This article is part of our Freshman Haze series.
College basketball can be a big adjustment for even the most highly touted freshmen. While this week's group of seven did not start the season producing much of anything, most of them have been putting up big time numbers lately. A programming note: this will be the last new group of seven for the 2015-16 season. Next week, we'll start counting down the top 21 freshman of the season. Perhaps there will be some surprises on the list, but I'd imagine a certain LSU Tiger will be on top. Could it be Antonio Blakeney?
Quinndary Weatherspoon, forward, Mississippi State Bulldogs
It always good to have a prominent player named Spoon in basketball. The 6-foot-4 guard from Canton, Miss., started the season slowly, much like his classmate Malik Newman. Weatherspoon joined the starting lineup five games ago and has been putting up really sweet numbers: 18.4 points on 51.5 percent from the field and 7.0 rebounds. He has also hit two 3-pointers in each of his last three games. If coach Ben Howland can get Weatherspoon and Newman to stay in Starksville, the future could be quite bright.
KeVaughn Allen, guard, Florida Gators
The Gators pulled the biggest upset of the weekend by beating West Virginia as part of the SEC-Big 12 Challenge. Allen led the team with 19 points and hit all nine of his free throw attempts. The 6-2 guard has also been on a five-game tear with 18.4 points and 3.0 3-pointers to help Florida win four of
College basketball can be a big adjustment for even the most highly touted freshmen. While this week's group of seven did not start the season producing much of anything, most of them have been putting up big time numbers lately. A programming note: this will be the last new group of seven for the 2015-16 season. Next week, we'll start counting down the top 21 freshman of the season. Perhaps there will be some surprises on the list, but I'd imagine a certain LSU Tiger will be on top. Could it be Antonio Blakeney?
Quinndary Weatherspoon, forward, Mississippi State Bulldogs
It always good to have a prominent player named Spoon in basketball. The 6-foot-4 guard from Canton, Miss., started the season slowly, much like his classmate Malik Newman. Weatherspoon joined the starting lineup five games ago and has been putting up really sweet numbers: 18.4 points on 51.5 percent from the field and 7.0 rebounds. He has also hit two 3-pointers in each of his last three games. If coach Ben Howland can get Weatherspoon and Newman to stay in Starksville, the future could be quite bright.
KeVaughn Allen, guard, Florida Gators
The Gators pulled the biggest upset of the weekend by beating West Virginia as part of the SEC-Big 12 Challenge. Allen led the team with 19 points and hit all nine of his free throw attempts. The 6-2 guard has also been on a five-game tear with 18.4 points and 3.0 3-pointers to help Florida win four of those games. While Kasey Hill has not taken the expected step forward, Allen has filled the hoop from the Gator backcourt.
Frederico Mussini, guard, St John's Red Storm
This has been a learning (i.e. unsuccessful) season for coach Chris Mullin. He has been able to give freshmen plenty of playing time and the 6-1 Mussini leads the team with 32.3 minutes. The Italian is also leading the Red Storm with 12.5 points despite hitting just 36.4 percent from the field. He has been doing more ball handling than Mullin would have liked. Next year, when Marcus LoVett joins the team after not qualifying academically, Mussini should move to a more comfortable spot-shooter role. He will at least have plenty of court experience.
Jesse Govan, center, Georgetown Hoyas
Meet the future of the vaunted Georgetown pivot. The 6-10, 270 lb Govan has shown pockets of potential as a reserve behind Bradley Hayes. He was particularly effective at the beginning of January with a three-game run that saw him average 13.3 points and 5.0 rebounds with five 3-pointers. Govan has tailed off since and did not score in eight minutes against Providence on Saturday, but the Friars don't have much size for Govan to counter. Next year, Govan should be the main man in the paint for the Hoyas.
Marquez Letcher-Ellis, forward, Rice Owls
The 6-7 forward is another late bloomer who showed some potential in the early season. He had a double-double against St. Thomas on Dec. 17, but it hasn't been until the second half of January that Letcher-Ellis has put it all together. In his last five games, he has averaged 17.6 points and 8.3 rebounds. Fouls can be an issue and he fouled out after just 14 minutes on Jan. 23 against Middle Tennessee State, but managed to score 13 points before sitting down. With fellow freshman Marcus Evans and sophomore big Egor Koulechov, Rice could start climbing the Conference USA standings next year.
Derrick Jones, forwar, UNLV Runnin' Rebels
Jones earned some early-season acclaim for throwing down this nasty dunk, but the 6-7 freshman has shown that he can do more than slam the ball home. He has started to score more consistently of late with a pair of 20-point games in wins over Air Force and Utah State two weeks ago. Jones is not yet adept at hitting 3-pointers (25 percent) or free throws (51.4 percent), but his many dunks allow him to shoot 58.5 percent from the field. Like Letcher-Ellis, Jones has a propensity to foul and has accrued at least four whistles in his last three games.
Evan Boudreaux, forward, Dartmouth Big Green
Basketball players in the Ivy League generally do not produce much in their first year. Boudreaux, a 6-8 forward, has been the exception with 15.8 points and 9.0 rebounds in his first 17 games. He has scored at least 15 points in his last eight games and has four double-doubles in that span. Boudreaux is not very good at hitting 3-pointers (32.4 percent), so he has room for improvement. On Saturday, the forward put up 24 points and 16 rebounds in a loss to Cornell. He has hit his last eight free throws.
