Here’s everything you need to know about Kentucky’s talent level this season: The sixth-ranked Wildcats start three freshmen who were McDonald’s All-Americans — Justin Edwards, Aaron Bradshaw and DJ Wagner, who were ranked No. 3, 5 and 6 in the 2023 recruiting class — and none of them got a vote for The Athletic’s midseason freshman of the year. But a couple of guys who come off Kentucky’s bench did. Reed Sheppard was the runaway choice, and fellow super-sub Rob Dillingham finished third in the voting. Just imagine if 7-foot-2 Croatian sensation Zvonimir Ivisic had been cleared sooner by the NCAA.
This brings to mind an interesting thought exercise: Would Kentucky’s freshmen beat a team made up of all the other top freshmen in college basketball? Quite possibly. And who else would make that team? Baylor’s Ja’Kobe Walter, Duke’s Jared McCain, Iowa State’s Milan Momcilovic, Oregon’s Jackson Shelstad and Harvard’s Malik Mack — how do you like them apples?! — received all-freshman votes from our staff’s nine-person panel.
Notably absent from our ballots but certainly worthy of consideration: USC’s Isaiah Collier (15.4 ppg, 4.1 apg) and Colorado’s Cody Williams (15.4 ppg, 52 percent from 3), both of whom have missed significant time with injuries. A couple more freshmen you might not know but should: Old Dominion’s Vasean Allette, the top Canadian high school prospect in 2023, who is already one of the Sun Belt’s best players (17.4 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 3.1 apg) and New Mexico’s JT Toppin (13.4 ppg, 8.3, 1.8 blocks).
Those are impressive numbers, given the way college basketball is currently being dominated by super seniors and other veteran transfers. There are only nine freshmen in the country averaging at least 15 points this season, compared to 18 five years ago. Only eight freshmen are averaging at least seven rebounds, compared to 31 five years ago. It’s harder than ever for teenagers to make a major, instant impact, but our All-Freshman team certainly has.
It’s fair to say nobody saw this coming. Sheppard was the No. 43 prospect in 2023, per the 247Sports Composite, and he’s only started once in 18 games for the Wildcats. Which, at this point, seems a bit unbelievable. Sheppard, the son of two former UK stars, has been a revelation — and a homegrown fan favorite, to say the least — averaging 11.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.4 steals and just 1.5 turnovers while shooting 55 percent from 3-point range. That last number would lead the nation if he qualified, but somehow 4.1 attempts per game from beyond the arc is not enough. Sheppard does lead the nation in true shooting percentage (.747) and the SEC in both offensive rating and steals.
Sheppard does it all, and his box score plus/minus (plus-12.9) is first among freshmen, fifth in the NCAA. For an idea of just how ridiculous Sheppard has been, here’s the complete list of freshmen with a higher BPM in the last 15 years: Zion Williamson, Anthony Davis, Michael Beasley, Kevin Love, Chet Holmgren and Karl-Anthony Towns. That’s three No. 1 picks, two No. 2 picks and a No. 5 pick in the NBA Draft. Which is why Kentucky fans are now worried Sheppard will become a most unexpected one-and-done. Makes you wonder what a guy’s got to do to start for the Wildcats — and to earn more than 4.5 field-goal attempts per game, which he’s averaged over the last six. Kentucky has lost two of those and nearly lost another. John Calipari, let this man cook.
Ja’Kobe Walter, Baylor
Walter, a top-10 recruit in his class, wasted no time validating the hype. He poured in 28 points, made four 3-pointers and sank all 10 of his free throws in a narrow win over Auburn to begin his college career. He’s scored 20-plus six times — a third of his games so far — and leads the 15th-ranked Bears with 15.2 points per game. He’s fifth among freshmen in offensive rating and sixth in BPM (plus-7.3). With the highest usage rate on his team, Walter still rarely turns the ball over, just 18 times in 18 games (and 530 minutes). He’s made at least two 3-pointers in 10 games, shooting 37 percent from deep and 85 percent at the free-throw line. His 22-point, seven-rebound, two-steal, zero-turnover game Saturday at Texas marked just the second time this season Baylor has lost (by two points) when Walter scores in double figures.
Scott Drew just keeps reloading with talent, and both Walter and fellow prized freshman Yves Missi — another projected one-and-done draft pick — give the Bears a high ceiling come tournament time. The 6-foot-10 Missi deserves a mention in any discussion of most impactful freshmen, because while his counting stats won’t wow anyone, his advanced metrics certainly do. He’s No. 1 among freshmen in offensive rebound percentage and top-15 in BPM, block percentage and effective field-goal percentage. Missi averages 18.5 points, 11.8 boards, 3.1 blocks and 1.6 steals per 40 minutes. Baylor has probably the best tandem of freshmen outside of Lexington, Ky.

When Rob Dillingham gets on a heater, look out. (Jordan Prather / USA Today)
Rob Dillingham, Kentucky
Again, it is wild that a scorer like Dillingham comes off the bench. But when he does, he usually provides instant offense. He might be the quickest-heating microwave in college basketball. He averages 24.6 points per 40 minutes — 13.9 points, 3.8 assists, 3.1 assists per game — and most of that comes in breathtaking bursts. In his third college game, against Kansas no less, Dillingham buried four straight 3-pointers in the span of two minutes. He scored 12 points in 12 minutes in the second half of a win over North Carolina, which gave us the lasting image of former UK star John Wall dapping him up courtside while play was still in progress. He hit three straight 3s in 64 seconds to force overtime at Texas A&M.
