The new NCAA season is drawing closer, and on Friday, teams already started their official practice sessions. While a lot of teams will rely on upperclassmen on their way to conference championships, some blue-chip freshmen are out to make an immediate impact on the college game.

We are featuring the consensus number one high school player of the year, a couple of intriguing foreign prospects, the high-majors' latest acquisitions, and surprising signees from mid-major teams seeking to break out in a high-major way. Are we going to see them doing a one-and-done? For most of them, probably. Others might take some more time to be ready for the NBA. But make no mistake about it -- these freshmen will make watching college basketball more fun and exciting in the months to come.

After all, half of the fun with college basketball is that one always sees new players all the time.