Beasley vs Durant

Beasley had 32 points and a Big 12 Conference-record 24 rebounds in his debut at Kansas State, leading the 25^th-ranked Wildcats to a 94-63 victory over Sacramento State on Friday night. Beasley broke the Big 12 record of 23 rebounds set by Kevin Durant, who starred at Texas as a freshman last season.”

Since the NBA’s new age minimum was imposed two years ago the culture of College baskets has changed. It’s no longer a prerequisite to have veteran talent to make a deep March run, instead the freshman is now king. We’ll never know what a guy like LeBron James or Dwight Howard would’ve accomplished in the collegiate ranks. If they would have descended upon the game we would probably use their name as the measuring stick of first year greatness. Regardless, what we have seen over the last two years is the greatest influx of talent among first-year players in the history of the sport, and above them all, one man stands tall: Kevin Durant.

After watching Durant take over the country last season as he marched on to Player of the Year honors it was clear the game would never be the same. After watching sure thing preps like Sebastian Telfair, Darius Miles, and Sebastain Telfair fizzle out in the NBA many figured that a talent like Durant was a rare find. At least no one ever expected that less than six months later his reign as the greatest freshman player ever would be under attack, by a player from the same conference, no-less.

It may be a little premature to crown Michael Beasley class president, we’ll have a better understanding of who he is as a player come March, but it certainly isn’t too soon to evaluate his credentials. You simply can not compare a complete body of work spanning a whole season to a nine game sprint. At this point it’s only fair to assume that Beasley will continue to excel and develop as a player as the season progresses, right? You’d think so, but through his strange, and self-centered, process in creating the ideal situation for himself, Beasley ended up with an inadequate coach, who makes Rick Barnes look like Dr. Allen, John Wooden and Coach K all rolled into one, and a lousy supporting cast. Still, even with the superior coach, Durant never took huge strides through his brief collegiate career. Through his first nine games Durant averaged 20.4 points. As he grew more accustom to the game he elevated his play enough to end up averaging 25.8 ppg on the season. Currently Beasley is on a torrid pace. He is currently averaging 25.8 ppg and 14.8 rpg, both the best in the nation. He has also recorded a double-double in each of his first nine games, which in my book, places him well ahead of the curve set by his predecessor.

Many of the so-called experts have suggested that Beasley’s efficiency will regress as the season continues to wear on. I disagree. Kansas State has shown the immaturity that is to be expected with a young team. Outside of Bill Walker, Beasley stands alone with a cast of misfits that their upstate rival, Kansas, wouldn’t look twice at. So far, as a team, they have averaged less than a point a possession, allowing teams to double, and sometimes triple team their only prodigious teammate. It also doesn’t help that they cough up the ball 23 percent of the time, and their shooting, well; anyone that tuned into their nationally televised game against Notre Dame saw how awful they can be, as they shot an atrocious 3-for-20 from behind the arc.

Even with Martin calling the shots they should continue to grow as a team. Walker is finally showing the promise that had scouts going crazy over him when he starred at Oak Hill with OJ Mayo. He finally broke out Sunday night against Cal, putting up 30 points and grabbing ten boards. He doesn’t have to maintain such a high level in future contests, but if he can continue to be a threat it would help ease the load and deter opponents from keying in on Beasley.

I think K-State’s inadequacies make Beasley’s ascension to the top even more impressive than Durant’s. KD didn’t have to carry the burden at Texas, with AJ Augstine and Damion Jones there to help him he had time to ease into that role. Texas was a good offensive team without Durant. They became incredible with him. Beasley may not take Kansas State on a sweet 16 run, he may not win player of the year honors, but his stats will be right on par with the Durantian standard until the final horn sounds.

We may not see the obvious tanking going on during the NBA season like we did last season, but the GM that tells his team to throw in the towel after the All-Star break will be the real winner of this year’s freshman frenzy. Nobody is really sure what Greg Oden will be, but Beasley is certainly the most NBA ready player we have seen since Carmello Anthony starred at Syracuse as a freshman in 2003. His body is already mature, which would allow him to step into any NBA offense and average 18 ppg right now. I think this is the true measuring stick.