With the Utah Jazz in the midst of an 0-7 start to the 2013-14 basketball season, many fans have already started looking forward to the up-and-coming 2014 NBA Draft.  Normally that would be way to premature, but in this case there is good reason.  If every player that is eligible to come out does, this will be the most talent laden draft in at least a decade.

The college basketball season began in earnest on Friday night for the most heralded freshman class in a long time and we already saw flashes of why NBA teams are positioning themselves for a high pick in 2014.

Not since LeBron James was in high school has there been so much fanfare regarding a high school class of players.  Some of the best are already even house hold names, which doesn’t happen very often.

Everyone in sports has already heard the names Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker, but they aren’t the only players in college whose games have virtually every NBA General Manager and scout drooling.  All you have to do is look at the roster of the Kentucky Wildcats to see what I am talking about.

Coach John Calipari brought in so much talent, that after an extremely disappointing season a year ago, the Wildcats are already ranked number one in the polls.  The main attractions for the Wildcats this season are dominating forwards Julius Randle and James Young, as well as twin guards Andrew and Aaron Harrison.

Not to be outdone, Kansas brought in a pair of talented freshman to play with Wiggins this year in big man Joel Embiid and guard Wayne Selden.

The Arizona Wildcats also made a splash in recruiting.  Their biggest get on the season was acquiring the serves of Aaron Gordon.

It’s not just freshman that will make the upcoming draft so deep.  Oklahoma State sophomore point guard will be highly sought after if he decides to go the NBA route after this season is over.

Throughout the college basketball season we will follow this bunch of gifted athletes and any others that separate themselves from the pack to let you know who is flourishing and how it will affect their draft status so you know who might land in a Utah Jazz uniform a year from now.

Here is a look at how each of the draft hopefuls played as they started their seasons on Friday night.

Jabari Parker- Even after just one game, Parker has shown what the hype was all about.

The Duke started their season on Friday night and Parker looked like anything but a freshman as the Blue Devils rolled the Davidson Wildcats 111-77.

Parker looked like a natural fit in the Duke up-tempo offense and showed his all-around game from the start.

Parker is a silky smooth wing who can do it all on the offensive end of the floor.  He can score with his back to the basketball and has great touch in the face up game.  Parker can also be effective putting the ball on the floor and get to the rim.

In his college debut, Parker showed all facets of his game in just over 20 minutes of play.  Parker finished the night with 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field, including 3-of-3 from beyond the three-point arc.  Parker also showed some skills on the glass by registering six rebounds.  He also tallied two assists and a block with only one turnover.

Andrew Wiggins- Wiggins played 34 minutes as the Jayhawks beat Louisiana-Monroe 80-63 and had a solid all-around game.  Wiggins only attempted nine shots but was still able to lead the team with 16 points.  He showed nice touch from the outside hitting 2-of-4 attempts from three-point range, and also looked good going to the rim.  Wiggins rounded out his stat line by registering three rebounds, two assists and three steals.

Wayne Selden- Selden struggled with his shot on Friday night finishing the game with just eight points on 1-for-4 from the three-point line and 1-for-6 from the free throw line in 28 minutes of play.  Selden did do some nice things though in the Jayhawks win.  He showed that he is a willing passer and was able to find the open man, finishing the night with four assists.

Joel Embiid-Embiid came off the bench for the Jayhawks and only played 11 minutes because of foul trouble.  He was very productive in his limited action however registering nine points, four rebounds and a steal.

Although he had a nice stat line considering his foul trouble, Embiid needs to be more disciplined if he wants to get major minutes this season for Kansas.

Aaron Gordon- Gordon played 33 minutes in the Wildcats 73-62 victory over Cal-Poly on Friday night.  Gordon was a post presence on both ends of the floor as he registered his first double-double on the season.

On Offense, Gordon shot just 5-for-11 from the floor and 2-for-6 from the free-throw line on his way to 13 points but did manage to grad five offensive rebounds.

On the defensive end, Gordon was able to block four shots and grab five more rebounds to finish with ten on the game.

Marcus Smart- Smart and his Oklahoma State Cowboys had little trouble with Mississippi Valley State winning 117-62.

In 19 minutes of action in the Cowboys blow out win over the Delta Devils, Smart managed 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Julius Randle- Randle was the most impressive of the Kentucky freshman on Friday night in The Wildcats 89-57 victory over UNC-Asheville.

Randle dominated the paint in recording the first of what will be many double-doubles at Kentucky.  In just 26 minutes on the floor, Randle scored 23 points and tallied 15 rebounds including five on the offensive end.

James Young- Young wasn’t nearly as impressive as Randle but was still able to show a nice outside touch and plenty of athleticism for the Wildcats.  Although young only shot 3-for-10 from the field, he was 2-for-5 from long-range.

On the night, Young finished with 11 points, four rebounds, an assist and a block.

Andrew Harrison- in his first college game Harrison only made one shot on three attempts, but went to the free-throw line nine times in the Wildcats decisive win.

He finished the game with eight points and led the way for Kentucky with five assists.

Aaron Harrison- Harrison had a solid if unspectacular outing for the Wildcats but was still able to put up some nice number in 32 minutes of play.  Harrison scored 10 points to go along with five rebounds, a team leading four steals and a block.

After easy opener for most of these dynamic players, the road will get much tougher this week.  Kentucky has their first true test of the season on Tuesday night against the number 2-ranked Michigan State Spartans.

In another exciting match-up this week, Duke will play Kansas on Tuesday as we get to see a battle between Parker and Wiggins with early bragging rights at stake.