Freshmen already showcasing abilities early in the season

ByDick Vitale ESPN logo
Tuesday, November 22, 2016

The college basketball season is only a few weeks old, and already I have seen the impact of diaper dandies all over America.



There has been a trend with the one-and-done in college hoops. Now, there are so many youngsters in their first season showing they are more prepared to play early in their collegiate careers.



A lot of kids coming out of high school need time to adjust to the speed of the college games. They have to get used to playing against bigger bodies in college.



My friends, everywhere you look, freshmen are contributing to the success of their respective teams.



With so many players transferring, there are plenty of college coaches relying on freshmen to have an immediate impact.



I have been fortunate to see a number of quality diaper dandies in person already.De'Aaron Fox, Malik Monk,Edrice "Bam" Adebayowith Kentucky, Miles Bridges of Michigan State, Frank Jackson of Duke, they all played vital roles in their games. Monk, according to scouting reports, was an inconsistent shooter. That was not the case at Madison Square Garden as he rose to the occasion and drilled trifecta after trifecta as the Wildcats rolled Michigan State.



You can see Bridges is a high flyer who creates excitement with the dunk. He is also a force on the boards as Tom Izzo is relying on diaper dandies because of injury issues.



Watching Duke, there are three freshmen sidelined with injuries, and all three will have a major role when they are healthy. Look for big things from Jayson Tatum, Harry Giles and Marques Bolden.



California's Charlie Moore scored 38 points against UC Irvine to break Shareef Abdur-Rahim's freshman record of 33 points set in November 1995. Amir Coffey of Minnesota was brilliant in a win over St. John's. The Red Storm have their own diaper dandies inMarcus LoVettand Shamorie Ponds.



Josh Jackson has displayed his star power at Kansas already. You see why scouts have him as a lottery pick in the NBA.



There is so much depth in this freshman class.



It is a little too early to call this the best freshmen group ever. I would vote for 1979, which had incredible talent. Ralph Sampson, Sam Bowie and Steve Stipanovich were outstanding big men. There was also Isiah Thomas, James Worthy, Dominique Wilkins, Clark Kellogg, Dale Ellis, Darren Daye, Antoine Carr and Byron Scott.



That was an impressive group.



Keep an eye on this year's group of diaper dandies as they continue to make noise on the hardwood.

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