Instant Success?: Frosh Phenom Fultz Didn't Guarantee Better W-L Record

Don't believe everything you hear. Complicating the high-expectations transition for freshmen phenoms are misguided rush-to-judgment comments from experts such as Dick Vitale who hype recruits beyond reason during their senior season in high school. According to the effervescent ESPN analyst, Delray Brooks (Indiana/Providence) was going to be the next Oscar Robertson, Tito Horford (Louisiana State/Miami FL) was going to be the next Hakeem Olajuwon, Jeff Lebo (North Carolina) was going to be the next Jerry West, ad nauseam. Brooks, Horford and Lebo went on to become fine college players, but the only historical basketball byproduct they had in common with the Big O, the Dream and Mr. Clutch was they played in the same half century.

Freshmen played varsity college basketball in wartime years during the 1940s and early '50s because of manpower shortages, and at earlier times when eligibility requirements were lax. But for the most part prior to the 1972-73 campaign, colleges fielded freshman teams requiring extra scholarships and operating expenses. Consequently, the introduction of freshman eligibility trimmed costs and, of course, gave eager coaches instant access to high school phenoms who are immediately placed under the glare of the spotlight to help keep elite programs on a pedestal or possibly give struggling teams a chance to climb the ladder of success.

Former Marquette coach Al McGuire coined the phrase: "The best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores." But McGuire's clever message came before the "one-and-done" era. Brandon Ingram (Duke) and Ben Simmons (LSU) went 1-2 in the 2016 NBA draft despite failing to boost their college teams to any significant improvement. Washington's Markelle Fultz followed suit in less-than-instant-success category this year after the Huskies were 19-15 last season. North Carolina State's Dennis Smith Jr. also joined the following list of acclaimed freshmen such as Ingram and Simmons losing at least 10 games in their inaugural campaign while failing to guide their schools to better record than they compiled the previous season: