The holidays represent a brief pause in the college basketball calendar as the nation resets for conference play. In less than two months, we've already seen the best of New England's basketball talent shine on regional and national stages.
Two AP Top 25 teams feature leaders from New England. Several more locals have orchestrated surprising program turnarounds, logged historic individual outings or turned heads with breakout seasons.
Among these 16 stars listed are five seniors or grad students, six juniors, four sophomores and even one freshman. It shows the consistency of this region in churning out Division 1 impact players. Three are also recent transfers who have found success at their new homes.
This week is the approximate start of conference play (some schools have begun, while others still have a nonconference game or two left). Here's a look at the best players from New England so far, entering Monday.
