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| Sunday, January 30 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Multi-talented freshmen were all the rage last season in Conference USA, with DePaul's Quentin Richardson and South Florida's B.B. Waldon leading the youth movement.
Now sophomores, Richardson and Waldon are up to their old tricks. But a new kid is doing a remarkable impression -- Houston's George Williams. The 6-foot-8 forward from Sugar Land, Texas, paces the Cougars in rebounding (8.8 per game, fourth-best in C-USA), field-goal percentage (51.3), minutes played (35.8) and steals (1.8). He's third on the team in scoring at 14.1 points per game and has shown the ability to hit from outside, making 8 of 18 3-pointers. Cincinnati is also benefiting from an influx of talent. DerMarr Johnson and Kenny Satterfield give the Bearcats a perimeter threat to go with Kenyon Martin inside. Johnson, who at 6-9 causes matchup problems for every shooting guard he plays, can hurt you from the arc or with a deft mid-range game, using the backboard on an assortment of pull-up jumpers or taking his opponent off the dribble. With so many weapons at his disposal, it's no wonder Satterfield is leading the conference in assists despite not starting one of the Bearcats' first 19 games. His deft passing is one of the reasons why Cincy is shooting 49.3 percent from the floor as a team, tops in the league. DePaul's luck with freshmen didn't dry up after last year's class of Richardson, Bobby Simmons and Lance Williams. Seven-footer Steven Hunter saw extensive time early in the season when Williams was out with an injury, and now teams with the 6-9 sophomore to give the Blue Demons one of the most rugged frontcourts in the league. DePaul outrebounds its opponents by an average of 10.4 boards per game, far and away the best in C-USA. Statistics through Tuesday, Jan. 25.
| ALSO SEE The Weekly Word on college basketball Freshman Watch Statistical breakdown of top 20 freshmen South: Secret to Cincy's success Poll results for top 10 freshmen by conference Top 10 freshmen in the Big 12 Top 10 freshmen in the Big Ten Top 10 freshmen in the SEC 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 Atlantic 10 Top 10 freshmen in the Big East Top 10 freshmen in the rest of the country AUDIO/VIDEO Steve Hunter puts down a hard two-handed slam in the paint. avi: 703 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 |