AMHERST

As they practiced free throws and jump shots at the far end of Curry Hicks Cage, the older members of the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team occasionally paused and looked to the near free-throw line where their freshmen teammates were gathered.

Before the start of a preseason workout, the five Minuteman rookies were lined up for pictures. The group posed and clowned, laughed and made requisite tough scowls for the camera.

Their teammates watched the occasionally noisy spectacle, laughed and rolled their eyes before going back to their jump shots.

Coach Derek Kellogg watched too with a hopeful smile. This group, all still teenagers who will begin full-time practice today, will likely define the early portion of his head coaching career.

The five rookies are:

* Terrell Vinson, a highly-touted 6-foot-7 forward who spurned bigger schools to play at UMass.

* Freddie Riley, a 6-foot-5 shooter from Ocala, Fla, who had his share of bigger-conference recruiting attention as well.

* Raphiael Putney, a skinny but very athletic 6-foot-8 big man who could be the steal of the class.

* Javorn Farrell, a 6-foot-5 swingman, who is the least heralded of the bunch. But his play and intensity in preseason workouts has gotten Kellogg's attention.

* Sampson Carter, a 6-foot-8 versatile and smooth forward who runs well for his height and could play multiple positions for the Minutemen.

According to Riley, they've already been proving themselves to the upperclassmen.

"We always challenge the upperclassmen to games - freshmen vs. upperclassmen - and we always beat them too," he said, smiling. "We always talk in down time. We talk about how good we can be and how good we're going to be. We can come together pretty quickly."

Carter said the quintet has referred to themselves as the "Fab Five," a not-so-subtle reference to the rookies on the Michigan team that in 1992 became the first to reach the national championship game with five freshmen starters.

That class remains the gold standard for rookie success. Big recruiting classes always arrive with plenty of promise and considerable hype.

Usually without ever having seen any of them in action, fans get excited about the prospect of five young players growing together and taking the program to new heights.

At UMass the standard against which all big classes are judged is the four rookies who arrived for the 1993-94 season. Marcus Camby, Edgar Padilla, Carmelo Travieso and Tyrone Weeks (who sat out as a freshman), all scored 1,000 points in their careers, achieved all-conference status and played key roles in the Minutemen advancing to the Final Four in 1996.

But it rarely works out that well.

Three years ago, Trey Lang, Travon Wilcher, Max Groebe, Papa Lo, Matt Hill, Matt Glass, Gary Correia and Tyrell Lynch all arrived in Amherst together, showered with accolades by then-coach Travis Ford. They were expected to be the next wave of Minutemen, key pieces on Ford's roster for years to come.

But only three players from that class remain. Correia has been solid as a backup point guard. Hill has barely played after battling Achilles injuries to both heels and Lang will likely be back after not being part of the team a year ago.

Part of the reason last year's Minutemen struggled was because that class never really blossomed. They aren't alone. Several big-reputation rookies - Mike Lasme, Jameel Pugh, Kyle Wilson - left before even becoming juniors.

How many members of this class make it to senior day - let alone all-conference status - remains to be seen. But for now there's lots of reason for optimism. The five players are all tall, versatile and seemingly hungry.

If they live up to their potential, they could be terrific down the road. But nobody wants to wait that long.

"I told them don't come in and think #Just because I'm a freshman I shouldn't start trying to make a name for myself,' " said UMass senior Ricky Harris. "Play like you're a junior or a senior."

"I think they're ready to play right away," he added. "They don't play like freshmen in practice. So when the game starts they have to play the same way."

Farrell said Harris needn't worry.

"We want to reach that right away. We have no question that we can surprise a lot of people this year," Farrell said. "A lot of people might not have high expectations for us, but we have high expectations for ourselves."

Kellogg is excited to see them try to live up to those expectations.

"For us to try to do something this year, some or all of the young guys have to mature quicker than the normal freshmen and I'm hoping they do," Kellogg said. "I'm going to push these guys every day like they have a chance to do something special.

"They're so young, but it's fun watching them mature almost by the minute," he added. "It's exciting to see what the future could hold for some of these guys."