One of the biggest developments of the 2023-24 college basketball season was USC star freshman Bronny James making his collegiate debut last weekend less than five months after going into a cardiac arrest during a July practice. Although there was no official timetable for his return, coming back before the start of conference play is considered a massive win for James and the Trojans.
James ranked as one of the top prospects in the 2023 recruiting cycle and could make his way into these very rankings as the season develops. For now, Bronny’s teammate Isaiah Collier remains at No. 1 for the fourth consecutive week. The Trojans are on a cold streak and have lost three of their last four games, but Collier has shown in spurts why he should be considered the best player in this class.
After spending one week out of the rankings in favor of his Kentucky teammate Reed Sheppard, Wildcats guard Rob Dillingham is back in the mix after a standout performance against Penn. Kentucky big man Aaron Bradshaw — who was one of the headliners of Kentucky’s No. 1 recruiting class — got extended run for the first time this season and finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks against that very Penn team.
Bradshaw ranked as the No. 5 player by 247Sports and suffered a foot injury before the start of the season that kept him out for the first month.
Let’s jump into our rankings and get to our CBS Sports/USBWA Freshman of the Week for the the 2023-24 college basketball season
Welcome back to the Frosh Watch, our weekly ranking of the five most impressive freshmen in college basketball. CBS Sports has once again teamed up with the United States Basketball Writers Association and its Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award to present this every-Tuesday feature. Each week we’ll start by announcing the national Freshman of the Week honoree. The cycle for FOTW runs Tuesday-Monday.
The fourth Freshman of the Week of the 2023-24 season came down to a pair of SEC players: Auburn’s Aden Holloway and Kentucky’s Aaron Bradshaw. Holloway ultimately got the nod due to his standout performance against Indiana. He finished with 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting in only 22 minutes of action.
Holloway ranked as the No. 16 overall player in the 247Sports Class of 2023 rankings and his performance against Indiana could be a sign of bigger things to come. The 6-foot-1 guard started his college career on a high note against Baylor by scoring 19 points and dishing out six assists in 27 minutes. Since that performance, Holloway had failed to eclipse more than 15 points until his scoring outburst last weekend.
Auburn’s matchup against USC this weekend should prove to be a big measuring stick for both Holloway and Collier. Holloway raised his game when playing against Baylor’s Ja’Kobe Walter in that season-opener and both players will have to do the same when they face-off on Sunday.
Frosh Watch: Top five freshman rankings
1. Isaiah Collier, USC
Stats: 17.0 PPG | 4.2 APG | 3.0 RPG | 49.5 % FG
Collier did not have his best shooting performance against LBSU last weekend. The USC guard finished 5 of 15 from the floor and 5 of 12 from the free-throw line in a game that USC led by as many as 17 points before blowing that very lead and losing 84-79 in overtime. Collier still finished with 15 points, five steals, three rebounds and two assists. The assist stat may be misleading because there are multiple times in a given game (including against LBSU) where Collier sets up his teammate for a wide-open shot and they don’t convert. He has cut down on his turnovers significantly since the start of the season and has only recorded eight the last three games after averaging more than five per game.
2. Ja’Kobe Walter, Baylor
Stats: 14.9 PPG | 4.0 RPG | 1.3 SPG
Walter stuffed the stat sheet in a win over Seton Hall last week, recording 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and a block. Walter has had three 20+ point performances this season, but hasn’t recorded one since Nov. 22 against Oregon State. Baylor’s schedule is about to ramp up with games against Michigan State and Duke on the horizon and it will be a perfect opportunity to have another scoring outburst. Walter is definitely one of the best 3-point shooters in this class and is shooting 38% from beyond the arc this season.
3. Malik Mack, Harvard
Stats: 20.1 PPG | 4.4 APG | 4.0 RPG
At this point, it’s rare when Mack doesn’t put up a big scoring performance. After scoring a season-low 10 points earlier this month against Loyola Chicago, he responded with 17 points and four rebounds/assists in a win over Army. For most players in this class, that would be considered a potential career-best performance, but it’s just another day at the office for Mack. He is the only freshman in the country averaging 20+ PPG and is tied for 26th amongst all Division l players in scoring. It’s truly been a remarkable season for the former three-star recruit.
4. Rob Dillingham, Kentucky
Stats: 14.1 PPG | 4.9 APG | 4.2 RPG | 47.5% FG
Welcome back to the rankings, Rob Dillingham. The Kentucky guard replaces his teammate Reed Sheppard on this list after putting together another standout performance off the bench. After his worst game of the season against UNC Wilmington, he responded by scoring 17 points and recording two steals in only 22 minutes against Penn. Dillingham and Sheppard have been arguably the two most consistent first-year players on the Kentucky roster.
5. Cody Williams, Colorado
Stats: 14.0 PPG | 3.6 RPG | 2.0 APG | 62.3% FG
Williams made his debut to these rankings last week, but didn’t appear in Colorado’s lone game against Miami due to a wrist injury. Like UConn‘s Stephon Castle did earlier this season, Williams will get the benefit of the doubt and keep his spot in these rankings despite not appearing in any action the previous week. The brother of Oklahoma City Thunder star Jalen Williams was highly touted coming out of high school as the No. 4 overall recruit by 247Sports and showed flashes of that five-star ranking by scoring 21 points consecutively against Colorado State and Pepperdine. He should continue to become an even bigger part of Colorado’s offense going forward.
