In his second season leading the SMU men's basketball program, head coach Andy Enfield could have brought in another large group of transfers. He went the other direction.

Instead, Enfield and the Mustangs brought in five true freshmen. They join a roster with three returners, three transfers and a pair of redshirt freshmen.

"I really like the roster. I think we're more talented than we were last year, just a little bit younger," Enfield said. "We have seven freshmen — two redshirt freshmen, five true freshmen — and we have six upperclassmen. So it's a mix of experience and young guys that will learn as they go."

SMU didn't just bring in any freshmen. It brought in some of the best freshmen in the country. The class of Jermaine O'Neal Jr., Billy White III, B.J. Davis-Ray, Jaden Toombs and Nigel Walls ranked in the Top 10 of classes in the country.

That group came in and went to work.

"It's a lot. Five is a lot (of freshmen), and then two redshirts, so over half the team," Enfield said. "But they're very talented. It's OK to have freshmen as long as they're talented and they can learn. They have such great work ethics. They're in the gym early, they stay late, they're in the gym in the morning by themselves. They come in during the day with coaches. Really impressed with all the freshmen in the classroom and how much they want to be great basketball players."

The combination of talent and high expectations means the freshmen aren't being eased into anything. Toombs has been thrown up against the 7-foot-2 Samet Yiğitoğlu in practice.

There's been nothing friendly about it.

"We're fighting every day," Yiğitoğlu said. "The practices are going hard every day. We're fighting. It's not like we're teammates. In practice there are no teammates. … Most of the time we play against each other, we're killing each other actually."

When Sam Walters was a freshman at Alabama, he played in all 37 games as the team went all the way to the Final Four. He knows what it is like to be asked to contribute on a team that had big goals.

"On a team with a lot of freshmen and young guys, I think I can be a guy that some of these young guys can lean on and look to," Walters said. "I was in their shoes, especially on a talented team like we have this year. I think that experience helps a lot of the guys."

While the goal is to teach the freshmen and bring them along, they aren't going to be babied. There are some things that have to be learned through experience and even through failure.

So the more experienced players, like Jaron Pierre Jr., are finding that balance of when to be more hands-on or more hands-off.

"I got called 'unc' once, so it's been great just having those younger guys coming fresh out of high school," Pierre said. "Being able to tell them I've been in their shoes before, so when I see them doing some things, I kind of get on them. At the same time, I take a step back and let them learn like I had to learn when I was in their shoes."

The talent is there. That's obvious to the players and the coaches alike. The offseason has been about allowing that talent to continue at the next level.

That takes time and work. Work the veterans are taking ownership of.

"They look amazing. They look real amazing," senior guard Boopie Miller said. "But just teaching them every day, being patient with them each and every day. Teaching them the small things about defense, running the plays correctly at a certain time. Getting guys comfortable like I am on the court so they can come in the game and feel free to play basketball."

The five freshmen weren't brought in to just sit around, either. They were brought in to play, and they will get their opportunities and are expected to contribute when they do.

"We made a strategic decision to recruit freshmen, five freshmen in this class," Enfield said. "It's a very highly rated class nationally, and they're all very good players. With that comes responsibility. They have to be ready to play. Our bench will be made up of mostly freshmen this year. We did that to give them playing time early in their careers, and we expect them to be ready to go."