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| Sunday, January 30 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The saying goes, "Shoot first, ask questions later."
We're still waiting for George Washington's SirValiant Brown to ask the first question. Brown currently leads the nation in scoring at 25.2 points per game, averaging an astounding 23.4 shots per game. No Colonial has taken half as many as his 421 field-goal attemps (fellow freshman Bernard Barrow is second with 193). Brown led GW in scoring in each of his first nine games, culminating in a 42-point effort against Siena. He has led the Colonials in scoring in 14 of their first 18 games. Did we mention he's also shooting a lowly 32.1 percent from the field, and 24.9 percent on his 3-pointers? Bah. Let the kid shoot. He deserves some reward for playing 36.6 minutes per night for the last-place Colonials. While not in Brown's category when it comes to shooting, Rhode Island's Zach Marbury plays a similar role for the Rams. With the ball in his hands for the majority of every URI possession (he averages 35.8 minutes per game), Marbury has more influence over the Rams' success than any other player. He has pulled his shooting numbers up after a rough start (he's up to 40 percent from the field, not bad at all for a freshman point guard), but he and the Rams are still feeling the sting of a 10-game losing streak. It's not all flash and dash when it comes to Atlantic 10 freshmen. Xavier's David West, a 6-foot-8 forward from Hargrave (Va.) Military Academy, averages nearly a double-double (10.9 points, 9.1 rebounds). Brooks Hall has put eligibility questions behind him to become a key contributor in Dayton's run to the head of the A-10 West. He's shooting an impressive 44.9 percent from behind the arc, fourth-best in the league. Statistics through Thursday, Jan. 27.
| ALSO SEE The Weekly Word on college basketball Freshman Watch Statistical breakdown of top 20 freshmen Poll results for top 10 freshmen by conference Top 10 freshmen in the Big Ten Top 10 freshmen in the Big 12 Top 10 freshmen in the SEC Top 10 freshmen in Conference USA Top 10 freshmen in the Pac-10 Top 10 freshmen in the Mountain West and WAC Top 10 freshmen in the ACC Top 10 freshmen in the Big East Top 10 freshmen in the rest of the country |