With the McDonald’s All-American game in Milwaukee Wednesday, the incoming freshmen talent for the 2008-09 season in the NCAA don’t look like they will have to worry about leaving college after one year for the National Basketball Association draft, something this year’s freshmen certainly will have to do.

Michael Beasley, O.J. Mayo and Eric Gordon are just a few of the 2007-08 freshmen who are expected to leave college basketball and enter the NBA draft after stellar freshmen seasons. After the 2008 All-American game, very few of the entering freshmen look as if they could do the same a year from now.

Some of the names that will be circulating around the college basketball world next year will include Greg Monroe, Brandon Jennings, Michael Rosario and Jrue Holiday. All of these young players have what it takes to lead their team to the NCAA Tournament next season. But as many positive skills as they have, there are also negatives about their amateur play, which will be the reason that these freshmen to be will be attending school for more than one year.

Greg Monroe: He should fit very well into a great Georgetown team that should have been Final Four-bound this season. John Thompson III should be able to use Monroe’s skill down low to turn the Hoyas into a contender for a championship by 2010. The weakness of Monroe is his lack of power. He didn’t show all that much ability to play 35 minutes in the All-American game and will have to condition in order to put up big numbers in a lot of time in a dominant Big East conference.

Brandon Jennings: Many people say that this kid had the greatest performance at the All-American game, and while his ball handling skills and passing ability are what make him a great player, he is not the most unselfish player in the world. Going into the game, he made it apparent that he would break the All-American game assists record – it was, and still is, 12. He had a solid game, but is very cocky, and attending Arizona will only help him become a better player. Giving Lute Olson and the Wildcats a 1-2 punch of Jerryd Bayless and Jennings will definitely give ‘Zona a higher seed next year.

Michael Rosario: This kid is great. His passing, scoring and driving ability on the court matches his great personality off. He will be one of the greatest players to attend Rutgers. Unfortunately, that is his minor drawback. Choosing to stay in his home state of New Jersey, Rosario will be playing at the bottom of the Big East. It’s all right, though: Rutgers will have two of the best freshmen in 2010-11 because of Rosario and his ability to bring players with him.

Jrue Holiday: Pauley Pavilion may never be the home of two greater back-to-back freshmen. You can count on John Wooden watching every game that Holiday plays. The only weakness of this great young talent is his weight. At 6 feet 4 inches, the 195-lb. guard should put on some weight in order to become a solid dribble-drive player.

North Carolina: The Tar Heels have by far the best incoming freshmen class. They had three All-Americans attend the game. You can expect UNC to be a solid No. 1 or 2 seed in the next three, if not four, tournaments due to three names you’ll be hearing soon: Larry Drew, Tyler Zeller and Ed Davis.

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