Freshman tracker: Cal's Brown, Rabb now finding their way

— -- California's signing of 6-foot-7 swingman Jaylen Brown (No. 4) and 6-foot-11 forward Ivan Rabb (No. 8) made it the only school to sign two players in the 2015 ESPN 100's top 10. Their arrival to a veteran roster brought high expectations.

The Golden Bears ranked No. 14 in the preseason, which was the program's highest mark since being No. 13 during the second poll of the 2009-10 season. The problem was, the team hadn't earned the accolades yet.

Getting the freshmen acclimated was more than just rolling the ball out at practice.

"I don't care what your talent says, you're still a freshman," Cal coach Cuonzo Martin said. "Still 18-19 (years old). It's a different adjustment, a different level of physicality, of understanding of the scouting report."

The hard part appears to be over for Rabb and Brown, and the Pac-12 should take notice. The Bears take a three-game win streak into Wednesday's game at Oregon (9 p.m. ET on ESPN2), a stretch that includes a 71-58 upset of then-No. 21 Utah.

Martin likes Rabb's basketball IQ and said he's just had to get a feel for the game.

"In high school, no matter where he got the ball he was going to do the same thing and no opponent was that imposing where Ivan had to make any type of adjustment," Martin said. "Now he's understanding, if it's a small guy, back him down or a big strong guy, when to face up or when to bury him. It's just through time that he's gained an understanding."

Martin said the biggest adjustment for Brown has come on the defensive end.

"I've been impressed with his ability to defend on the weak side," Martin said. "For a young guy he picked it up fast. That's one of the hardest things when you step on campus. He's made tremendous strides in that area right there, we've had older guys who have struggled with that."

They've both picked up things on the offensive end. Brown is second on the team in scoring at 14.3 points per game and second to Rabb in rebounding with six per game. Rabb leads the team in field goal percentage, and is second in the Pac-12, shooting 64 percent from the floor.

Just as important to Martin is how they handle themselves off the court.

"As highly talented as those guys were they don't get caught up in that," Martin said. "They're part of the campus community. They do a great job of moving in silence. It's easy to get caught up in all that other stuff, but those guys have a tremendous level of humility, and you have to give credit because nowadays that's a hard thing to maintain."

Every Wednesday, 15 freshmen will be ranked based on the week they had without regards to one-and-done potential or where a player projects in the 2016 NBA draft. Check back each week, as the order is sure to change and different names emerge:

First Five

1. Ben Simmons, F, LSU Tigers
20.1 PPG, 12.9 RPG, 5.2 APG
Erupted for 36 points, 14 rebounds and four assists in 90-82 road win vs. Vanderbilt; followed with 14 points and 10 rebounds in 85-67 win over Kentucky.

2. Diamond Stone, C, Maryland Terrapins
13.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG
Carried the Terps with career night: 39 points and 12 rebounds in 70-64 win over Penn State in Big Ten opener.

3. Ivan Rabb, F, California Golden Bears
12.4 PPG, 8.7 RPG
Came up big against Utah 7-footer Jakob Poeltl with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

4. Brandon Ingram, F, Duke Blue Devils
16.4 PPG, 6.0 RPG
Best known this week for posterizing two Boston College defenders en route to 25 points and nine rebounds.

5. Malachi Richardson, F, Syracuse Orange
13.0 PPG, 4.9 RPG
Scored 21 and 20 in consecutive outings against Clemson and Miami.

Second Five

6. Barry Brown, G, Kansas State Wildcats
8.4 PPG, 2.1 RPG
Dropped 20 points on West Virginia and 15 points against Texas in consecutive outings.

7. Tres Tinkle, F, Oregon State Beavers
12.3 PPG, 5.2 RPG
Powered Beavers to 70-57 win over rival Oregon with 19 points and six rebounds.

8. Allonzo Trier, G, Arizona Wildcats
14.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG
Scored 20 points with five rebounds in 94-82 win over Arizona State.

9. Marcus Sheffield, G/F, Stanford Cardinal
5.4 PPG, 2.4 RPG
Logged season-high 17 points in 70-68 upset of No. 21 Utah.

10. Dejounte Murray, G, Washington Huskies
14.5 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 4.4 APG
Two wins over L.A. schools included 29 points, five rebounds against USC.

Final Five

11. Henry Ellenson, F, Marquette Golden Eagles
16.0 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 2.3 APG
Averaged 13.0 points and 10.0 rebounds in three games this week.

12. Jamal Murray, G, Kentucky Wildcats
17.1 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 2.7 APG
The Wildcats' most consistent scorer had 21 points in LSU loss.

13. Malik Beasley, G, Florida State Seminoles
17.0 PPG, 5.7 RPG
Averaged 19.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in losses to North Carolina and Clemson.

14. Andrian White, G, Charlotte 49ers
11.3 PPG, 3.5 RPG
Made eight 3-pointers for season-high 27 points in 74-65 loss at Old Dominion.

15. Donovan Mitchell, G, Louisville Cardinals
8.5 PPG, 4.3 RPG
Scored team-high 18 points with eight rebounds in 65-57 win over Wake Forest.