Ranking best freshmen in college basketball: Michigan State's Jase Richardson earns Freshman of the Weekon March 11, 2025 at 1:17 pm

A look at the top performing freshmen in college basketball last week and for the 2024-25 season

Michigan State capped an impressive regular season with a 79-62 win over in-state rival Michigan on Sunday. The Spartans clinched the outright Big Ten regular season title and enter this week’s Big Ten Conference Tournament as the No. 1 seed. One of the reasons for Michigan State defying preseason expectations has been the rise of freshman guard Jase Richardson.

If the last name Richardson and Michigan State rings a bell, Jace’s father (Jason Richardson) played under coach Tom Izzo at the school from 1999-01. Richardson went on to have a successful NBA career, and now his son is on track to become a first-round pick this summer in the 2025 NBA Draft.

“We had some guys that really came on,” Izzo said after the win over Michigan. “We had a collection of people that worked together. We didn’t know where Jeremy (Fears Jr.) would be with his injury. Jase has kind of just skyrocketed up, and he deserves what he’s gotten.”

Richardson finished with 18 points, five rebounds and three assists in the win over Michigan. He has finished with double-digit points in each of MSU’s last nine games.

Freshman of the Week: Jase Richardson, Michigan State

Welcome back to the Frosh Watch, our weekly ranking of the five most impressive freshmen in college basketball. CBS Sports has once again teamed up with the United States Basketball Writers Association and its Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award to present this every-Tuesday feature. Each week we’ll start by announcing the national Freshman of the Week honoree. The cycle for FOTW runs Tuesday-Monday.

Richardson has been key in bringing home another regular season Big Ten title to East Lansing, Michigan. The freshman guard projects as a potential lottery pick in the upcoming draft and has seen his role increase throughout the season.

The former No. 37 overall player in the 2024 recruiting cycle by 247Sports, Richarson Is averaging 11.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 24.0 minutes per game for the 2024-25 season.

Previous Freshman of the Week winners

Frosh Watch: Ranking top five freshmen

1. Cooper Flagg | G/F | Duke

Stats: 19.4 PPG | 7.6 RPG | 4.2 APG

Flagg ran into foul trouble against North Carolina but still finished with 15 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four blocks. Flagg captured ACC Player of the Year as a freshman and could win National Player of the Year, too. Last week: 1

2. Dylan Harper | G | Rutgers

Stats: 19.1 PPG | 4.4 RPG | 4.0 APG

In Rutgers’ final game of the regular season, Harper finished with 22 points, six rebounds and two steals in a 75-67 overtime win against Minnesota. The Scarlet Knights open the Big Ten Tournament against USC this week. Last week: 2

3. Ace Bailey | G/F | Rutgers

Stats: 17.6 PPG | 7.2 RPG | 1.2 BPG

Bailey scored six points and pulled down nine rebounds in a 75-67 win over Minnesota last weekend. Bailey has 10 games this season with at least nine rebounds. Last week: 3

4. Kasparas Jakučionis | G/F | Illinois

Stats: 15.2 PPG | 5.6 RPG | 4.8 APG

Jakučionis finished with only 10 points in an 88-80 win over Purdue last week but hit a big shot when it mattered most. With the game tied at 79 with less than a minute to play, Jakučionis knocked down a 3-pointer to give his team the lead back for good. Last week: 4

5. Tre Johnson | G/F | Texas

Stats: 20.2 PPG | 3.2 RPG | 2.8 APG

Johnson struggled big time during a 76-72 loss to Oklahoma last week. Johnson finished with only seven points and missed all 14 of his field goal attempts. The Longhorns’ hopes of reaching the NCAA Tournament are on life support heading into conference tournament week. Last week: 5

More: How Michigan State can make its case for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament

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