Grading college basketball debuts: First impressions of LSU's Will Wade, UNC, top transfers, 5-star freshmen

In the pay-for-play era, we're not in the business of getting overly excited that a highly paid, high-major club waxed a low-major team that doesn't have a dime to pay players. That makes some of these debuts a bit hard to get fired up about because so many teams are stat-padding in the second half of romps. Now, if a close game emerges? Oh, that's a different story.

Oklahoma being upset, 68-64, by East Texas A&M is a problem. Kansas State losing 68-66 to South Dakota State at home is a scary thought for what could be in store in Big 12 play. Casey Alexander's got a lot of work to do because that roster looked like a solid mid-major outfit on paper. South Dakota State played well and is a good Summit League foe. Jackrabbits freshman Davis Kern went off for five 3-pointers and 24 points, but it's a problem when Kansas State doesn't look all that more talented than South Dakota State. 

With context in mind, let's grade the first impressions from some of the hottest new names in college basketball.

Will Wade, LSU

Wade's offseason was annoying, but as we've reiterated from the start, a fully whole LSU roster is one of the 30 best teams in the sport. A top-30 club should have this overmatched LSU-New Orleans outfit that could be one of the worst in the Southland.

Destroy, it did. 

LSU was never pushed in a 100-57 laugher. Here are three actionable takeaways:

You can see why the Cleveland Cavaliers drafted Saliou Niang in the 2025 NBA Draft. The 6-foot-8 junior wing was awesome. 14 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and six steals? What else could you ask for? Niang is an elite wing defender — he "just missed the cut" on CBS Sports' All-Defense team for a reason — who gives Wade a true shutdown defender who can be used in a ton of ways. He picked up full-court and was a deflection machine. Niang is super long with excellent defensive instincts and a revving motor. That's an incredibly valuable player, even if his half-court offense could be a bit muted. Niang is one of the highest-paid players in the SEC for good reason. 

LSU has a real-deal SEC frontcourt. LSU is going to have no issues matching up with the best big men in the country. French 7-footer Brice Dessert (13 points, seven rebounds, two blocks) is all of 255 pounds and knows how to use it. Dessert is 23 years old and plays like it. Croatian 7-footer Michael Ruzic is another hooper. Ruzic just turned 20 last month, but he's got a very bright future. Ruzic had 17 points, six boards and a couple dimes. Ruzic has great touch inside the paint, but he's also got a chance to be a floor-stretcher. Dessert, Ruzic and Mo Dioubate are all fine with the physicality. LSU isn't going to be pushed around this year.

The Tigers' half-court offense may be cramped at times. Point guard Donovan Dent may never be a high-volume 3-point shooter. Niang, for all his strengths, isn't a super comfortable shooter yet. He only attempted 38 treys in 39 games in the EuroLeague last year. Dioubate has made 20 treys in 102 career games. It is what it is. Dessert is a load in the paint, too. Four of LSU's starters don't scare anyone from 3-point range, which puts a lot of pressure on Skyy Clark or Abdi Bashir to make it count when they get open threes. 

The smart defenses will be able to shrink the floor in the half-court. LSU will counter this by simply … not getting into a half-court game. Dent has the zoomies. He's one of the fastest pure point guards in college basketball, so LSU's transition rate will be extremely high this year, especially if this defense keeps forcing turnovers. Playing Ruzic more feels inevitable, too. He's so clearly one of the better young bigs in college basketball. I also like the idea of downshifting with Niang to the 4 to get a bit even faster. LSU has options. But there will be nights when its half-court offense is hairy because of the lack of space. 

LSU initial impression grade: B+.

Really impressive all-around performance from LSU's Saliou Niang tonight

The 6-8 junior forward who transferred over from Virtus Bologna in the EL showcased pretty early signs of elite defensive instincts and motor, finishing with 14 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists and 6 steals… pic.twitter.com/oFognrJEb1

— Arman Jovic (@PDTScouting) November 4, 2026

Really impressive all-around performance from LSU's Saliou Niang tonight

The 6-8 junior forward who transferred over from Virtus Bologna in the EL showcased pretty early signs of elite defensive instincts and motor, finishing with 14 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists and 6 steals… pic.twitter.com/oFognrJEb1

Michael Malone, North Carolina

Different day, same story for UNC. The Tar Heels survived Western Carolina's upset bid, 80-72, but the issues on the glass are an extremely concerning trend for the Tar Heels that doesn't seem to be going away. The Catamounts out-rebounded UNC by nine. The lack of bruisers is obvious, but rebounding variance is also a thing. If UNC keeps guarding, at some point, the rebounding will come along. Getting big man Cameron Fens eligible in the 5-in-5 market would help shore that up, as well.

