What if I told you the freshman who had the best performance during the opening week of the 2026-27 college basketball season isn't even eligible for the 2027 NBA Draft? Yes, you read that right. In an era of one-and-dones, UCLA's Nikola Kusturica will be the rare player in the sport who plays at least two seasons before entering the draft.
Of course, that's not necessarily by choice. If Kusturica were eligible for this summer's draft, he would have a very strong case to go No. 1. Kusturica, Duke freshman Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje and Texas' Marcus Spears Jr. won't turn 18 until 2027, meaning they don't meet the draft's age requirement to be eligible for this summer's draft.
It's great news for college basketball fans, but bad news for NBA teams looking to add a foundational piece to their rosters. Last season featured arguably the greatest freshman class in college basketball history, with AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, Caleb Wilson, Darius Acuff Jr., Darryn Peterson, and many more making their mark on the sport. This year's class certainly has talent, but expectations should be tempered after last year's greatness.
However, after two impressive performances against Arizona and North Florida, Kusturica showed this week why he could be considered the best prospect in the world, regardless of draft class Let's jump into our rankings and get to our CBS Sports/USBWA Freshman of the Week for the 2026-27 college basketball season. Welcome back to the Frosh Watch, our weekly ranking of the five most impressive freshmen in college basketball. For the 12th season in a row, 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. After Kusturica finished with 29 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks in a blowout win over North Florida, UCLA coach Mick Cronin had high praise for his star 17-year-old forward.
"He's a great player," Cronin said. "Not a good player, a great player because he does everything on the court. What I would tell you is he had no turnovers with the ball in his hands all the time, which for a freshman, is unheard of." UCLA’s Nikola Kusturica is the best prospect in the world.
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