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Myron Medcalf, ESPN Staff Writer
Cooper Flagg is the most hyped freshman in men’s college basketball in years. He’s the projected top pick in the 2025 NBA draft who has already been scrutinized because of that potential.
The 6-foot-9 star has been praised by NBA superstars who will soon become his peers. He has a Gatorade sponsorship and other lucrative NIL deals. The pressure and spotlight Flagg will face in the 2024-25 campaign is not unique to star freshmen who have come through the sport. To become one of the greatest freshmen in recent college basketball history, however, he will have to play at a level few have reached.
If he can match some of the top freshman efforts in college basketball — through four games, he’s averaging 16.3 PPG, 9.5 RPG and 4.0 APG — he too could end his only season as a legend.
For an idea of what he could accomplish, we’ve compiled a list of the top 25 seasons by a freshman over the past 25 years (beginning with the 1999-2000 season). There were many more standout performances to consider. Sorry, we couldn’t include them all.
It’s clear Flagg has a lot of work to do to earn a spot on this list of some of the greatest freshman efforts in men’s college basketball history.
2:40
Duke outlasts Gonzaga in potential Final Four preview
Paolo Banchero’s 20 first-half points propel Duke to the win over Chet Holmgren and top-ranked Gonzaga.
Before he retired, Coach K hoped to win a sixth national championship at Duke — and he nearly achieved it, with Banchero’s help. The freshman star averaged 17.2 PPG and 7.8 RPG as Duke made a run to the Final Four in Krzyzewski’s final season as head coach. He was a third team AP All-American who also made 53% of his shots inside the arc before being selected as the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic.
0:51
Alabama avoids upset in OT as Brandon Miller makes winning layup
Brandon Miller sinks a go-ahead layup in the final second of overtime to help Alabama defeat South Carolina.
The 6-9 talent manufactured one of the best efforts from a freshman in men’s college basketball in his single year in Tuscaloosa. Although Miller struggled in the NCAA tournament during his team’s run to the Sweet 16, he had nine performances with 24 points or more. Miller was the SEC player of the year and a first team Associated Press All-American after averaging 18.8 PPG and connecting on 38% of his 3-point attempts.
0:49
Malik Monk among best guards in the draft
See why the former Kentucky star and SEC Player of the Year could be the best shooting guard in the draft.
Kentucky’s 2016-17 season featured a trio of freshmen — De’Aaron Fox, Bam Adebayo, Monk — who would all go on to have varying levels of success in the NBA. While Monk hasn’t quite reached the all-star status of the other two, he had the best collegiate season. The team lost to North Carolina in the Elite Eight, but Monk won SEC player of the year after averaging 19.8 PPG that season for the Wildcats.
1:33
Arizona takes rubber match from UCLA, advances to Pac-12 final
Lauri Markkanen leads No. 7 Arizona with 29 points while No. 3 UCLA’s Lonzo Ball is held to eight points, as the Wildcats win 86-75 in the Pac-12 semifinal.
The 2016-17 was a wild year that introduced the world to LaVar Ball, the father of future NBA players Lonzo and Lamelo. LaVar’s presence was still a sidebar to the elder Ball’s production at UCLA, where he averaged 14.6 PPG, 7.6 APG (leading the nation in assists) and connected on 41% of his 3-point attempts. Those Bruins reached the Sweet 16 that year.
2:19
RJ Barrett breaks down highlights from Duke
RJ Barrett joins Omar Raja to break down highlights Duke, and shares how it felt to be drafted by the Knicks.
21. RJ Barrett, G (Duke, 2018-19)
Although his teammate Zion Williamson won the 2019 Wooden Award, anyone who watched Duke during the 2018-19 campaign knew Barrett was the stabilizing force for a team hampered by key injuries. Barrett was the only player on the roster to start all 38 games for the 32-6 Blue Devils, who made it all the way to the Elite Eight. And he was rewarded when he joined Williamson that year, as a first team AP All-American after averaging 22.6 PPG.
20. DeMarcus Cousins, C (Kentucky, 2009-10)
Cousins was the first superstar big man at Kentucky under John Calipari. With John Wall anchoring the action on the perimeter, Cousins was a dominant force, averaging 15.1 PPG, 9.8 RPG and 1.8 BPG. He finished second in offensive rebounding percentage that year, per KenPom, and helped Kentucky end its season with a 35-3 record and an Elite Eight appearance. He earned a first team AP All-America spot, and remains one of most dominant post players on this list.
