The 2016-17 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 GilesLEXINGTON, Ky. --?Edrice Bam Adebayos reputation matters. Hes a star now.Thats why the new, 6-foot-10, 260-pound Kentucky Wildcats big man seems sheepish when asked to reveal his favorite song by the pop star he admires. Theres nothing tough about Katy Perry.Hmmm, thats a tough one, said Adebayo, as he considered his favorite Perry songs. Last Friday Night. ... I just heard a song, and I just liked Katy Perry ever since. I became a little fan of Katy Perry. Im not that die-hard, but its like, when youre in a good mood because her music is always [upbeat]. I got it on shuffle.The freshmans surprising affinity for the California pop star isnt the only quirk of his ebullient personality. And it all starts with his name.One crushing handshake from Adebayo proves his nickname fits. His mother, Marilyn Blount, called him Bam after a 1-year-old Adebayo flipped a coffee table while watching The Flintstones.His talent and brawn carried him to the top of the recruiting rankings and NBA draft boards. His eclectic nature, however, made him the gravitational force who has already captured the heart of Big Blue Nation as the teams new big man and even bigger personality.?They were all open arms with everybody, Adebayo said of his attraction to Kentucky. If you come in here, youre coming here to get business done. Its not just to joke around. ... I love to joke.After his teammates made an appearance at John Caliparis charity softball game in August, where fans sought selfies with him, Adebayo smiled and stared at former Kentucky star?Nerlens Noel.Noel saw him and froze, too.Adebayo leaned and held his arms out, still grinning. Noel did the same before the two embraced like old friends in the middle of the ballpark.?Whats up, man?! Noel yelled.The gregarious big man attracts attention, not only because of his size but because of his lighthearted demeanor. Basketball is serious for Adebayo. Life outside of basketball? Not so much.It wasnt always that way. He was a shy kid in his hometown of Little Washington, North Carolina. Adebayo shrunk in crowds and preferred to say less. Hed joke with his mom and close friends. The rest of the world rarely saw that side of the imposing center, though.Then, he decided to change and open up to outsiders as he traveled the country as an emerging talent on the national AAU scene. Maybe hed use his basketball gifts to come out of his shell.As I started getting better and I had to go places and meet new people, there were times where you just couldnt keep to yourself, he said. You had to speak to people.By the time he left Northside High School in Pinetown, North Carolina, before his senior season to enroll at High Point Christian Academy in High Point, North Carolina, 200 miles from his hometown to face better competition, the mamas boy had enlarged his social circle by talking up anyone he met. He used the same tactic to make new friends at High Point.Hes not a tough guy to spot out when you get there, said Ben Robertson, Adebayos high school teammate at High Point and a freshman guard at Bucknell. He handled it really well. He knew everybodys name.Adebayo led his team to the state title game during his senior season. He excelled off the court, too. The honor-roll student and McDonalds All American who averaged 18.9 points and 13 rebounds per game as a senior at High Point also joined the schools poetry club that year.And he urged his teammates to accept his wide-ranging musical palette.Theyd all spend hours together listening to Adebayos diverse playlists and wisecracks about everyone in the room.Hes a happy guy, Robertson said.He brought his easygoing ways to Lexington, where he will crack jokes off the floor and embarrasses opponents when hes on the court.He enters the season as the No. 5 freshman in college basketballs incoming class, per RecruitingNation. The young man who dunked for the first time in sixth grade is a projected lottery pick on nearly every mock draft board.He made 65 percent of his shots inside the arc as a senior. He can post up like a traditional big man. He can also put the ball on the floor and play in space.A motor, somebody who just doesnt give up on plays, Adebayo said of his playing style. Its just always been me. Ive just never liked giving up on anything. Its a bunch of us. We got our dogs on the team. Just like, the other dude in front of you, its personal. You take everything personal when youre on the court.Added Kentucky guard?Malik Monk: Hes a dog, too. Its crazy. Having the presence of Bam down there, knowing if you get beat off the dribble somebody is back there to block it or if you get stuck in the air on offense, you can just throw it up, hell catch it. Then if hes posting up, [opponents] cant help down because if you help down, hes gonna kick it out and weve got shooters. He just spaces the floor way more.Kentucky lacked that big-bodied athlete last season. Calipari had?Karl-Anthony Towns in 2015 and Julius Randle?in 2014. Without a mobile, physical center to stop him, Indianas Thomas Bryant scored 19 points (6-for-6 inside the arc) during Indianas second-round victory over Kentucky in the NCAA tournament.That shouldnt be a problem this season with Adebayo on the roster. The freshman says he admires Randles aggression and passion and hopes to emulate some of the outstanding bigs Kentucky has produced under Calipari.