The 2016-17 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
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Edrice "Bam" Adebayo's reputation matters. He's a star now.
That's why the new, 6-foot-10, 260-pound Kentucky Wildcats big man seems sheepish when asked to reveal his favorite song by the pop star he admires. There's nothing tough about Katy Perry.
"Hmmm, that's a tough one," said Adebayo, as he considered his favorite Perry songs. " 'Last Friday Night.' ... I just heard a song, and I just liked Katy Perry ever since. I became a little fan of Katy Perry. I'm not that die-hard, but it's like, when you're in a good mood because her music is always [upbeat]. I got it on shuffle."
The freshman's surprising affinity for the California pop star isn't the only quirk of his ebullient personality. And it all starts with his name.
One crushing handshake from Adebayo proves his nickname fits. His mother, Marilyn Blount, called him "Bam" after a 1-year-old Adebayo flipped a coffee table while watching "The Flintstones."
His talent and brawn carried him to the top of the recruiting rankings and NBA draft boards. His eclectic nature, however, made him the gravitational force who has already captured the heart of Big Blue Nation as the team's new big man and even bigger personality.
"They were all open arms with everybody," Adebayo said of his attraction to Kentucky. "If you come in here, you're coming here to get business done. It's not just to joke around. ... I love to joke."
After his teammates made an appearance at John Calipari's charity softball game in August, where fans sought selfies with him, Adebayo smiled and stared at former Kentucky star Nerlens Noel.
Noel saw him and froze, too.
Adebayo leaned and held his arms out, still grinning. Noel did the same before the two embraced like old friends in the middle of the ballpark.
"What's up, man?!" Noel yelled.
The gregarious big man attracts attention, not only because of his size but because of his lighthearted demeanor. Basketball is serious for Adebayo. Life outside of basketball? Not so much.
It wasn't always that way. He was a shy kid in his hometown of Little Washington, North Carolina. Adebayo shrunk in crowds and preferred to say less. He'd joke with his mom and close friends. The rest of the world rarely saw that side of the imposing center, though.
Then, he decided to change and open up to outsiders as he traveled the country as an emerging talent on the national AAU scene. Maybe he'd use his basketball gifts to come out of his shell.
"As I started getting better and I had to go places and meet new people, there were times where you just couldn't' keep to yourself," he said. "You had to speak to people."
By the time he left Northside High School in Pinetown, North Carolina, before his senior season to enroll at High Point Christian Academy in High Point, North Carolina, 200 miles from his hometown to face better competition, the "mama's boy" had enlarged his social circle by talking up anyone he met. He used the same tactic to make new friends at High Point.
"He's not a tough guy to spot out when you get there," said Ben Robertson, Adebayo's high school teammate at High Point and a freshman guard at Bucknell. "He handled it really well. He knew everybody's name."
Adebayo led his team to the state title game during his senior season. He excelled off the court, too. The honor-roll student and McDonald's All American who averaged 18.9 points and 13 rebounds per game as a senior at High Point also joined the school's poetry club that year.
And he urged his teammates to accept his wide-ranging musical palette.
They'd all spend hours together listening to Adebayo's diverse playlists and wisecracks about everyone in the room.
"He's a happy guy," Robertson said.
He brought his easygoing ways to Lexington, where he will crack jokes off the floor and embarrasses opponents when he's on the court.
He enters the season as the No. 5 freshman in college basketball's incoming class, per RecruitingNation. The young man who dunked for the first time in sixth grade is a projected lottery pick on nearly every mock draft board.
He made 65 percent of his shots inside the arc as a senior. He can post up like a traditional big man. He can also put the ball on the floor and play in space.
"A motor, somebody who just doesn't give up on plays," Adebayo said of his playing style. "It's just always been me. I've just never liked giving up on anything. It's a bunch of us. We got our dogs on the team. Just like, the other dude in front of you, it's personal. You take everything personal when you're on the court."
Added Kentucky guard Malik Monk: "He's a dog, too. It's crazy. Having the presence of Bam down there, knowing if you get beat off the dribble somebody is back there to block it or if you get stuck in the air on offense, you can just throw it up, he'll catch it. Then if he's posting up, [opponents] can't help down because if you help down, he's gonna kick it out and we've got shooters. He just spaces the floor way more."
Kentucky lacked that big-bodied athlete last season. Calipari had Karl-Anthony Towns in 2015 and Julius Randle in 2014. Without a mobile, physical center to stop him, Indiana's Thomas Bryant scored 19 points (6-for-6 inside the arc) during Indiana's second-round victory over Kentucky in the NCAA tournament.
That shouldn't be a problem this season with Adebayo on the roster. The freshman says he admires Randle's "aggression and passion" and hopes to emulate some of the outstanding bigs Kentucky has produced under Calipari.
"[The Kentucky coaches] really want to see kids succeed," Adebayo said. "You can't go wrong with how they do things here. You look on the wall and it's a lot of [players] that fulfilled their dreams and I'm just trying to be the next."
Adebayo nursed an ankle injury throughout the summer and only recently returned to practice at full speed. He's still getting in shape, Calipari said. But he scored 13 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked a shots in last week's exhibition win over Clarion.
"Bam is a beast," Calipari said.
And a jokester.
Earlier this year, Adebayo roamed Kentucky's basketball offices.
Calipari spotted his young big man as he passed by his office at the Joe Craft Center.
"Then there's this kid Bam," Calipari joked. "He's just awful. He can't play."
Adebayo entered the coach's office wearing his wide smirk.
"Why'd I get recruited if I can't play?" Adebayo playfully asked.
Calipari continued, "I don't know if he can play basketball but man he's got a great smile."
A few years ago, Adebayo rarely revealed that humorous, jovial side. Now, he's the strongman in the paint who could lead Kentucky to its second national title under Calipari. And by the end of the season, he might be the most popular player on campus.
"You just gotta hang around people that are really outgoing," Adebayo said, "and you'll end up, before you know it, you'll be an outgoing person."
Or, as Katy Perry might say, a firework.