He’s only played 25-plus minutes five times, but he’s scored at least a dozen points in 15 of 18 games. Like Sheppard, he has just the one start. To be fair, Dillingham is one of the biggest wildcards in the country, a freewheeling freshman who needs to be managed, and Calipari has done that about as well as anyone could. Having the nuclear codes is, after all, a tremendous and often frightening responsibility. There are some significant defensive concerns, as Dillingham tends to approach that end much like his offense — going completely off script a few times every game — as Missouri coach Dennis Gates said after Dillingham dropped 23 points on just seven field-goal attempts against his Tigers: “He’s probably the best isolation player in college basketball.”
Jared McCain, Duke
Like the Kentucky kids, McCain is part of a crowded freshman class in Durham, where he’s one of four top-25 recruits from 2023. But he’s the only one who has started every game and the only one scoring in double figures. He’s third on the team in points (12.1), rebounds (3.9) and 3-point percentage (.415). He leads the 12th-ranked Blue Devils in made 3s (39) and scored 21 in the team’s best win of the season against Baylor in New York before Christmas.
McCain might not be ready to consistently carry the scoring load — he scored a total of 20 points on 7-of-25 shooting in losses to Arizona, Arkansas and Georgia Tech — but he’s a perfect complementary piece when Duke is at full strength. It was not on Saturday against Pittsburgh, when starters Jeremy Roach and Mark Mitchell sat out with injuries, and McCain’s 20 points were not enough to avoid a major upset at home. But surround the talented freshman with savvy vets, which was always Jon Scheyer’s plan, and watch him shine.
Milan Momcilovic, Iowa State
Funny story about how I met your Momcilovic …
Before he blew up as a prospect, back in April 2022, the 6-foot-8 Serbian stretch four (who played his high school basketball in Wisconsin) turned a lot of heads (including Calipari’s) at a spring session of Nike’s EYBL grassroots circuit in Indianapolis. He outdueled top-10 recruits Justin Edwards and Ron Holland, going for 24 and 25 points, respectively, and made almost half his 3-point attempts. “I love playing the big names,” he told The Athletic back then. “That’s how you get noticed.” Momcilovic played for Nike’s Team Herro and was coached by the father of former UK star Tyler Herro, who hoped the Cats would go all-in recruiting him.
Instead, he signed with Iowa State — after climbing to consensus top-40 prospect status — and has started every game for the Cyclones, playing almost 31 minutes per game. He’s shooting 55 percent from 2-point range, 40 percent from 3 and 85 percent at the line, averaging 13.3 points and 3.4 boards. His career-high 19 points helped 23rd-ranked ISU beat Kansas State on Wednesday night, when Momcilovic hit four straight free throws and a clinching 3-pointer in the final two minutes to clinch it. Said coach T.J. Otzelberger: “He loves the big moment, and he continues to step up.” That includes the game-winner against then-No. 1 Houston:
WHAT A SHOT FOR THE FRESHMAN @CycloneMBB 🤯
🎥: @espn pic.twitter.com/ssNCdIHBGR
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) January 10, 2024
Stop us if you’ve heard this one: Shelstad was not even the most-hyped freshman to sign with the Ducks in 2023. Teammates Kwame Evans and Mookie Cook were both McDonald’s All-Americans, and Shelstad, a five-star prospect in his own right, was not. But he’s been terrific for Oregon. If you have not seen the 6-foot, 170-pound point guard play yet — and, look, we’d get that because Pac-12 basketball has been pretty abysmal in its swans song season so far — make it a point to do so. He’s averaging 13.6 points, 2.6 assists, 2.4 rebounds and shooting just shy of 50/40/80.
If those numbers don’t quite wow you, check out his first five Pac-12 games (all wins by the Ducks): 16.8 points, 3.4 boards, 2.4 assists, 59 percent from 3. He hung 20-plus on both USC and UCLA in his first two league games. He also hit a deep, winning 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds left in overtime to beat Michigan in his first career start. “He’s going to grow into a really good player,” coach Dana Altman said after that one. “He’s already a good player now, but I think there’s so much more in front of him.”
THE DAGGER BY THE FRESHMAN FOR THE WIN!!! 😱 🙌 @The__Future11 X @OregonMBB pic.twitter.com/DJfuNlkB6U
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) December 2, 2023
Malik Mack, Harvard
What’s not to love about a three-star point guard from Washington, D.C. just lighting up the Ivy League as a freshman? His numbers are outrageous: 18.7 points, 4.5 assists, 4.2 rebounds, 2.2 made 3s and 1.3 steals per game — shooting 42 percent from beyond the arc. Mack has the second-highest usage rate and fourth-highest assist percentage among freshmen nationally. And he’s not just terrorizing the wicked smart kids. He dropped 32 points at UMass, gave Indiana 27 at Assembly Hall, had 18, six and five at Boston College.
There have only been seven freshmen in the last 30 years who averaged at least 18, four and four, as Mack is right now, and the list includes RJ Barrett, D’Angelo Russell, Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz. Tommy Amaker said his 6-foot-1 point guard and the Crimson’s style of play were a perfect fit. “He really enjoys the system that we have, how we allow him to play. He wants that (and) he’s earned that. He’s creative, dynamic, a floor leader in addition to being an outstanding scorer. We knew what we were getting in recruiting him.”
(Voting panel: Brendan Marks, Brendan Quinn, Brian Bennett, Brian Hamilton, CJ Moore, Dana O’Neil, Justin Williams, Kyle Tucker and Tobias Bass)
More midseason coverage:
Shot Takers: And the midseason college basketball awards go to …
Midseason catch-up: Title contenders, Cinderellas, the bubble and more
Midseason All-America team: Zach Edey, R.J. Davis, Jaedon LeDee and more
Revised picks for who will win the 2024 NCAA Tournament
(Photo of Jared McCain, Reed Sheppard and Ja’Kobe Walter: Rob Kinnan / USA Today; Sam Craft and Jerry Larson / Getty Images)