[The Kentucky coaches]?really want to see kids succeed, Adebayo said. You cant go wrong with how they do things here. You look on the wall and its a lot of [players] that fulfilled their dreams and Im just trying to be the next.Adebayo nursed an ankle injury throughout the summer and only recently returned to practice at full speed. Hes still getting in shape, Calipari said. But he scored 13 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked a shots in last weeks exhibition win over Clarion.Bam is a beast, Calipari said.And a jokester.Earlier this year, Adebayo roamed Kentuckys basketball offices.Calipari spotted his young big man as he passed by his office at the Joe Craft Center.Then theres this kid Bam, Calipari joked. Hes just awful. He cant play.Adebayo entered the coachs office wearing his wide smirk.Whyd I get recruited if I cant play? Adebayo playfully asked.Calipari continued, I dont know if he can play basketball but man hes got a great smile.A few years ago, Adebayo rarely revealed that humorous, jovial side. Now, hes the strongman in the paint who could lead Kentucky to its second national title under Calipari. And by the end of the season, he might be the most popular player on campus.You just gotta hang around people that are really outgoing, Adebayo said, and youll end up, before you know it, youll be an outgoing person.Or, as Katy Perry might say, a firework. Cheap Air Max Shoes Online . Clarke was injured while practicing on the Doha Golf Club range after the pro-am on Tuesday. The Northern Irishman arrived at the course on Wednesday hoping to start, but after hitting a few balls on the practice putting green Clarke advised officials he was not fit to play. Nike Air Max Shoes Wholesale . LOUIS -- Attorneys for the St. http://www.airmaxsalecheap.com/ . The Celtics closed out their first preseason under Stevens on Wednesday night with a 101-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, who rested a lot of their lineup including former Celtics Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Air Max Clearance Online .35 million, one-year contract that avoided salary arbitration. 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New Australian netball captain Sharni Layton intends inspiring the Diamonds as much by deed as by her famous vocal style in the coming Quad SeriesDefender Layton steps into the vacancy caused by Laura Geitzs pregnancy and the retirement of Clare McMeniman.She is part of a new leadership group, with shooter Caitlin Thwaites and midcourter Kim Ravaillion elevated to vice-captaincy roles.Uncapped players Courtney Bruce and Caitlyn Nevins and recalled shooter Susan Pettitt have also been named in the squad of 12, after representing Australian in the Fast5 World Series event in Melbourne last weekend.The Quad Series will be played next January and February in South Africa and England and features the national teams of those countries, along with Australia and New Zealand.Layton has blossomed into one of the worlds premier defenders over the past two years, winning awards and plaudits for her ability to make big plays.She has earned plenty of publicity for barking out orders to her colleagues, though she has never captained a senior team.You could say my leadership style is definitely more vocal in regard to being at the back of the court, Layton told AAP.But I always saw that as my role, to try and give my team energy throughout a game and wanting to speak up on and off the court.Layton wont be changing her style but will lead by as example as much as by word.Youve ggot to walk and talk, theres no point standing somewhere and doing all the talking and not acting, she said.ddddddddddddNevins, who Layton played alongside in Victorian representative teams,, was often the only non-international in the trans-Tasman title-winning Queensland Firebirds starting seven.She took the hard road but kept persisting and ended up getting the two premierships with Queensland and then playing Fast5 and really proving herself there, Layton said.Bruce was a lynchpin of the West Coast Fever defence, in 2016 and might have earned senior selection earlier if not for injury issues.She just reads the game so well and picks off so much ball, its really exciting what she;s going to bring to the team on and off the court, Layton said.Pettitt, a former NSW Swifts teammate of Laytons, won the last of her 54 Test caps almost four years ago.Ive seen her work so hard behind the scenes the last couple of years and doing all the extra agility work, Im so glad she has been rewarded, Layton said.Australian Diamonds 2017 Netball Quad Series squad: Courtney Bruce, April Brandley, Paige Hadley, Sharni Layton (capt), Caitlyn Nevins, Susan Pettitt, Kim Ravaillion, Gabi Simpson, Caitlin Thwaites, Gretel Tippett, Jo Weston, Stephanie Wood. 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