Luke Winn's Top 16 Instant Impact Freshmen

SI Staff | Oct 14, 2011

Luke Winn's Top 16 Instant Impact Freshmen /

Luke Winn's Top 16 Instant Impact Freshmen

B.J. Young

Young is one of John Pelphrey's big-time, local recruits that new coach Mike Anderson was able to keep at Arkansas after taking the job this spring. His high-octane attack needs an athletic, scoring point guard, and Young fits the bill. If he stays in Fayetteville for a few seasons, he'll be a building block for the Razorbacks' revival.

Brad Beal

Florida coach Billy Donovan has a good kind of problem in his backcourt: He has two established stars returning (Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton), a shoot-first transfer getting eligible (Mike Rosario) and a five-star phenom making his debut (Beal). The Gators will find a way to get Beal involved in their offense, because as good as their upperclassmen are, Beal is the best pro prospect of the bunch, and is physically ready to thrive at the college level.

Rakeem Christmas

The Orange's experiment with five-star Brazilian freshman Fab Melo in the middle of their 2-3 zone didn't work out well last year, and star power forward Rick Jackson has moved on to the pros. The hope is that Christmas, a 6-9 big man from Philly (and originally St. Croix), can help fill the void, especially on defense.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

Caldwell-Pope, Rivals' No. 12 overall prospect in the Class of 2011, was a huge recruiting score for coach Mark Fox. Not only was the Greenville, Ga., product a 30-plus-point scorer in high school, he steps in at a time when the Bulldogs are desperate for a talent infusion, having just lost Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie to the NBA Draft.

James Michael McAdoo

McAdoo isn't going to start for the Tar Heels, whose front line consists of returnees Harrison Barnes, John Henson and Tyler Zeller. But the polished power forward prospect -- whose offense game is far ahead of Henson's -- can fill the role Justin Knox did off the bench for UNC last year, getting double-digit minutes at the 4-5 spots and impacting the national title race.

Adonis Thomas

The best forward prospect out of the city of Memphis since Thaddeus Young in 2006, the 6-foot-6 Thomas should give the Tigers a powerful presence at the 3-4 spots. He's considered the team's best NBA prospect, ahead of the members of its highly touted backcourt.

Cody Zeller

Zeller, the younger brother of UNC's Tyler, is the first five-star recruit to commit to Tom Crean at Indiana, and thus expectations on the homegrown, 6-foot-11 freshman are immense. Cody won't be an immediate savior for the Hoosiers, but he and junior Christian Watford should comprise a formidable front line.

Quincy Miller

Miller, who's a tremendously talented, versatile forward, would be higher on this list if the Bears didn't already have a big-time, versatile forward -- sophomore Perry Jones -- in their starting lineup. Regardless, Miller is expected to bounce back from an ACL injury he suffered last December, and make an immediate impact in Baylor's run at a Big 12 title.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist

Perhaps the toughest competitor in the Class of 2011, Kidd-Gilchrist will command minutes in the Wildcats' loaded rotation due to his defense. He'll be a valuable glass-crasher from the wing and raise the team's overall energy level whenever he's in the game -- no matter if he comes off the bench or cracks the starting lineup.

LeBryan Nash

The Cowboys lost their biggest shot-taker, Marshall Moses (24.7% of attempts while he was on the floor), and Nash is an athletic, 6-7 wing who should thrive in their up-tempo attack. Don't be surprised if he's among the Big 12's scoring leaders as a freshman.

Myck Kabongo

Kabongo is the latest Ontario guard to arrive in Austin, and as a pure point with loads of talent, he could have a bigger impact than countryman Cory Joseph did as a freshman. The Longhorns are likely to take a step back after losing Joseph, Jordan Hamilton and Tristan Thompson, but a backcourt of Kabongo and J'Covan Brown will put up plenty of points.

Josiah Turner

Turner was probably going to start at point guard for the Wildcats no matter who was on the roster, but Momo Jones' departure from the team in April made it a lock. The expectations on Turner, who was Rivals' No. 2-ranked point guard in 2011, are immense, as Arizona is the preseason favorite to repeat as Pac-10 champs.

Anthony Davis

Davis is a former guard who had a late growth spurt to 6-foot-10 and emerged as the top-ranked prospect in the Class of 2011 by both Rivals and Scout.com. He should have a major defensive impact -- he can score, too, but the Wildcats have plenty of offensive options -- before becoming a top-three pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.

Marquis Teague

John Calipari's run of success over the past four seasons (135 wins and two Final Four trips at UK and Memphis combined) has been powered by his point guards, and the speedy Teague is the latest phenom. He's thought to be an even more promising NBA prospect than was his older brother, Jeff, who starred at Wake Forest and then was drafted 19th overall by the Hawks in 2009.

Andre Drummond

The best big man in the Class of 2012 committed to the Huskies in August ... and then reclassified so he could start college immediately. He'll step in alongside power forward Alex Oriakhi to give UConn one of the country's best frontcourts, and give the team a serious shot to win back-to-back national championships. Drummond is, without question, the highest-impact late addition made by any team in the country.

Austin Rivers

Rivers (the middle son of Celtics coach Doc) has such an advanced offensive skill set that he's expected to be one of the country's best scoring guards from Day 1. There may be better pro prospects in the Class of 2011, such as Kentucky's Anthony Davis, but Rivers is a polished player who's ready to make the biggest immediate impact.

Published Oct 14, 2011

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