I'm a little surprised by some of the freshmen expectations here. None of the guys we are bringing in are one & done talents. All of them are borderline NBA prospects at best (basketball is not football, there are far fewer surprises on who develops into a potential pro). They are distinctly better coming out of HS than anyone in our last few classes and have great upside, but anyone anticipating elite level play from them next season is not holding to realistic expectations of the players we're bringing in.
Big 12 Freshmen 2018-2019
PPG:
1. Devon Dotson (Kansas) - 12.3
2. Talen Horton-Tucker (Iowa State) - 11.8
3. Derek Culver (West Virginia) - 11.5
4. Jared Butler (Baylor) - 10.2
5. Jaxson Hayes (Texas) - 10.0
Dziagwa averaged 11.7.
For an incoming freshmen to take his position from a scoring perspective, they would have to be a top performing freshmen in the whole conference. I am not anticipating that and I do not believe the scouting reports suggest that. Watson is physically prepared to play, but he has a lot to develop in his shooting game to average 10-12 ppg.
RPG:
1. Kevin Samuel (TCU) - 6.9
2. Jaxson Hayes (Texas) - 5.0
3. Talen Horton-Tucker (Iowa State) - 4.9
4t. Isaac Likekele (Oklahoma State) - 4.8
4t. Yor Anei (Oklahoma State) - 4.8
This is another reason I think Likekele will retain his starting spot, he is an all around player. Additionally, I think this shows some expectations on Kaleb Boone. Given he lacks the size of Anei, Samuel, and Hayes, though he is a more fluid player, I don't see him pulling in 5 boards a game. Tucker at ISU has about 30 pounds on him as a guard. I know Kaleb will get some muscle when he arrives in Stillwater, but I think it is reasonable to expect a full year or 2 before his body starts to fill out.
APG:
1. Isaac Likekele (Oklahoma State) - 3.9
2. Tyrese Haliburton (Iowa State) - 3.6
3t. Devon Dotson (Kansas) - 3.5
3t. Jamal Bieniemy (Oklahoma) - 3.5
5. Courtney Ramey (Texas) - 3.0
The Big 12 didn't have the most dominate traditional point guard play. Only 1 player (Alex Robinson at TCU) averaged more than 4 assists per game (he had 7.1). Anderson, from what I have seen, is a more modern, scoring point guard. I expect Likekele to keep his starting position for that reason as well, as we may look toward a more traditional inside-outside offense with Anei coming on strong late in the season. I think it is more likely we see Likekele & Anderson share the court at times to add more explosiveness to create some mismatches.
I think Boynton found long, athletic guys who are all really good at a thing or two, but none of them are develop players ready to leap out of the box into Big 12 starters. I think that is reading the deserved excitement for these young men and then taking it too far.