College basketball: 5 best freshmen who will define 2019-2020 season

College basketball: 5 best one-and-done players to watch in 2019-2020

ATLANTA, GA - MARCH 27: Precious Achiuwa #15 and Isaiah Stewart #33 of La Lumiere High School in Indiana smile for the camera after the 2019 McDonald's High School Boys All-American Game on March 27, 2019 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /

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MIDDLE VILLAGE, NEW YORK – APRIL 05: Cole Anthony #3 of Oak Hill Academy looks on against La Lumiere in the semifinal of the GEICO High School National Tournament at Christ the King High School on April 05, 2019 in Middle Village, New York. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images) /

Who will be this year’s Zion Williamson in college basketball? Probably no one has a chance, but these five one-and-done players have a chance.

In 2005, the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiated between the league and the player’s union established an age limit for prospects entering the draft. Previously, players were allowed to enter straight out of high school if they choose to. This new rule was the start of the “One-and-Done” era in college basketball. With players now forced to wait a year after graduating high school, most of the top prospects would attend college for their freshman season and then declare for the NBA.

15 seasons later and the rule still lives on — though there is a belief that it will be removed by 2022 — which means that we have a brand new crop of first-year players to watch for a few months before they move on to the professional level.

There have been several dominant seasons from “One-and-Done” players (Kevin Durant, Michael Beasley, Derrick Rose, Kevin Love, Ben Simmons, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Zion Williamson to name a few) but only the 2012 Kentucky Wildcats and 2015 Duke Blue Devils won the national championship while being led by freshmen.

This season, the landscape of college basketball is very open and there are several teams that have realistic shots at cutting down the nets this April. As the year progresses the development and play of the latest batch of highly-touted freshmen will have a big impact on which teams find themselves with a shot at their own One Shining Moment.

Nearly every Power 5 school has one or two newcomers that they hope are able to give them the leg up on their competitors this year. Yet, there are five that due to specific circumstances stand out more than the rest of their peers. In the following slides, we will breakdown those players and paint the picture for why their success or failure will define the upcoming NCAA season.