They’re all over ESPN. They are the faces of College Basketball.
“The Diaper Dandies!” as Dick Vitale would say.
All the buzz and more in this young college basketball season has been surrounding the freshmen phenoms that plan to take over the landscape of the sport for a year before bolting for the glamour and money of the NBA. Andrew Wiggins (Kansas University), Jabari Parker (Duke University) and Julius Randle (University of Kentucky), among others, have been the focus of nearly every storyline and season preview we have seen this year.
But on Nov. 19, Oklahoma State University guard Marcus Smart showed fans that the returners are just as worthy of attention as the stud freshmen.
An old guy in a sense, the sophomore made his presence known in front of a national audience on ESPN when his seventh-ranked Cowboys battled No. 11 Memphis University. Smart exploded to make 11 of 21 shots, going for 39 points and five steals.
Oklahoma State rolled the Tigers, 101-80, in front of a packed house in Stillwater, Okla. There were times during the first half where Smart had more points than the entire Memphis team, highlighted by him scoring 12 consecutive Cowboys' points that put them ahead, 29-20. The 6-foot-4, Flower Mound, Texas native scored 29 points in the first half, helping Oklahoma State to a 50-32 lead.
Not only was the game broadcast on ESPN, but Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant was sitting courtside as well. Needless to say, Durant was impressed.
Smart hardly came out of nowhere, though. In addition to earning National Freshman of the Year, Big 12 Player of the Year and Second Team All-American accolades a year ago, Smart was named a Preseason First Team All-American and Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year. He averaged 15.4 points per game in leading the Cowboys to a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament a season ago.
To the surprise of many, Smart made the decision to stick around for his sophomore year instead of becoming a sure-fire top 10 pick in the NBA Draft. The excitement grew in Stillwater for the upcoming hoops season, and thus far, Smart has not disappointed.
In January, Smart and the Cowboys will get their chance against Wiggins, the No. 1 recruit in the freshmen class, and the Kansas Jayhawks. That’s a matchup that many will have circled on their calendars, considering the two times these teams meet may help decide the Big 12 regular season champion.
This is not to say the freshmen have not made a tremendous impact this year, because they have. Parker became just the second player in Duke history to begin a season with five consecutive games of 20+ points. Considering he’s putting on a uniform that guys such as J.J. Redick, Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley and company have worn, that’s pretty impressive.
Wiggins helped the Jayhawks to a stellar second half in a 94-83 win over Parker and Duke, and ultimately a No. 2 national ranking. While coach John Calipari and Kentucky are still settling into the year with a roster full of freshmen, Randle has stood out by averaging a team-best 20.8 points per game through five contests.
What I am saying, though, is that these three especially have been all the rage for months now. From the second they signed their letters of intent, ESPN has been filled with coverage of them. Smart, a superstar who proved himself last season and is looking to build off of that, has been left in their shadows. Not only did Smart set a career high in points scored against Memphis, but he announced to the college basketball world that he’s worthy of just as much attention as anyone else.