Anyone who remembers Jahlil Okafor or (reaching way back to ancient times) Anthony Davis knows that freshmen can be amazing. In fact even a somewhat less celebrated one-and-done performer like Jabari Parker was both a statistical wonder and, like Okafor and Davis, a consensus first-team All-American.
But those guys all played for Kentucky or Duke, and, as detailed below, one thing we've haven't seen in the last five years is an Okafor- or Davis-level immaculate season from an elite freshman at a program other than one of the "usual suspects." For example, LSU's Ben Simmons earned some All-American nods on his way to being the No. 1 overall pick, yet a season in which the Tigers missed the NCAA tournament and where SEC player of the year honors went to Kentucky's Tyler Ulis was, often as not, termed "disappointing."Living up to the hype as an elite freshman is very difficult. And, apparently, one thing that's even more difficult is living up to that hype for a team that stands just outside the very top echelon of college basketball.
This is the tendency that an extraordinary talent like Washington's Markelle Fultz will be going against this season at Washington.