This first weekend of conference play in 2024 is in the books. There were winners, losers, standout performances and upsets — the whole nine yards.
Despite this freshman class being unpredictable at times, there has been a level of consistency near the top. USC star guard Isaiah Collier has been under a microscope this season because that’s what happens when you’re the top-ranked high school player playing in college. Collier and USC have struggled at times, but appear to be back on the right track after a pair of wins to open up the new year.
And then there’s the Kentucky freshman. That unit led by Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard has been far and away the best collective group of first-year players in the sport. Between big man Aaron Bradshaw knocking down a clutch 3-pointer near the end of the game against Florida and Sheppard knocking down clutch free throws down the stretch, it’s clear there’s become an even greater level of trust between them and coach John Calipari.
Let’s jump into our rankings and get to our CBS Sports/USBWA Freshman of the Week for the the 2023-24 college basketball season
Freshman of the Week: PJ Haggerty, Tulsa
Welcome back to the Frosh Watch, our weekly ranking of the five most impressive freshmen in college basketball. CBS Sports has once again teamed up with the United States Basketball Writers Association and its Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award to present this every-Tuesday feature. Each week we’ll start by announcing the national Freshman of the Week honoree. The cycle for FOTW runs Tuesday-Monday.
Entering the transfer portal and enrolling at Tulsa was the best possible decision Haggerty could’ve made. After appearing in only six total games for TCU last season, Haggerty found a new home at Tulsa. Through the first two months of the season, Haggerty has been Tulsa’s leading scorer and is coming off a 27 point performance against Memphis and 17…
..
