This article is part of our Freshman Haze series.
It may be that this year's freshman class is not as deep as in past years. Or, it may be that I have forgotten how deep past years' classes were. Maybe I'm just not digging deeply enough. In any case, this week's seven first-year players lean more to the side of potential than current greatness. I had to dig a bit deeper into Tier 2 to unearth some fine players.\
That sounds like bad news, but the good news is that we've reached conference play in which all teams are playing their approximate equals. We get to see which teams were schedule phantasms (maybe you, Villanova?) and which teams may have over-challenged themselves with tough schedules (Wofford, Charlotte?)
Johnathan Motley, forward, Baylor Bears
Motley may have been lying in the weeds for the first month of the season. The 6-foot-9 redshirt freshman opened the season with 27 points in his first two games, then scored eight points or fewer in six straight games. In wins over Texas Southern and Vanderbilt, he played a combined 27 minutes and did not score. In the Dec. 9 win over Texas A&M, Motley exploded for 22 points and 11 boards and he hasn't looked back. In his last five games, he has averaged 17.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.2 blocks.
Kaleb Joseph, guard, Syracuse Orange
When a school starts producing professional prospects at a certain position, there is an expectation that whoever steps into the role next will be great. The Orange have had
It may be that this year's freshman class is not as deep as in past years. Or, it may be that I have forgotten how deep past years' classes were. Maybe I'm just not digging deeply enough. In any case, this week's seven first-year players lean more to the side of potential than current greatness. I had to dig a bit deeper into Tier 2 to unearth some fine players.\
That sounds like bad news, but the good news is that we've reached conference play in which all teams are playing their approximate equals. We get to see which teams were schedule phantasms (maybe you, Villanova?) and which teams may have over-challenged themselves with tough schedules (Wofford, Charlotte?)
Johnathan Motley, forward, Baylor Bears
Motley may have been lying in the weeds for the first month of the season. The 6-foot-9 redshirt freshman opened the season with 27 points in his first two games, then scored eight points or fewer in six straight games. In wins over Texas Southern and Vanderbilt, he played a combined 27 minutes and did not score. In the Dec. 9 win over Texas A&M, Motley exploded for 22 points and 11 boards and he hasn't looked back. In his last five games, he has averaged 17.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.2 blocks.
Kaleb Joseph, guard, Syracuse Orange
When a school starts producing professional prospects at a certain position, there is an expectation that whoever steps into the role next will be great. The Orange have had Michael Carter-Willis and Tyler Ennis at point guard the last two seasons, so Joseph should be great by association. It hasn't happened for the 6-3 New Hampshire native. He is a capable passer with 5.1 assists, but has made just 20 percent of his three-pointers. Joseph likely won't be leaving school after one season of significant playing time.
Vince Edwards, forward, Purdue Boilermakers
In his early career, Edwards has shown sparks of potential and fields of mediocrity. He opened eyes early in the season with a career-high 26 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in a win over IUPUI. He also had 25 points in an overtime win against BYU. He has only scored in double figures in three other games. The 6-7 forward averaged 10.6 points on 56.2 percent from the field, 5.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists. To succeed in the Big Ten, the Boilermakers will need more sparks than fields from Edwards.
L.J. Peak, forward, Georgetown Hoyas
The Hoyas are a team of team squads: they have upperclassmen like D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera and center Josh Smith, but a burgeoning freshman class led by Peak. The 6-5 forward is a talented scorer who opened the season with 23 points in the win over St. Francis (NY). He hasn't scaled those scoring heights since, but his minutes have been increasing. He has played at least 31 minutes in his last four games. For the season, he is averaging 9.9 points.
Christian Sengfelder, forward, Fordham Rams
In the first Haze of the year, I mentioned that Fordham was a surprising source of relevant fantasy players when I profiled guard Eric Paschall. The 6-6 freshman has continued to play well, but now has company among freshman starters. Sengfelder, a 6-7 German, has really come into his own in the last five games with averages of 16.2 points and 7.8 rebounds. It will be interesting to see how Sengfelder fairs against A10 competition since his big games came against Tier 3 and 4 competition.
Gary Clark, forward, Cincinnati Bearcats
To look over their statistics, the Bearcats might not look like a strong team. They do not have a player averaging 10 points, but that points to their defensive-reliant style. Clark, a 6-7, 230, forward, fits right into that style. He crashes the boards, put effort into defense, and scores when the ball bounces to him. Through 13 games, Clark is averaging 8.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.2 blocks. His minutes have been on a steady rise and he could be the focus of the Bearcats in future years.
Josh Cunningham, forward, Bradley Braves
The Missouri Valley Conference is not generally a great place to look for freshmen. Players pay their dues as underclassmen and grow into productive members of their teams. Cunningham is the Braves' first top-100 recruit since 1981 (Voise Winters). The 6-7 native of Chicago does most of his damage on the boards where he averages 7.1 per game. He has three straight games of double-digit rebounds. Occasional foul trouble causes Cunningham to have dips in productivity, but he should be a player to watch.
