Freshman Haze: The Other Luka

It is a New Year! The freshmen who started the season two months ago have now played nearly half a season's worth of games. Many of the players in this week's Haze did not start the season well. It took some time to adjust to the college game, but they are starting to get it. As we turn the corner of the season to conference play, these players will have a chance to go up against similar competition and see how they do. Some players are nonconference warriors and some come to play when the games are even more important. Let's start in the Big 10.

Luka Garza (C)
The hype train around Garza started over the summer, as the 6-foot-11 forward averaged 22.5 points and 10.3 rebounds in four games in an exhibition tour of Europe. He was even mistakenly picked in the first round of a league. While he has not been bad, Garza hasn't been stellar either, with 10.4 points and 6.6 rebounds. He simply has not been able to play enough minutes to be a highly productive freshman. The most recent results are promising. Garza scored a career-high 25 points and did not miss a field goal in eight attempts (with three 3-pointers). Big 10 play awaits and remains to be seen what kind of effect Garza will have.

Trent Frazier (G)
Mark Smith was expected to be the most productive Illini freshman and he has not been terrible (8.3 points), but the 6-2 Frazier has been better of late. Like Smith, Frazier is not particularly efficient and is only hitting 39.8 percent of his field goals and 25.8 percent of his 3-pointers. The guard has the green light to shoot and has averaged 17.0 points and hit 44 percent of his long-range shots over his last five games. He led the Illini to a victory over Missouri on Dec. 23 with 22 points, including 10-of-11 from the free-throw line. If Frazier can continue to knock down treys, he could lead Illinois toward the NCAA tournament bubble.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (G)
Although the 6-6 Gilgeous-Alexander has been part of the Wildcat rotation from the beginning of the season, it is only recently that he has put himself in the limelight. He is the fourth Kentucky freshman to be profiled on the Haze. After scoring in double digits in six of his first 11 games, the wing has blown up for 45 points in his last two games to help Kentucky past Louisville in a rout and Georgia in the SEC opener. He has played at least 31 minutes in four of his last five games and could replace Quade Green in the starting lineup eventually.

Justice Sueing (F)
To say that the California season under Wyking Jones has been rocky would be an understatement. The team has losses to UC-Riverside, Central Arkansas, and Chaminade. If there was one silver lining to the loss in Hawaii, it was the 23 points and seven rebounds from the 6-7 Sueing. He has been starting all season, but has been more effective at power forward with Marcus Lee at center of late. In his last five games, Sueing has averaged 12.8 points and 6.0 rebounds, as the Bears won four of those games, including a Pac-12 opener against Stanford.

Rich Kelly (G)
After Mikey Dixon transferred to St. John's, the Bobcats needed a new point guard. Enter Rich Kelly and ask no more questions about the position. The 5-11 guard leads the team with 6.2 assists and adds 10.1 points. He is not a good shooter and is making just 35.7 percent from the field and 28.8 percent of his 3-pointers. Kelly had his best game on Dec. 4 in the win over Columbia with 22 points, six 3-pointers, and 10 assists. He had 10 points and five assists in the MAAC opening win over Siena. With a touch better shooting, Kelly could win MAAC Freshman of the Year.

Jalen McDaniels (F)
At the beginning of the season, McDaniels had trouble getting on the court. In his first four games, he scored a combined eight points. On Nov. 24, he opened some eyes with eight points and 13 boards and has been playing steadily since. In his last five games, the 6-7 forward has two double-doubles and has averaged 11.4 points and 8.8 rebounds. McDaniels had 15 points and 10 boards in the win over Gonzaga. He has not taken more than eight shots in any game, but his role could grow as the season continues.

Abayomi Iyiola (F)
Over the past four seasons, the Hatters have now won more than 12 games. They already have eight wins this season and should get a few more wins in Atlantic Sun play behind players like the 6-9 Iyiola. After scoring in double digits just four times in his first 12 games, Iyiola has put up at least 10 points in his last four contests. He opened the season with a double-double (21 points, 13 rebounds) in the win over Webber International, but has not grabbed more than nine boards since. He did pick up nine rebounds in both of his most recent games – a loss to Nebraska and a win over Florida National. The one point that may limit Iyiola is his tendency to foul. He has averaged 3.4 fouls per game, but has only fouled out once.