Through the first couple of weeks in the season, there have been many great players showing their abilities. Some of these players, like most seasons in this era, have been freshmen. While there has not been an Anthony Davis or Zion Williamson emerging as the nations best player, there have been many solid freshmen thus far. Here are some of college basketball’s top freshmen to start the 2022-23 season.
Black didn’t go into the season with as much high praise as other freshmen did, mainly because he was not even the Razorbacks top rated recruit. Fellow five-star Nick Smith Jr. has not played yet this season as he’s dealing with a knee injury. The Razorbacks performed well in the Maui invitational due to Black’s two 26-point outings and 22.3 point average for the tournament. He was terrific. His size at 6’7 and incredible athleticism allows him to be a versatile wing. In that same breath, his incredible playmaking skills allow him to play the point, making him arguably the most versatile freshmen in the country. When Smith Jr. returns the Razorbacks will be at their full potential, and Black will still be very productive no matter what.
The leading scoring freshmen in the country, Miller has been nothing less than amazing this season. The Tide beat their first four opponents by an average of 27.3 points per game and got a great double-digit win over Michigan State. Through this stretch Miller averaged 21 points, and now averages just under at 20.5 after his 18-point showing in a loss to UConn. Miller is also averaging 9.2 rebounds a game and 1.3 blocks. His percentages are excellent as well, including a great 52.4% from 3-point range on 7.0 attempts per game.
As one of the best defensive players in the country so far, Wallace has secured himself a starting position on Kentucky’s squad. While the Wildcats have struggled thus far, Wallace has been one of the lone bright spots fans can look to. He is top 10 in the country in steals at 3.0 per game, and he is so disruptive everywhere on the defensive end. Along with his stellar defense, Wallace averages 11.8 points a game while shooting 54.9% from the field and 47.6% from 3-point range. These are great shooting numbers from someone who’s known as a defender.
While his team is not widely regarded as a good one, Jackson has been great for South Carolina thus far. He leads the team in minutes, points and rebounds and is the most productive player on the roster. He’s scored in double figures in all six games so far and averages 17.2 points on the season, which is top five in the SEC. He is shooting a respectable 40% from 3-point range, allowing him to score anywhere in the half-court. While South Carolina isn’t poised to have a very good season, Jackson is poised to have a great individual season and will be a nice pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
Kansas has gotten off to a weird start, uncertain about where they stand amongst the best teams in the country. One thing that is certain however, is nothing can take away Gradey Dicks confidence. Within a 1:20 span at the end of the Champions Classic matchup versus Duke, Dick scored 7 straight points to propel the Jayhawks past the Blue Devils and hand them their first loss. He is averaging 15.4 points per game, shooting 47.6% from the field and 47.7% from three on 6.2 attempts per game. The reigning champs have the potential to repeat this year, and will need Dick to keeping performing great to do it. From what has been shown so far, it does not seem to far fetched.
Houston has been the best team in the country so far this season, and part of that is the play of Walker. Walker was a five-star in the class of 2022 and has come in to help the Cougars push for a national title. Averaging a solid 12.4 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, Walker has been a force standing at 6’8 and 240 lbs. His size and skill set allows him to be a great post player, and he’s even shooting almost 50% from 3-point range. Houston has a great squad and Walker makes them even better as they push for their second Final Four in three seasons.
Howard was massively underrated coming into the season. As detailed in our preseason 10 Freshmen to Watch list, Howard was the MVP of the Iverson Classic over the summer and caught the eye of media members and former NBA players alike. Some were saying he was the most MBA ready player at the event. So far to start the season, his scoring numbers have shown him to be a good player. 15.2 points on 50.0% from the field and 43.9% from 3-point range are great numbers for the freshman. If Michigan is going to make a push for the Big Ten title, they’ll need Howard to keep up the work to reach it.
George is one-third of a stellar backcourt. Adam Flagler and LJ Cryer join George, and all three are averaging double-digits in scoring. George’s percentages aren’t as good as he or Scott Drew likes them to be, but his only real bad game came against UCLA, but they won the matchup. George has incredible athleticism and skills that make him a versatile scoring guard. Once Baylor gets fully healthy, George will be a key piece in helping them try and win a second national title in three seasons.
Filipowski has arguably been the best freshmen in the country so far. However, in theory he wasn’t even supposed to be the best freshmen on his team in the preseason. Dereck Lively II and Dariq Whitehead were two other five-stars in Duke’s 2022 class and were ranked above Filipowski. As of right now, Filipowski is far and away better than those two, along with every other freshmen and player on the Blue Devils roster. Averaging a double-double at 15.6 points and 10.0 rebounds for the season along with 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks, he has been great.
Reneau is one of three double-digit scorers for a solid Indiana squad behind preseason All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis and veteran Xavier Johnson. He’s only averaging 17.7 minutes per game, but still is very productive averaging 10.7 points and shooting a whopping 63.6% from the field. He is only averaging 20.0% from beyond the arc, so imagine what his FG% would be if that number was better. Reneau also leads the team in steals per game at 1.2 per game. He was a high four-star coming into the season and ranked below teammate and fellow freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino. So far, Reneau has been the better freshman and one of the best in the nation.
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