Growing Pains: Who Will Be Premier Freshman in This Year's Overrated Class?

"Maturity is when your world opens up and you realize that you are not the center of it." - M.J. Croan

It's virtually impossible for prize prospects to live up to the hype generated by so-called experts who boast inferior historical perspectives and serve as little more than player pimps. Amid the rushes to judgment, some of the regal recruits become studs while others turn into duds. And some are somewhere in between such as the majority of this season's latest "one of the greatest classes ever" according to the predictable pedestrian press. Any fair-minded observer would have to admit that the pick of this year's litter need to up the ante significantly before inclusion among the freshmen with most impact in NCAA history.

After being coddled for so long in the AAU hip-hop atmosphere, you never know about a player's ticker coping with adversity and capacity to keep improving until setting foot on a college court and starting to consistently compete against comparable athletes. No matter his background, there is a learning curve and a mature individual along the lines that Croan describes continues to improve; especially on the defensive end of the court while also embracing a dirty, four-letter word (p-a-s-s).

Perhaps the best approach is the way new UCLA coach Steve Alford is grooming Zach LaVine, who hasn't started a game to date despite clearly being superior to the Wear twins but seems to be honing his all-round skills more than the following flawed frosh who had the vast majority of misguided media members foaming at the mouth:

• Jabari Parker, Duke - Went 2-for-10 from the floor in his first ACC road game and viewed the final 3 1/2 minutes of a close contest from the bench after being "posterized" on a white canvas from dunk by Notre Dame's Pat Connaughton. In Parker's first ACC assignment at home, he was only 4-of-12 from the floor against mediocre Georgia Tech. "Mentally fatigued" midway through a college campaign replete with mediocre non-conference opponents won't cut it at the NBA level. Hitting an anemic 30% of his first 40 field-goal attempts in ACC competition, Parker needs to assure fans he is the Blue Devils' MVP (rather than Mississippi State transfer Rodney Hood) and premier player in his family (father Sonny was SWC MVP with Texas A&M in 1974-75) before setting sights on becoming next national player of the year.

• Andrew Wiggins, Kansas - Not as good as his father (former NBA player Mitchell Wiggins averaged 23.2 ppg with Florida State), he is hitting less than one-third of his three-pointers and has compiled more turnovers than assists. Weak with the ball in traffic when soulful-strut driving against comparable athletes. Many teenagers toiling at a fast-food joint ply their boring trade with more zest than Wiggins, who occasionally plays so tentatively self-serving (AAU open-gym style-points emphasis) it looks as if he is trying to avoid an injury that would cost him dearly as a probable high NBA draft choice. Hitting 2-of-9 from the floor in his Big 12 Conference opener at Oklahoma before managing a meager three points against Oklahoma State's athleticism, he might not be the most promising freshman on his own squad (Joel Embiid from Cameroon boasts off-the-chart potential) or top yearling from Canada (Syracuse's Tyler Ennis).

• Julius Randle, Kentucky - Limited team-oriented assets helping his comrades perform at a higher level since he has yet to contribute a three-pointer and had anemic totals of two assists and two steals in seven contests covering his last four games heading into SEC play and first three league assignments.

• Aaron Gordon, Arizona - Huge upside although he has compiled nearly as many turnovers as his total of assists and steals. First order of business is getting his free-throw marksmanship above 50%. By any measure, Nick Johnson is the most influential player for the nation's top-ranked team in mid-season.

Rather than promoting me-myself-and-I ideals stemming from the "one-and-done" crowd likely attending more games than classes this semester, fans should ignore much of the lame-stream media by paying more deference to steadfast individuals who have invested four years of emotion and devotion at a single school such as seniors Keith Appling (Michigan State), Cameron Bairstow (New Mexico), James Bell (Villanova), Ben Brust (Wisconsin), Bryce Cotton (Providence), Aaron Craft (Ohio State), Dwayne Evans (Saint Louis), C.J. Fair (Syracuse), Joe Harris (Virginia), Justin Jackson (Cincinnati), Cory Jefferson (Baylor), Sean Kilpatrick (Cincinnati), Roy Devyn Marble (Iowa), Doug McDermott (Creighton), Shabazz Napier (Connecticut), Adreian Payne (Michigan State), Casey Prather (Florida), Russ Smith (Louisville), Chaz Williams (Massachusetts) and Kendall Williams (New Mexico).