But then he found three freshmen who changed his mind. Drew Gooden, Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich restored Williams' faith, and now they're powering the Jayhawks to the top of the Big 12.

Williams isn't the only Big 12 coach to land a prized class. Melvin Watkins has his own group of stellar freshmen at Texas A&M, leading the Aggies out of mediocrity. Bernard King has the name for big-time fame, and now he's developing the game as the conference's No. 10 scorer.

Texas A&M hadn't beaten a ranked opponent in 13 years until King sank two free throws in the final nine seconds to clinch a win over No. 12 Oklahoma State.

Watkins' young talent doesn't stop with King. Jamaal Gilchrist and Larry Scott are the team's third- and fourth-leading scorers, respectively. If these players keep developing at this rate, the Aggies' five-year postseason drought could be coming to an end.

Colorado has a pair of bookend big men in Stephane Pelle and Richard Fox. Those two could have some epic battles with Gooden and Collison at Kansas over the next few years.

Kareem Rush and Andre Williams came in with big reputations, but their progress has been slowed by suspensions stemming from accepting extra benefits from their AAU coach. Williams just returned to Oklahoma State, and Rush is due back for Missouri on Jan. 29.

Faith? Putting it in the hands of freshmen can be dangerous, but a few Big 12 teams are reaping the rewards of taking that chance.

Statistics through Monday, Jan. 25.

Player	School	Comment
Nick Collison	Kansas	Chalk 'em up: 10.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg
Richard Fox	Colorado	8.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 50.4% FG
Jamaal Gilchrist	Texas A&M	Stat man: 8.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 3.9 apg
Drew Gooden	Kansas	Leads Jayhawks at 7.5 rpg
Bernard King	Texas A&M	Leads team at 16.3 ppg, 33.8 mpg
Stephane Pelle	Colorado	Teams with Fox for impressive front line
Hollis Price	Oklahoma	6.2 ppg, 23.3 mpg, shooting 41.9% 3s
Kareem Rush	Missouri	Averaged 10.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg in 8 games
Larry Scott	Texas A&M	Key member of Aggies' turnaround
Andre Williams	Oklahoma St.	5.2 rpg in 10 games