One and None
There has always been an odd obsession with recruiting in college athletics. Fans worship players who haven’t worn their schools colors yet. Entire websites sole reason for existence is to evaluate and rank the top high school prospects each year. All this is taken to new heights when it comes to college basketball, where landing one top recruit can lead a coach to a title in that players first year. Or can it?
Since the NBA instituted its rule requiring players to be one year removed from high school before being eligible to enter the draft (More commonly referred to as the one and done rule for obvious reasons) the top prospects have consistently failed to bring home the championship as freshmen. The examples are endless: Greg Oden (Ohio State) and Kevin Durant (Texas) in 2007. Derrick Rose (Memphis), Michael Beasley (Kansas State) and OJ Mayo (USC) in 2008. John Wall (Kentucky), and Xavier Henry (Kansas) in 2009.
And this year Jared Sullinger (Ohio State), Kyrie Irvin (Duke), and Brandon Knight (Kentucky) all failed to bring the trophy home. What makes this even more interesting is taking a look at the teams that did win it all during this span. The Florida team that won back-to-back titles was loaded with upperclassmen. Bill Self’s Jayhawks in 2008 had a ton of vets on their roster.
North Carolina started 5, yes 5, seniors at some points in 2009. Almost unheard of in this day and age. Duke used its experience to outlast Butler in the 2010 finale. And most recently Junior PG Kemba Walker delivered a title for UConn. What does all this mean? Are these freshmen just over-hyped? Not at all. Actually the majority of the players listed before were incredibly important to good or great teams. During the regular season that is. So what this really proves is the value of experience come March. In order to win the big dance you’ve got to beat 6 good teams in a row. No off games. No slip ups.
That’s a very grueling and pressure filled stretch that no freshman have ever been through. And it’s something older players have learned how to handle. They’ve been there. They know what to expect. What to prepare for. Young guys can’t. So while schools like Kentucky and Ohio State celebrate there next amazing recruiting class on signing day, history has shown us they most likely won’t be the ones cutting down the nets next April.
