The 2016-2017 college basketball season will be the Year of the Freshmen, featuring what could be the best class weve 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 Dukes Frank Jackson | No. 9 Kentuckys Malik Monk No. 8 Michigan States Miles Bridges | No. 7 Washingtons Markelle Fultz No. 6 Kentuckys DeAaron Fox | No. 5 Kentuckys Bam Adebayo No. 4 UCLAs Lonzo Ball | No. 3 Dukes Jayson Tatum No. 2 Kansas Josh Jackson | No. 1 Dukes Harry GilesLOS ANGELES -- Its imprudent to measure any player by his or her highlights.In 2016, a few spliced clips can go viral and make someone who was thought to be an average talent draw bizarre comparisons.But near the 2:25 mark of Lonzo Balls official ballislife.com reel, UCLAs five-star freshman shakes a defender with a crossover at last years City of Palms tournament in Fort Myers, Florida. The opponents defense, which looks more like an accidental Running Man dance, throws him backward to the floor, where he seems confused by a blocking foul call.Ball stares at the defender for a few seconds, and then he extends his hand to help him up. He does not yell or scream -- even as fans yell and scream around him. He only offers his hand before he turns toward midcourt, undeterred by the teenage heap he left behind.He was stone-cold, stone-faced the whole time, said Darren Moore, Balls personal trainer, who attended the game. Im laughing. Everybody else is going crazy, and hes like, Theres still work to be done.Those on the West Coast never announce their swag. They dont have to. You can feel their carefree vibe when they enter a room. From the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Snoop Dogg to Zack Morris, Californias coolest all seem weightless. Thats the first thing you notice about?Ball?when you meet him.Im doing yoga for the first time, he said. I basically just do a bunch of stretching and downward dog and stuff like that, stuff Ive never heard of. But its cool.The baby afro, soft tone and blunt answers to tough questions all punctuate the persona of a 6-foot-6 former high school point guard and projected lottery pick who led Chino Hills High School in the Los Angeles suburbs to a perfect 35-0 record his senior year. If his near triple-double (14 points, 10 rebounds, six assists) in last weeks exhibition victory over The Masters University means anything, its clear that Ball could help UCLA forget its subpar season from a year ago too.I think you saw a little bit of how much Lonzo can impact the game in every single way, UCLA guard?Bryce Alford?told reporters after the win.Ball is now charged with redeeming the West Coasts most accomplished program after a 15-17 campaign -- just the fourth losing season in the post-John Wooden era -- prompted angry fans to fly banners over the UCLA campus demanding fourth-year coach Steve Alfords dismissal.But Ball said he is not concerned with the pressure -- only the mission.I think we have all the pieces now, he said. Weve got enough talent. Weve got enough older guys to help us out along the way. I think were going to make a lot of noise this year. As far as pressure goes, I dont really look at it like its a big thing. Its just the game of basketball. I think I should be fine.He changed UCLAs future long before he arrived. Balls brothers,?Li Angelo?(a three-star prospect in UCLAs No. 2 2017 recruiting class) and LaMelo Ball (a 5-foot-10 point guard in the 2019 class), have committed to the Bruins too. If they develop into the talents their father, LaVar Ball, projects -- Every one of my boys is going to be one-and-done, he said -- then the Ball family could create a legacy at UCLA.But Lonzo Ball is here now. This season, his arrival will likely prompt Bryce Alfords move to the wing. Ball was the point guard in the three-guard lineup (Ball, Alford and?Isaac Hamilton) Steve Alford started in last weeks exhibition contest.Basically, [Steve Alford]s gonna let me play, Lonzo Ball said. Thats what I like. Im not trying to have nobody put no restrictions on me. Basically, [coach Alford] said when I come here, I can play my game and help them win basketball games. Thats good for me. Were gonna play an up-tempo style of play. Thats better for my game too. Just all those things together made my decision easier.Last season, Bryce Alford played point guard and led the team with 16.1 points and 5.2 assists per game. He also finished 409th in KenPom.coms offensive efficiency ratings, made 40 percent of his attempts inside the arc and committed turnovers on 13.6 percent of his possessions. Those numbers ignited frustrated fans who hoped for a switch at point guard, especially after Ball signed with the program.I think people say that because of Bryces last name, Steve Alford said. If his name was Jones, people would be saying a lot different, [better] things about him. But its good to get him off the ball with what Lonzo brings.Its not a hostile development for a UCLA team with more top-to-bottom talent than perhaps any other team on the West Coast. That was evident last week but also apparent prior to the season. Bryce Alford said he enjoyed his time in the backcourt with Ball during the teams exhibition tour of Australia in August.?In the Bruins first exhibition game last week, Alford led the team in scoring (22 points), while Ball led in assists.I think thats where Im best, Alford said of the Australia trip. I think we really played well together. That dude can pass the heck out of the ball, so I dont mind playing with him.Throughout the trip, however, Lonzo Ball struggled. He finished 9-for-36 from the field (3-for-18 from the 3-point line) in three games against