There were a lot of odd moments for Simmons, who was followed by a film crew throughout his time in Baton Rouge. The 6-10 standout also averaged 19.2 PPG, 11.8 RPG and 4.8 APG, impacting the game in ways few freshmen had before he arrived on the scene. The Tigers eventually fell short of expectations with Simmons on the roster, but his production was enough to earn a spot as a second team AP All-American.
Bagley, the No. 1 recruit in the ESPN class of 2017, earned Coach K’s trust early in his career — a sign of his maturity — when the legendary leader said he felt comfortable with Bagley taking the last shot in a close game during a tough non-conference loss. During his freshman season in Durham, Bagley averaged 21.0 PPG and 11.1 RPG and also made 65% of his shots inside the arc. He also finished with a double-double in his team’s overtime loss to Kansas in the Elite Eight.
0:36
1H UK K. Towns Block.
1H (17:00) UK Karl-Anthony Towns Block.
The 2014-15 Kentucky team is one of the greatest that failed to win a national title. And Towns was a key piece for the Wildcats, who went on a 38-game winning streak before losing to Wisconsin in the Final Four. While the raw numbers don’t seem significant, it’s important to note Towns (10.2 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 2.3 BPG) played just 21 minutes per game on a squad with nine future NBA players before he became a second team AP All-American and the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NBA draft.
Ayton was the top player in ESPN’s recruiting class of 2017 before Michael Porter Jr. and then Marvin Bagley III surpassed him. Yet, Ayton arguably had the best statistical season of the trio, all of whom entered the NBA draft in 2018. Ayton won Pac-12 player of the year and a first team AP All-America spot after averaging 20.1 PPG and 11.6 RPG.
Late in the season, Kansas had just hit its stride when Joel Embiid suffered an injury that ended his collegiate year. But Wiggins, who averaged 17.1 PPG and 5.9 RPG and was eventually the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA draft, continued his excellent effort — which included a 41-point performance in the Jayhawks’ regular season finale loss at West Virginia. Kansas wasn’t at full strength in the postseason, exiting in the second round of the NCAA tournament, but Wiggins still put together one of the greatest freshman seasons in recent memory.
1:03
Wiggins outdueled Parker the last time Kansas played Duke
The last time Kansas played Duke in 2013, Jabari Parker scored a game-high 27 points, but Andrew Wiggins and the Jayhawks walked out of the United Center with the win.
14. Jabari Parker, F (Duke, 2013-14)
In his effort to stand out in the recruiting battle for Parker, Mike Krzyzewski showed up to Parker’s Chicago high school in a limo for one game. It worked. Parker signed with Duke, averaged 19.7 PPG as a freshman with the Blue Devils and secured a slot on the AP All-America first team. He led a Duke roster that finished first in adjusted offensive efficiency on KenPom that season.
The 7-1 star’s idol is Kevin Durant. Like the NBA superstar, Holmgren challenged the conventional wisdom about what the tallest guy on the court was capable of achieving in college basketball. It wasn’t just the numbers — 14.1 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 3.7 BPG, 39% from the 3-point line — that impressed the country as he earned a second team AP All-America nod and helped his team reach the Sweet 16. It was also the sheer dominance from a player who showcased a versatility few players his size had ever exhibited at this level.
12. Kevin Love, F (UCLA, 2007-08)
On a team with four future NBA players, Love emerged as the leader, and helped the Bruins reach their third consecutive Final Four. With averages of 17.5 points, 10.6 rebounds and a 61% clip inside the arc, Love finished his freshman season as the Pac-12’s player of the year and a first team AP All-American. His final college statline — the Final Four loss to Memphis — was 12 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks.
1:45
On this date: Wall, Cousins win SEC title for Kentucky in OT
On March 14, 2010, the Wildcats, led by John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins, force overtime with a buzzer-beater and beat Mississippi State for the SEC title.
11. John Wall, G (Kentucky, 2009-10)
The “John Wall dance” was the former Kentucky star’s most viral contribution to college basketball in 2009-10 — also John Calipari’s first in Lexington. Wall was also memorable because few collegiate freshmen have ever played with his explosiveness and aggression. In his lone season in Lexington, Wall averaged 16.6 PPG, 6.5 APG and 1.8 SPG, led his team to the Elite Eight after earning a spot as a Wooden Award finalist, winning SEC player of the year and being named to the AP All-America first team. He also finished third in the country in assists per game.
10. Jared Sullinger, C (Ohio State, 2010-11)
A year before he led Ohio State to the Final Four as a sophomore, Sullinger was a catalyst for the Buckeyes’ 24-0 start and top seed in the NCAA tournament. Behind 17.2 PPG, 10.2 RPG and a 55% clip inside the arc, Sullinger earned a spot on the AP All-America first team — an honor he would repeat a year later.
