College Basketball: Top 20 impact freshmen midway through 2022-23 season

One storyline in College Basketball this season has been the impact, or lack thereof from the entire freshmen class. There usually are several that are making All-American cases for their respective teams. But seeing programs such as Duke, Kentucky, and other notables having issues has highlighted the perils of having freshmen being the lead scorers in the transfer portal era.

There still has been a number of first-year players having an impact all over College Basketball, including a few on top-5 ranked teams. Here’s a power ranking of the top 20 freshmen in terms of not just production but also true impact on their respective teams’ winning and losing.

Honorable Mention: Micah Handlogten – Marshall Thundering Herd

Marshall went from winning 12 games last season to 17-5 in the Sun Belt and near the top of the standings, thanks to the play of 7’1 center Handlogten, who leads the conference with 11.0 rpg (7th nationally). They have two elite guards in Taevion Kinsey and Andrew Taylor but the presence of the freshman big man has been huge in the team’s rebuild.

HM: Cam Whitmore – Villanova Wildcats

The five-star freshman has largely been the reason why Villanova has been competitive in the Big East in down years. After missing most of the non-conference with an injury, the 6’7 wing is third on the team with 12.5 ppg and 5.2 rpg, including 26 points against Xavier.

HM: GG Jackson – South Carolina Gamecocks

The Gamecocks aren’t very good, now at 1-7 in SEC play, which severely affects him in this piece. But Jackson has been as good as advertised, leading the team with 16.1 ppg and 6.9 rpg. Jackson has been in double figures in all but two games this season, including a 30-point effort against Auburn.