Kentucky's Julius Randle was dominant in the second half against Michigan State. Duke's Jabari Parker was phenomenal against Kansas. Andrew Wiggins showed why many have him tabbed as the No. 1 overall pick come June with a couple of big-time plays late in Kansas' win over the Blue Devils.

The young trio didn’t just live up to the hype this past Tuesday night. They surpassed it.

But they aren’t the only ones thriving. Each week we’ll reveal the Freshman Tracker, our latest ranking of college basketball's best first-year players throughout the season.

We’ll have updates on how they did on the floor, with quotes from those (i.e. NBA executives, college coaches, media types) who saw them over the previous week.

1. Jabari Parker, F, Duke Blue Devils

6-foot-8, 235 pounds

No one knew quite what to expect from the Chicago native, but Parker very quickly put himself in the equation for the Wooden Award and also for the No. 1 overall NBA draft pick. Parker has scored at least 20 points in all three of his games, and he was tremendous against Kansas with 27 points and nine boards in his hometown.

“He was better than I thought," an NBA executive said of Parker. "He was the most impressive out of all the freshmen in Chicago because he did everything. He can score from all over, he rebounds well, he knows how to play -- and he’s a better athlete than anyone thought. It’s time to put him in the mix for the top pick.”