The Evolution of the Role of Freshman in Today’s College Basketball

As we approach the 2^nd leg of the college basketball season, conference play, the time for patience has come to an end and the importance of every game becomes paramount.

The first part of the season is a fun time, interesting match-ups, new players and the expansion of roles for returning players.  We start getting the picture of what will matter and who will matter this season in college basketball.

The impact of freshmen is at an unprecedented level in college basketball.  The Pro level star is leaving college the majority of the time to the NBA and the college program must replace them and move on.  This has become a yearly cycle and it has doubled the importance of recruiting. Talented players rarely will stick around long enough to develop on the collegiate level. The pressure to win on college programs has gone from a four-year benchmark to a two-year measuring stick and that is how college programs now look at their student athletes. 

Colleges are held hostage by the grassroots infrastructure that controls the incoming talent pool and is vital for coaches to keep their jobs.  The recruiting process now has become the most important piece of the high major program.  The courtship of the high school star has evolved to Hollywood proportions.  New creative ways to show the recruit how vital they are through all types of presence both physical and virtual when allowed are critical for success.   The modern recruit has extreme confidence and ego to the level equal of the NBA player.   The top recruits individually have a fan base of thousands, they are followed and called by NBA stars and receive custom shoes and apparel.  It took years for the NBA stars of the 80’s and 90’s to receive the same perks.

Freshmen enter college campuses much like military recruits, promised of free education, elaborate trips and the development of their self to “be all that they can be”.

Reality kicks in shortly as the “dating phase” ends and the breakdown phase occurs.

No longer is the love shown with constant presence but now expectation and responsibility set in.  For many freshmen this catches them by surprise.  They went from all these people/programs showing them love and appreciation to the harshness of the reality.   As a recruit, the player was in control of the program and as a freshman the program is now in control.  Each freshman must make a choice to either stay focused on their mission or to leave “camp” and start again.

More and more prized freshmen are choosing the latter.  This year alone we have seen prized recruits Jabari Brown, Nurdeen Lindsay and Khem Birch abandon ship.  The recruit and/or his supporting grassroots infrastructure want to continue to be in control rather than to conform to the needs of the program or accept the responsibilities assessed to them as collegiate student-athletes.  Leaving the program, whether it is to another school or the NBA is the final move of player control and the one holding the most risk.

This is considerably different than a Seth Curry or Travis Taylor who transferred from a smaller program to a high major, one in which did not recruit them out of high school.

As conference play approaches us the programs that have done the best job evolving their freshmen will enjoy the most success. 

Can their freshmen…

Understand the team’s chemistry?

Know and master their role?

Deal with the adversity of injury or lack of success?

Are they willing and able to take on more on-court responsibility?

Work towards team success even at the expense of self?

Trust their teammates and their coach?

This year’s National Champion will rise with a freshman more than likely playing a prominent role.  Last year it was Jeremy Lamb who emerged for UConn. 

This cast of freshmen has been very impressive.  With Austin Rivers, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Cody Zeller, Bradley Beal, Andre Drummond and Quincy Miller showing the most to this point. 

In March they hope to show “all that they can be” to the watchful eyes of the NBA and for College Basketball the cycle will continue.