one collegiate team and two pro squads. He accrued 14 assists and eight turnovers while the team posted a 2-1 record.The Naismith national prep player of the year in 2015-16 hadnt lost a game since his junior year of high school. He also came to campus as a potential savior for a program desperate for a reboot. Cheers of Lonzo! Lonzo! Lonzo! Down Under?only confirmed the optimism of a fan base that has demonstrated its fury by avoiding Pauley Pavilion. The building has not seen an average of 10,000 or more fans during Alfords tenure. Its a burden, even for the players who believe theyre ready for it.Once the team returned from the trip, Alford visited Ball at his familys home in Chino Hills, California. Alford understands Balls position. As a New Castle, Indiana, product, he?earned his states Mr. Basketball award in high school and led Bob Knights Hoosiers to the 1987 national title.Staying home comes with perks -- and pitfalls -- he told him.I think that was the positive of Australia: He felt a lot of that for the first time, he said. Its been a long time, but I used to be a player that was hyped at Indiana. There comes a lot of hype. ... I just told him to be who you are.Lonzo Ball wont bend. LaVar Ball wont let him. The freshmans father has enough confidence for his eldest son, the entire UCLA squad and half of Los Angeles, if they need it.Since Lonzo was a baby, I was always telling him that someone had to be better than Michael Jordan, LaVar Ball said. Why not you?LaVar Ball speaks in homilies about destiny, missions and the future. Sometimes, his predictions seem improbable or even impossible -- but only if you dont know about the Ball brothers.Lonzo Ball was 2 years old when his father placed him on a table and dared him to jump to the ground and land on a mushy mat. When LaVar Ball trained young basketball players -- he played at Washington State and Cal State-Los Angeles -- his son got involved too.When LaVar was teaching me how to catch lobs, Lonzo would throw me the lobs, Moore said. He was never nervous. Hes always had that special thing. He was 7 years old then.LaVar Ball created the Big Ballers NXT AAU program, which Lonzo Ball and his younger brothers anchored. LaVar Ball kept his sons off the major AAU circuits, an unorthodox move for a rising star such as Lonzo. He preferred to play them together against players four, five or even six years older. They turned Chino Hills into a national prep powerhouse that captured the CIF Open Division state title in 2016, earned the nations top ranking and averaged 97.3 PPG.He dont say nothing, LaVar Ball said of his sons demeanor. I say, Entertain these people. ... I tell people, UCLA is gonna win the national championship. He wants to change the culture.Lonzo Ball just wins. Its all he knows. His father shipped his youth trophies to relatives so he and his brothers would expect victory instead of celebrating each achievement. Their bond on the court also showed the UCLA star the value of fighting for the team.His missteps in Australia obscured some of the teams gains with the freshman running point.?Aaron Holiday?(10.3 PPG) blossomed and looked the part of a Pac-12 all-conference performer.?Thomas Welsh and elite recruits?TJ Leaf?and Ike Anigbogu, who could miss the first six weeks with a knee injury,?comprise one of the nations most promising frontcourts. Bryce Alford, now playing off the ball, made 60 percent of his 3-pointers and did not commit a turnover in a two-game stretch on the teams international tour.Thats not Division I basketball, though. Thats not the Pac-12, which enters the season with two other top-25 programs. And its not the NCAA tournament, which UCLA must reach and advance through if the school intends to avoid the flop label.But the Bruins can conquer those tasks, many agree, if the West Coast prodigy peaks and matches the buzz that has swirled for years.Weve got UCLA across our chest, Ball said. Were playing for more than ourselves. Weve gotta bring that history back.Why not? Air Max 97 Ultra 17 Red .05 million next season unless Graham and the Saints subsequently agree on a long-term deal. The designation was released Monday after the deadline passed for NFL teams to use franchise or transition tags on players becoming free agents. Air Max 97 Vapormax Cheap .J. Ellis hit two-run homers and the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 4-0 Saturday night. http://www.outletairmax97.com/nike-air-max-97-just-do-it-white-black.html . - Chris Tierney snapped a tie with a power-play goal late in the third period as the London Knights rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Erie Otters 5-3 in Ontario Hockey League action on Wednesday. Cheap Air Max 97 Wholesale . -- Hunter Smith scored the winner with just 12 seconds remaining in the third period as the Oshawa Generals edged the host Sarnia Sting 5-4 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Discount Air Max 97 . -- The St. Johns IceCaps weathered a wild first period with the help of goaltender Jussi Olkinuora, before finding offensive inroads in the second. Veteran defender Heath Shaw admits GWS rise in the AFL has exceeded his expectations.Shaw, who moved from Collingwood at the end of 2013, is preparing to line up for the Giants in their first-ever preliminary final on Saturday when they meet Western Bulldogs at Spotless Stadium.He reflected on Wednesday on the improvement in two sseasons since he joined them.dddddddddddd knew there was obviously the talent, but they were 19-20 when I first got here ... so my expectations were pretty low going into my first year here, Shaw said. ' ' '