nick Ellington, F/C, Murray State
After getting taken out of the starting five during a rough patch around Christmas, Ellington has now started the last nine games and has been one of the most productive defensive players in the MVC averaging 2.0 blocks and 1.1 steals per contest. The 6-7 senior is also averaging 9.3 points and 6.2 rebounds during that stretch on 51 percent shooting. Murray State plays Drake on Tuesday, but after that they have some great matchups over the next few weeks for Ellington to exploit.
Alex Crawford, F/C, Fresno State
Crawford has been unleashed over the last month and has become one of the better forwards in the Mountain West. The 6-8 junior is putting up 17.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 blocks, 0.8 steals and 0.8 three-pointers over the last eight games. Fresno State has one of the fastest tempos in the country and that should continue to give Crawford ample opportunities to make his presence felt.
