Freshman Haze: Thompson & Thompson

In fantasy college basketball, February means season-ending tournaments. Most leagues try to finish up before Championship Week, which is a bit scrambled this season due to the Big 10 moving their conference tournament up a week to take advantage of Madison Square Garden. This week, we start the end game of the Freshman Haze by cleaning up with first-year players who have not been profiled in this space. Next week, we'll start the top 21 countdown of the best freshmen in the fantasy realm. Is it Marvin Bagley or Trae Young? We'll soon find out.

Ethan Thompson (G)
Thompson joined his brother, Stephen Jr., in Corvallis to become the starting backcourt for the Beavers. While Oregon State has not been an upper-half Pac-12 team, they have been competitive with the Thompson brothers. The younger Thompson is one of three Beavers averaging at least 3.0 assists to go along with 9.5 points and 4.1 rebounds. The 6-foot-5 guard has not been a consistent scoring presence, but he has scored at least 10 points 10 times, including three of his last four games. With an uptick in efficiency (36.1 percent from the field, 27.4 percent on 3-pointers), Thompson should score much more as a sophomore.

Tyler Bey (G)
McKinley Wright IV has been breakout freshman star for the Buffaloes, but Bey may be the player to watch for growth in the future. The 6-7 guard is an excellent perimeter defender and has been producing improved numbers in the second half of the season. Although the Buffaloes have lost their last three games, Bey has averaged 10.3 points on 59.1 percent from the field and 7.7 rebounds over that span. He moved into the starting lineup in the middle of Pac-12 play and probably won't be going to the bench any time soon.

Cameron Krutwig, (C), Loyola-Chicago
As noted many times before, productive freshmen centers are fantasy gold. My leagues require both a freshman and center-eligible player in the starting lineup, which are often the most difficult roster spots to cover. Krutwig has been a grower for the Ramblers. He opened the season coming off the bench, but has been a main component of Loyola's rise up the Missouri Valley standings. The team has won seven straight and in the last five games, Krutwig has averaged 15.0 points on 64.0 percent from the field and 8.8 rebounds. He has scored in double digits in all five games and nine times this season.

Jacob Rigoni (G)
Rigoni is the second freshman guard from Quinnipiac that we have profiled. He and Rich Kelly should form the backcourt of the foreseeable future for the Bobcats. Rigoni started the season coming off the bench, but had a breakout game on Dec. 4 with a season-high 20 points. Since that point, he has scored at least 10 points seven times, including five of his last six games. The 6-6 Australian is an excellent 3-point shooter and has converted 50.6 percent of his 3-pointers. Rigoni will likely move into Cameron Young's featured scoring role next year.

Frederick Scott (F)
Scott initially matriculated to DePaul. After he decided he wanted to win more than a handful of conference games, he made his way to Rider. The Broncs are leading the MAAC and the 6-8 redshirt freshman has been a big reason why. He has averaged 13.6 points and a team-leading 7.3 rebounds. Scott has cooled off in the last couple of weeks with 9.8 points and 5.6 rebounds in his last five games, but Rider has still won eight of its last nine. Scott's one bugaboo is at the free-throw line, where he is converting just 45.5 percent.

Kobe Webster (G)
The Leathernecks have fallen into the basement of the Summit League, but it looks like they have a player to build around in the 6-0 Webster. The guard leads the team with 16.6 points and is converting 40.5 percent of his 3-pointers. He has scored at least 17 points in eight straight games and topped out at 27 points in the Nov. 28 win over IUPUI. Webster contributes 4.0 assists and 3.6 rebounds as well. By winning 10 games already, Western Illinois has won at least as many games as it has in each of the last four seasons. Webster and junior center Brandon Gilbeck should help WIU even more games next season.

Hayden Koval (C)
When people talk about the Bears in 2017-18, they are usually going to focus on scoring guard Jordan Howard, who is third in the nation at 25.5 points. When Howard misses, the Bears need a big player to clean up and that player has often been the 7-0 Koval. He is second on the team with 5.2 rebounds to go along with 9.2 points and 2.9 blocks. Koval is a stretch center who has hit 35.7 percent of his 3-pointers. Like many young and aggressive defenders, Koval tends to get in foul trouble and has fouled out of four games. The Bears have won five of their last seven games and the center has averaged 11.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.9 blocks over that span.

Bubba Parham (G)
The Keydets used to be the toast of the fantasy community under former coach Duggar Baucom. VMI would routinely run up big scores, but the team has become more conventional for the past two seasons under Dan Earl. Parham is a throwback to the Baucom era in that he is a big scorer as a freshman. The 5-11 guard is leading VMI with 15.0 points to go along with 3.6 boards and 2.5 rebounds. He has scored in double digits in his last nine games, including every game against SoCon competition. Since the start of conference play, Parham has averaged 18.4 points and converted 43.9 percent of his 3-pointers.