With the advent of the transfer portal, it’d be fair to assume there are fewer opportunities for freshmen these days. And that might be true. But when I sat down to put together my list of the 10 freshmen I’m most excited to see play this season, the group quickly expanded to 15 … and then 20. Some of these players will have opportunities to impress because of the roster churn at their program and others are going to be good enough to leapfrog over older, more established players.
These 20 players — for a variety of reasons — are the 20 I’m most intrigued to see this season as they make the jump from high school (or international) ball to the NCAA.
1. JuJu Watkins
USC guard, 6-2
Sierra Canyon High School, Los Angeles
In working on this story, I talked with a bunch of college coaches. At first, my question was: “Which freshmen are going to have freshman all-American-type seasons?” I quickly needed to add: “Other than JuJu.” There seems to be a solid consensus that Watkins — the No. 1 player in the 2023 class — has the potential to live up to the hype, and many expect her to do just that. Coach Lindsay Gottlieb can, and should, give Watkins the keys to the car as they work to rebuild the Trojans into a West Coast (soon to be Big Ten?) powerhouse. Watkins will…
