Every year there are always a handful of freshmen who shoot up on mock draft boards, but rarely do we see this many freshmen leading their teams into March Madness. As we get ready for the big dance we wanted to take a look at the freshmen that caught our eye the most this year.

Jalen Suggs - Gonzaga

Suggs was a two-sport starter when playing for the Minnehaha Academy, as he was chosen as both the Minnesota Boys Basketball and Football Player of the Year for the 2019-20 season -- he averaged 23.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.9 steals per game in his final season with Minnehaha (27 appearances), carrying the Redhawks to a 24-3 record in his final high school season before departing for Gonzaga.

He has maintained a high level of performance with the Bulldogs and has undoubtedly been one of the best freshmen this year. Suggs, who is projected to be a lottery pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, is averaging 13.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game in his first -- and possible lone -- year at the college level. He has shown flashes of greatness and seems more than ready to take his game to the next level, although he’d probably want to close out the year winning the National Championship with the Bulldogs. 

With an undefeated record this year Suggs has made Gonzaga the best moneyline pick of the year. Will this star studded team led by freshman Suggs be able to keep that undefeated record throughout March Madness? 

Hunter Dickinson

7'1"   -   C   -   2020

Hunter Dickinson - Michigan

Dickinson has been one of the most dominant big men in college basketball this season playing for the Michigan Wolverines, but he has been dominant in the past as well. He spent his high school career with DeMatha Catholic High School, averaging 18.1 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.1 blocks per game for the Stags in his final year while winning the Maryland Basketball Player of the Year for the 2019-20 season -- he also carried DeMatha to a 30-3 record and the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Tournament championship this past season.

Dickinson is touted as a threat on both ends of the court for the Wolverines and his first year at the college ranks has done nothing but certify his potential, as he has averaged 14.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 0.9 assists per game while anchoring the pain on both sides of the ball for the Wolverines. With those stats it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to see Dickinson be a consensus pick for All American his first year at the college level. Michigan is one of the top favorites to go all the way in the NCAA Tournament and it remains to be seen whether Dickinson will choose to make the jump to the NBA straight away as a “one-and-done”, but he has done enough at the college level to believe he can also perform at the next level.

Evan Mobley

6'11"   -   C   -   2020

Evan Mobley - USC
Mobley won the California Basketball Player of the Year for the 2019-20 season while playing for the Rancho Christian School and was a dominant force on both ends of the court, as he averaged 20.5 points, 12.2 rebounds, 5.2 blocks and 4.6 assists per game in his final high school year. He also led the Eagles to a 22-8 record and the Open Division playoffs in his final high school year, but he was also a member of the gold medal-winning 2019 USA Basketball Men’s U19 World Cup Team. Mobley’s accolades do not stop there, though -- he has been selected to play in the McDonald's All-American Game, the Jordan Brand Classic and the Nike Hoop Summit, and was a finalist for the Naismith High School Boys Basketball Player of the Year trophy. With such a lofty resume, the expectations were sky-high for Mobley as a freshman while playing for the Trojans -- but he responded to that by carrying USC on both ends of the court while averaging 16.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.9 blocks, 2.1 assists and 0.9 steals per game as a freshman. Mobley is expected to be a “one-and-done” and the people who make expert picks have been touting Mobley to be a lottery pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, while also drawing comparisons to players such as LaMarcus Aldridge and Chris Bosh.

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He was one of two players in Division I to post two triple-doubles. Smith is the fifth player in ACC history – first freshman and first to do it against two league opponents – to record a pair of triple-doubles in a single season. Virginia great Ralph Sampson was the only other freshman to record a triple double in the ACC.

Smith was named freshman of the year by the league — the program's first since Hawkeye Whitney shared the award in 1977 — as well as ACC newcomer of the year by the AP. He led all ACC freshmen in scoring (18.1), led the league in assists (6.2) and ranked second in steals (1.9).

The 6-foot-3 point guard did it in his first full season back from a major knee injury suffered shortly before his senior year of high school, an injury that led him to enroll a semester early in January 2016 to focus on his rehab before making his playing debut that November.

Smith said he planned to complete his college degree.

The high point was his dominating 32-point performance during the Wolfpack's first win at Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium since 1995. He also had triple-doubles against Virginia Tech (27 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) and Syracuse (13 points, 11 rebounds 15 assists), while his 16 assists against Rider in December were tied for the most in any Division I game this year.

Still, the losses piled up. The Wolfpack (15-17, 4-14 ACC) lost five games by at least 24 points after being picked to finish sixth in the preseason, a prediction based largely on Smith's arrival. Although just a pit stop for Smith, his time in Raleigh will not soon be forgotten and his future in the NBA could be a special one. Keep your eyes locked on draft day, we'll all be watching and wishing Dennis the best!

