John latest freshman rankings include Bennett and Brown, Dotson and Dekker, Smart and Scott, Adams and Austin, McLemore and Muhammad, and 15 other standouts. Plus a newcomer at the No. 1 spot.
John has parsed the conference season's first per-possession performances, and he has superlatives to offer for Creighton's offense (insane), the Big Ten's overall strength (incredible), and USC's timing (interesting).
In 2007 Bill Simmons tagged Rick Barnes as "Dubya-esque," and the Texas coach has been a punchline in hoops circles ever since. There's just one problem: Barnes is actually an excellent coach.
John says Duke needs a healthy Ryan Kelly, Kentucky needs to play like previous (older) teams in its position, and Missouri needs both a healthy Laurence Bowers and some efficient backcourt scoring.
The Nation' Top 25 Freshmen: 2.0