Editor's note: The 2016-2017 college basketball season will be the "Year of the Freshmen," featuring what could be the best class we've ever seen. Over the next two weeks, we will get familiar with the best of the best, examining who they are and where each of the top 10 prospects in the 2016 ESPN 100 came from.
Read more: No. 10 Duke's Frank Jackson
| No. 9 Kentucky's Malik Monk
No. 8 Michigan State's Miles Bridges | No. 7 Washington's Markelle Fultz
No. 6 Kentucky's De'Aaron Fox | No. 5 Kentucky's Bam Adebayo
No. 4 UCLA's Lonzo Ball | No. 3 Duke's Jayson Tatum
No. 2 Kansas' Josh Jackson | No. 1 Duke's Harry Giles
Markelle Fultz's story is well-known at this point. He was cut from his varsity team at DeMatha Catholic (Maryland) as a sophomore, then blew up during his junior season and moved into five-star status as a senior. As he enters his freshman season at Washington, Fultz is considered one of the best guards in the country and a potential one-and-done NBA lottery pick. Coach Lorenzo Romar has a special talent on his hands.
Freedom in the offense
Romar and Washington have consistently done well with high-scoring guards. Last season, the Huskies had Andrew Andrews at 20.9 points per game and Dejounte Murray at 16.1 points; the year before it was Andrews and Nigel Williams-Goss checking in at 15-plus points per game. Tony Wroten, Isaiah Thomas, the list goes on. Fultz is next in that group.
With Andrews and Murray gone, Fultz will have the ball in his hands as much as he wants -- and in Romar's offense, that could be a lot.
"They play a lot of spread, one-on-one basketball," one Pac-12 coach said. "It's always a high-tempo, fast-paced game. They don't run a lot of plays, but what they have their bigs do is offensive rebound aggressively. Lots of possessions. Their guards are very much scoring guards that thrive in one-on-one settings."
Among the top freshmen entering college basketball in the major conferences, there's a case to be made that Fultz will lead the entire class in scoring.
"He scores it at all three levels," one coach said. "His shot has gotten better. Romar has had success with guys that can make shots, and Fultz is a better shooter than Murray."
Smooth for his size
Even before Fultz catapulted into the top 10 nationally, two things stood out: how smooth he was getting to the rim and his 6-foot-4 size at the point guard spot. Fultz is not explosive with the ball in his hands, but his ability to change speeds and get by his defender was second to none in the 2016 recruiting class. Moreover, he was able to finish in the lane because of his size.
"With his size, he's going to be able to make shots on smaller guards in college, especially teams that switch," one coach said. "If you're going to switch 1 through 3 [point guard through small forward] against Washington, you're going to risk having a smaller guard on him. He should have his success using his height and length and ability to shoot."
While Fultz getting cut from his varsity team makes for a good story, it also gave him a chip on his shoulder in the latter portion of his high school career.
"He's tough," one scout said. "Those intangibles suit him for the next level."
Shouldering the load
Washington lost its top three players from a season ago, and most of the offense will now fall to Fultz. That should be great for his individual numbers, but it's unclear if the Huskies are good enough as a team to make the NCAA Tournament.
Moreover, from day one, the pressure will be on Fultz to carry the team.
"It's hard for freshman point guards," one scout said. "Does he shoot it well enough? Make him play in the half court. Mix it up defensively. Make these guys have to think and play in the half court."
Fultz will also have to do more than score if Washington is going to take the next step.
"The talent is there, and the way they play, he's going to score," one coach said. "He has to play the other end, though. You have to be committed to playing both ends. And offensively, he has to understand defenses are going to zero on him."