**Information for these articles provided by newsobserver.com & USAToday.com.

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If you enjoyed watching Jabari Paker, Joel Embiid and athletic freak Zach LaVine throw down ridiculous open dunks at NBA Draft Workouts then you will probably enjoy watching arguably the most athletic freak of the draft class throwing down between the leg dunks off 1 dribble and even shooting 3-pointers.

via Sports Illustrated

SI.com: What position do you see yourself playing?

Gordon: "I see myself as a forward. I see myself as a basketball player. Obviously, you have to play a position in the NBA, but I'm going to do a little bit of everything. Post up, hit jumpers, go by people. I'm going to do it all. I'm confident that I can play both the three and four."

If you need a reminder of how freakish the Arizona Wildcat is and why some label him Blake Griffin 2.0 then check these out.

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Via CityLeagueHoopsTV Jabari Parker 2014 NBA Draft Workout in Los Angeles. Jabari Parker showed that he is in great shape with his very impressive NBA Draft Workout in front of representatives from every NBA team on Friday.

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Zach Lavine shocked a lot of scouts at the NBA Draft combine when they witnessed him finish first in the lane agility drill and show off his athleticism and 41.5" vert by throwing down contest worthy dunks with ease.

How much ease you ask?

Watch the former Ballislife All-American Dunk Contest winner throw down 4 dunks including a head at the rim windmill and between the legs dunk as if he was doing left and right hand layups.

Not shown in these videos is his serious range on his jumper.  I'm betting you will see plenty of it next year.

BONUS VIDEO: 2013 Ballislife All-American Dunk Contest

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Main Music: Final Triumph
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2 days after a picture of Andrew Wiggins showing off his vert went viral, 6'8" Aaron Gordon showed off his impressive vert at the NBA Draft Combine with a 39 inch max jump - 9th among prospects. Markel Brown and Jahii Carson tied for 1st place with 43.5 inches. On the standing vert leap, Gordon was 11th at 32.5 inches.

Although the video above of Gordon jumping will get all the YouTube views, he was more impressive in the shuttle run drill with a time of 2.76 - good enough for 1st among all prospects.?2013 Ballislife All-American alumni and dunk contest winner Zach Lavine was second with 2.8 seconds.?Lavine also placed first in the lane agility drill and Gordon was the only big man in the top 10 (7th).

If you were wondering who had the NBA Draft combine record for vertical leap, it's D.J. Stephens who showed off his 46-inch vert last year. ?Stephen's record broke Kenny Gregory's 45.5 inch record set back in 2001.

If you were wondering how do these numbers stack against the best leapers in NBA history then check out this list which is composed of NBA players with their highest reported vertical. ?These were not all done at a draft combine. ?Some were from pre-draft camps, others reported in books, others in news reports, team reports, etc. ?So take them with a grain of salt because you will find conflicting numbers. ?For example, Jordan had a reported 45.76" vert in college and the Bulls said he had 42 and other reports have him at 48.

• Michael Jordan - 48 inches
• Jason Richardson - 46 inches
• James White - 46 inches
• Spudd Webb - 46 inches
• Gerald Green - 45 inches
• LeBron James - 44 inches
• Nate Robinson - 44 inches
• Tracy McGrady - 43 inches
• Vince Carter - 43 inches
• Jamario Moon - 43 inches
• Steve Francis - 43 inches
• Dr J - 43 inches
• JR Rider - 41 inches
• Shawn Kemp - 41 inches
• Derrick Rose - 40 inches
• Kobe Bryant - 38 inches

Back to Gordon...

Watching him clear the rack doesn't surprise us at all. We have been recording him since his early days in high school and have witnessed him do a lot more impressive things. ?Here's a few of those things during his senior year and against Andrew Wiggins in the McDonalds Dunk Contest.

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Here's how Zach ranked in testing among all 53 participants:
Lane Agility (#1 - 10.42 seconds)
Shuttle Run (#2 - 2.8 seconds)
Max Vert (#3 - 41.5")
Standing Vert (#4 - 33.5")
Sprint (#8 - 3.9 seconds)

via NBADraft Twitter

It's a bird... It's a plane.. it's @ZachLaVine in the sky w/ his head at the rim about to throw down at #NBACombine pic.twitter.com/rSXANGQhVm

— NBA Draft (@NBADraft) May 16, 2014

 

Ricky O'Donnell of SB Nation wrote: "LaVine is the draft's most intriguing piece of clay, a player with every tool you'd ever want out of an NBA guard, but one that doesn't quite know how to use all of them just yet. On a court with a group of flawed players considered fringe pro prospects at best, LaVine is the show everyone must see. As he flies up and down the court and defies the constructs of gravity with a fluidity few possess, it's easy to daydream about what he might one day become." READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

Here's a video of Zach's Max Vertical Jump:

Zach's Ballislife Mixtape:

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