Freshman of influence

By David Sole -- sportsnet.ca

College basketball is in full flight as we're just six weeks away from Selection Sunday and nine weeks away from the Final Four in New Orleans. There is just one undefeated team left --the Murray State Racers (anyone see that one coming?) who are now 20-0 and a trio of one loss teams -- Syracuse, Missouri and Kentucky all trying to compile wins in order to lock down a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. After Syracuse's loss on Saturday at Notre Dame, Kentucky reclaimed the No. 1 ranking atop both the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. After losing six underclassmen to the NBA in the past two seasons, John Calipari added six new freshman to the mix and after 20 games, the results have been impressive. Indiana is back on the map after a three -year slump. These three freshman have had a huge impact so far this season.

ANTHONY DAVIS - FORWARD, KENTUCKY

Kentucky is 20-1 and a favourite to return to the Final Four for a second straight year thanks to the play of forward Anthony Davis. With Davis scoring, rebounding and blocking shots, the Wildcats haven't skipped a beat since losing Brandon Knight to the NBA after just one season in the Bluegrass State. Davis, a 6-10 post presence from Chicago has already broken Kentucky's single-season blocked shot record, a feat he accomplished after just 19 games. He has 98 blocks in 21 games, 4.7 per game which is good enough to lead the entire nation. Not bad for a freshman.

Davis is a monster on defence, but he's also contributing to the Wildcats high-powered offence. He has 10 double-doubles (points-rebounds) already and is fifth in the nation in field-goal percentage (63%). Davis made his presence felt early in Kentucky's second game of the season against 11th-ranked Kansas at Madison Square Garden. Against the Jayhawks, Davis' line read 14 points, six rebounds and seven blocks. The Wildcats beat the Jayhawks by 10. Davis is also pulling down 10.3 rebounds a game, tops on his team and second in the SEC but his most memorable moment came on December 3rd against fifth-ranked North Carolina. With the Tar Heels trailing by one in the final seconds, Davis swatted away a shot attempt by John Henson and then grabbed the rebound and the clock ran out preserving the win. Davis also came up big in Kentucky's other huge game against hated in-state rival Louisville on December 31st. After a quiet first half due to foul trouble, Davis scored 18 points in the second half and hauled down 10 rebounds and 6 blocks in a seven-point win over the Cardinals, who were ranked fourth at the time. The question remains will Davis be one and done like so many of Calipari's previous freshman?

MICHAEL KIDD-GILCHRIST - FORWARD, KENTUCKY

Kidd-Gilchrist is the youngest player on Kentucky's roster. At just 18 years of age, the former McDonald's All American is one of the main reasons why Kentucky is the top team in the nation. The 6-7 forward from Somerdale, NJ is second on the Cats in rebounds (7.6), field-goal percentage (50%) and minutes and is tied for second in scoring (13.2). He has started every game this season and his best performances have come in some of Kentucky's biggest wins. In his second game in a Wildcat uniform, Kidd-Gilchrist had 12 points and nine rebounds in the win over Kansas. He had 17 points and 11 rebounds in the win over North Carolina, 18 and nine against Indiana (their only loss of the season) and season highs of 24 points and 19 rebounds in the big win over Louisville. Like Davis, Kidd-Gilchrist may also land in the NBA next season. He is an excellent defender and his seven-foot wingspan and athleticism are well known by NBA scouts. They also like his hustle, maturity and leadership. Kidd-Gilchrist became the leader of the Wildcats early on. Near the start of the season he convinced some of his teammates to meet early at the UK practice facility to shoot around before heading off to class. The sessions gradually grew larger and larger resulting in as many as eight UK players showing up. The sessions came to be known as the "Breakfast Club." Not too many freshmen become the leaders of their team. But Kidd-Gilchrist definitely hasn't had it easy. His father was murdered when he was just two years old and then on the day he signed his letter of intent to play for Kentucky, his uncle Darrin Kidd died. A few months later Gilchrist added the name "Kidd" as a tribute to his uncle. There's a good chance Kidd-Gilchrist will become another one-year phenom of Coach Cal'swho makes an early exit to the NBA.

CODY ZELLER - CENTRE, INDIANA

The past three seasons haven't been kind to Indiana head coach Tom Crean. In his first three seasons in Bloomington, the once-proud Hoosiers had endured a record of 28-66, not to mention a pathetic 8-46 record in the Big Ten. Many of those growing pains could be attributed to the fact the Hoosiers had been placed on probation thanks to former head coach Kelvin Sampson's sanctions. Things got so ugly that Crean had to hold tryouts for walk-ons because they were short players.

Then on Nov. 11, 2010, Crean got the news that would turn his team and his future around -- Indiana Mr. Basketball Cody Zeller announced he was staying home and enrolling at IU. He has changed the entire dynamic of the once-mighty Indiana basketball program. Zeller made his presence felt in his very first game at Assembly Hall scoring 16 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists and 2 blocks in just 27 minutes. Zeller is the main reason the Hoosiers got off to their best start since the 1976 undefeated season. The big man leads the team in scoring (15.1 pts), rebounding (6.4) and blocks (1.5) and is third in the NCAA in field goal percentage (65.9%). Indiana finally has their first legitimate centre in a long time.

You may recognize the name Zeller, his older Tyler is a senior starter at North Carolina and his oldest brother Luke played at Notre Dame. Cody followed in his brothers footsteps in being named the prestigious Indiana Mr. Basketball. The 6-11 inside threat is from nearby Washington, IN, (about 100 kilometres southwest of Bloomington) has helped Indiana become the top three-point shooting team in the country. Zeller hasn't attempted a single three-pointer this season but because of the attention he attracts with his inside game, his teammates are often left open on the perimeter to knock down shots.

Crean likes to tell people that Zeller leads the team in deflections which is the coaches way of measuring defensive effort. Zeller, who has put on 20 pounds of muscle since coming to IU, was forced to guard Ohio State All-American Jared Sullinger on New Year's Eve. His newly-added bulk came in handy that day. All the freshman did was hold Sullinger to just three field goals in IU's upset of the Buckeyes. Zeller has been a consistent scorer all season and has at least 14 points in six of the Hoosiers last seven games. In December, the Hoosiers celebrated a rare feat with wins over No. 1-ranked Kentucky and No. 2 Ohio State. It was the first time an Indiana team has knocked off the top two-ranked teams in the same season. Zeller is a good bet to remain at Indiana for more than one season. He says he was lured to Bloomington by Indiana's business program as much as their basketball program.

Next week: Duke's Austin Rivers and Canada's young guns Kevin Pangos and Myck Kabongo.