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Houston coach Kelvin Sampson has deemed this season the “Year of the Freshman.”
And for good reason.
“Everybody has great freshmen,” Sampson recently told reporters.
BYU has AJ Dybantsa and Kansas has Darryn Peterson, the potential first two picks in the NBA Draft. Duke has Cameron Boozer. Arkansas has Darius Acuff Jr.
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On and on.
Just don’t forget Houston’s Kingston Flemings.
He arrived with the Cougars as the third-ranked point guard in the 2025 class as part of a heralded class for Sampson. It was evident early he was different.
But he struggled at the Players Era Festival, raising more questions. Sampson said people would have “to wait” on the Cougars’ growth.
How about 23 points, including nine in the final two minutes, to lift Houston over Texas Tech in a huge game? Flemings delivered Tuesday, Jan. 6, hitting the go-ahead jumper and tying 3-pointer before later icing the game and eighth straight win.
There were lots of signs Flemings was arriving. But this solidified it.
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“There’s freshmen in September and October,” Flemings told reporters. “When you get to January you shouldn’t be a freshman anymore. We’re a younger team, but we’ve gone through some minutes.”
And that makes the reigning Big 12 champions even more dangerous.
Let’s get to this week’s Big 12 power rankings.
More: 3 takeaways from Texas Tech basketball’s loss at Houston
1. Arizona
Last week: 1
This week: at TCU (Saturday); vs. Arizona State (Wednesday)
What to know: The Wildcats have won 10 straight games by at least 19 points. The scary part? Freshman shooting guard Brayden Burries is emerging as an elite talent on both ends of the floor.
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Last week: 2
This week: vs. Oklahoma State (Saturday); at Kansas (Tuesday)
What to know: The Cyclones are 15-0, their best start in program history. The formula is simple: Shut opponents down — only two teams have scored more than 68 points — and let Tamin Lipsey and Joshua Jefferson do their thing.