0:44
3H DUKE J. Okafor made Layup.
OT (1:44) DUKE Jahlil Okafor made Layup.
9. Jahlil Okafor, C (Duke, 2014-15)
Okafor and his 2014-15 Duke teammates were just the second freshman nucleus to secure a national title in the one-and-done era — which started with the 2007 NBA draft. While Okafor lost the Wooden Award race to Wisconsin star Frank Kaminsky, he put up big numbers (17.3 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 66% clip inside the arc) and ended his season with Mike Krzyzewski’s fifth — and final — national title, along with a first team AP All-America spot.
8. Derrick Rose, G (Memphis, 2007-08)
Rose was seconds from ending his first and only season of college basketball even higher on this list. But former Kansas standout Mario Chalmers hit the game-tying 3-pointer in the Jayhawks’ national title game victory over the Tigers, and changed history. The all-Conference USA first team selection averaged 20.8 PPG, 6.0 APG and 6.5 RPG during the NCAA tournament and won a national championship, which would have punctuated a remarkable year on a stacked roster.
7. Michael Beasley, F (Kansas State, 2007-08)
There is no reputable top-25 list about freshman performances in men’s college basketball that does not include Beasley in the top-10. With the Wildcats, Beasley averaged 26.2 PPG, 12.4 RPG and shot 38% from beyond the arc, joining former Loyola Marymount star Hank Gathers to lead the nation in both scoring and rebounding that season. K-State lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament, but Beasley’s numbers that year did not seem real — especially for a freshman.
0:56
Trae Young finishes roller-coaster freshman season
Oklahoma’s Trae Young went from being under-recruited in high school to being the first man to ever lead the nation in scoring and assists in just one year with the Sooners.
When Young was on the court for Oklahoma seven years ago, it wasn’t uncommon for him to see NBA star Russell Westbrook in the stands or to get a text message from future hall-of-famer Chris Paul after a great game. Young became the first player in men’s college basketball history to lead the nation in assists (271, averaging 8.7 APG) and points (848, averaging 27.4 PPG), manufacturing an unrivaled résumé. The biggest mark on it: The Sooners lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament to Rhode Island.
5. Greg Oden, C (Ohio State, 2006-07)
The No. 1 pick in the 2007 NBA draft battled a right wrist injury all season, so we’ll never know how good a college basketball player he could really have been when healthy. And yet, he averaged an incredible 15.7 PPG, 9.6 RPG and 3.3 BPG, won the NABC defensive player of the year award and was a first team AP All-American, after he led his team to a 35-win season and the national championship game.
2:14
Duke greats under Coach K: Who ya got?
Christian Laettner, Grant Hill, Jayson Tatum and Zion Williamson are some of the great players to play under Mike Krzyzewski at Duke. Relive some of their best plays.
The day after Williamson’s shoe broke during a home game against North Carolina, Nike’s stock value reportedly dropped by more than $1 billion. Williamson’s impact was felt not just in the stock market though, but also on the court. He averaged 22.6 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 2.1 SPG and 1.8 BPG and led the Blue Devils to the Elite Eight. His stature was proven by his dominant, uncontested run to the Wooden Award (he was the third freshman to achieve the honor) and the ACC player of the year nod.
3. Carmelo Anthony, F (Syracuse, 2002-03)
Last week, Anthony’s son, Kiyan, committed to Syracuse. When he arrives, he’ll see his father’s name on the practice facility — which is not the full extent of Anthony’s legacy. During the 2002-03 season, the all-Big East first team selection and rookie of the year carried Syracuse to its lone national championship and won Most Outstanding Player after averaging 20.1 PPG and 9.8 RPG, while connecting on 48% of his 3-point attempts.
1:21
Flashback: Kevin Durant tallies 37 points, 23 rebounds at Texas
On Jan. 31, 2007, Texas freshman Kevin Durant dominated Texas Tech to the tune of a 37 points and 23 rebounds in a 76-64 win.
Durant never experienced a deep run in the NCAA tournament, after his team was ousted in the second round. But he saw an abundance of meaningful achievements during his short stint with the Longhorns: He won the Wooden Award after averaging 25.8 PPG, 11.1 RPG and 1.9 BPG, while also connecting on 40% of his 3-point attempts and 81% of his free throws. His rookie season featured one of the greatest offensive displays in college basketball history.
Davis ended his lone season in college basketball with Kentucky’s first national championship in 12 years and a collection of accolades no freshman in America has matched over the past 25 seasons. That list includes the Wooden Award, Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA tournament and the NABC defensive player of the year award. Davis (14.2 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 4.7 BPG in 2011-12) also led the nation in blocks.
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