Pac-12 Basketball: 5 biggest takeaways from 2019 recruiting classes

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 08: A Pac-12 basketball logo is displayed on the court after a quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 basketball tournament between the Stanford Cardinal and the UCLA Bruins at T-Mobile Arena on March 8, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bruins won 88-77. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

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MARIETTA, GA – MARCH 25: Nico Mannion and Josh Green attend the 2019 Powerade Jam Fest on March 25, 2019 in Marietta, Georgia. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images for Powerade) /

1. Pac-12 will be led by freshmen

The lack of impact freshmen in the Pac-12 certainly played a role in the conference’s struggles a year ago. Of the top 26 scorers in the league, only two (Luguentz Dort and Louis King) were actually freshmen. Based on who’s coming in, expect that to be very different.

Arizona Basketball has a ball-handling phenom in Nico Mannion coming to the Pac-12 along with fellow five-star wing Josh Green. With sophomore Brandon Williams out for the season, look for these two to lead the team in scoring this upcoming season. The same should go for Washington, who has a pair of five-star bigs (more on them later) to replace all of the talent they lost this offseason.

Another team with star frontcourt freshmen pieces are the USC Trojans, who have Isaiah Mobley and Onyeka Okongwu. And with the late pickup of N’Faly Dante, Oregon has another forward to join fellow five-star big man CJ Walker. They’re young but the Pac-12 could have one of the best collection of big men in the country next season.

Overall, the Pac-12 landed eight of the top-40 overall players in the 2019 class and it will become nine when Addison Patterson makes his decision. After just reclassifying to this recruiting class, his final four includes four Pac-12 programs. Another talented freshman that should make an impact for 2019-20.

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