But has anyone seen anything from this backcourt that leads you to think something different is on tap? It's hard to shake the feeling that UNC has a lot of names, but it doesn't have a dude. There is no alpha scorer right now. Matt Able looks like UNC's best all-around player, but he can't play on the ball enough because both Terrence Brown and Neo Avdalas need it to be most effective. Malone is running good stuff offensively. 27 of UNC's 30 3-pointers were catch-and-shoots. That's the shot quality you want. But the ceiling feels limited because Avdalas' decision-making is a rollercoaster, and Brown is always a threat to go rogue with predictable drives. 

UNC needs this backcourt to be awesome to compete with the top of the sport. Right now, it's just okay.

"The reality is, we don't have a Caleb Wilson," Malone said. "No disrespect to anybody in the locker room, but Caleb Wilson was a special player, special dude. It's probably going to be a different guy for us every night. We have to stop fighting that. We have to embrace that. That's who we are. Just trust more. When we do it, we look really good. When we stop trusting, we look like a team that is just not operating on the same page. We have to minimize those possessions and those stretches."

UNC initial impression grade: C-

The top transfers

Here's what each player in CBS Sports' All-Transfer First-Team did in their regular-season debuts. 

PG Acaden Lewis, Miami: 24 points on 9-for-20 shooting against No. 1 Florida. I genuinely think Lewis will end up being the best point guard from the portal. The sophomore lefty is just outstanding at getting to the paint, even though Miami doesn't have a ton of shooting. Grade: A. This one counts because it's Florida.

G John Blackwell, Duke: Blackwell scored just three points in 23 minutes of Duke's 34-point romp over Army. He'll be fine. His counting stats will go down on this loaded roster, but Blackwell already showed what his best looks like in an exhibition road win over Kansas. He just wasn't much of a factor in this one. Grade: D

G Tounde Yessoufou, St. John's: Yessoufou didn't get the start against Monmouth. That was … interesting. I also don't think it's super predictive. Yessoufou played 22 minutes and scored 12 points on eight shots. Grade: C

F Milan Momcilovic, Kentucky: Momcilovic did what Momcilovic does. The 6-9 forward drilled six 3-pointers in Kentucky's 85-57 win over Manhattan. Grade: A, but it's Manhattan.

F Flory Bidunga, Louisville: 16 points, nine rebounds and three steals. Sounds like Flory Bidunga. Grade: A, but it's Chattanooga.

The top freshmen

Here's what the top-five freshmen from the Class of 2026 did in their debuts.

1. F Tyran Stokes, Kansas: 15 points and seven rebounds in KU's 95-65 win over Fordham. I'm pretty sure Kansas' best lineup will end up being Stokes at the 3, Trey Kaufman-Renn at the 4 and Keanu Dawes at the 5. Grade: A, but it's Fordham.

2. Jordan Smith Jr., Arkansas: The Razorbacks stomped Arkansas Pine Bluff by 45, behind 20 points and three steals from Smith. The drives and elite defense are encouraging. Not shooting a single 3-pointer and missing four free throws is a reason why some question the offensive upside. Grade: B

3. Caleb Holt, Arizona: Arizona doesn't have the depth to survive a 7-point showing from Holt. He has to be one of the best players in the country for Tommy Lloyd's crew to reach the peak of its powers. Grade: C

4. Cameron Williams, Duke: Williams has been beat out by Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje for the starting 4-man spot. He's also been beat out by sophomore Sebastian Wilkins for one of the top spots off the bench. Still, Williams scored four points in 11 minutes in mop-up duty for Duke. It just is what it is right now. Grade: C

5. Jason Crowe Jr., Missouri: Missouri went off for 111 points in an easy win over Cleveland State in the opener. To no surprise, Crowe cleaned up with 23 points on just 16 shots. On to the next. Friday's tilt against Saint Louis will be far more enlightening. Grade: A, but it's Cleveland State.

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