Now one month into the college basketball season, we have already seen a share of key injuries, star performances and hard-fought games. Let’s look at some of the key developments over the past two weeks.

1. Freshman John Wall is now the frontrunner for national player of the year.

Entering last Saturday, Ohio State guard Evan Turner was on his way to a season for the ages. We mentioned in our season preview that Turner was the only player from a major conference to average 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists per game last year. Through seven games this year, Turner was making those numbers look pathetic by averaging an incredible 21 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists per game while shooting 62 percent from the field. And those seven contests were not at all against cupcake competition, as they included games against North Carolina, California and Florida State. There was no question that Turner was the most impressive player in America.

But on Saturday, in the opening minutes of Ohio State’s game against Eastern Michigan, Turner’s dunk attempt ended with a hard fall to the floor that broke several of his vertebrae, sidelining him for the next eight weeks. With Turner out of the picture for player of the year, Kentucky freshman point guard John Wall (who we predicted would compete for First-Team All-American honors) forcefully asserted his claim to serious consideration that very day by engineering a defeat of No. 11 UNC.

Wall hit two free throws in the final seconds to seal the win, continuing his flawlessness in clutch moments. Earlier this year against Stanford, Wall tied the game twice in the final minute by hitting a 12-foot jumper and nailing two free throws, which allowed Kentucky to prevail in overtime. And in his very first collegiate game, Wall hit the game-winning 15-foot jumper in the final second to defeat Miami of Ohio.

Through seven games, Wall is averaging 18 points, four rebounds, eight assists and three steals per game while shooting 55 percent from the field and leading Kentucky to an 8-0 start. His numbers are significantly better than both of John Calipari’s last two freshman point guards, Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans, who each went on to be a top 5 pick in the NBA draft.

Other players like Syracuse’s Wesley Johnson and Michigan’s Manny Harris have been electric, but with Turner injured, there is no one in the country playing at the level of John Wall right now.

2. St. John’s is showing signs of promise.

St. John’s is one of the most storied programs in basketball history, with the seventh most wins (868) of any Division I school. You wouldn’t know this from recent years, as the last time the Red Storm made the NCAA tournament was in 2002. The program’s image also took a major hit with the off-court scandals that led to the firing of Head Coach Mike Jarvis in 2003.

In his sixth year as coach at St. John’s, former Kansas assistant Norm Roberts seems to have a very solid team this season. The Red Storm have already defeated very good mid-majors in Siena and Temple. On Saturday, St. John’s traveled to mighty Duke and gave the No. 5 Blue Devils a real fight, as they trailed by only four points with 10 minutes left.

Junior guard D.J. Kennedy is playing the best basketball of his career, averaging 18 points, four rebounds and four assists per game while shooting 55 percent from the field and an impressive 45 percent from behind the arc. He is also getting some help from community college transfer Dwight Hardy, who has made an immediate impact by putting up 10 points per game.

With four very winnable games left in non-conference play, St. John’s could easily be 10-1 heading into Verizon Center on Dec. 31 to take on a Georgetown team with its Hoya faithful on winter break.

Nobody on the Hilltop should chalk up Georgetown’s Big East opener against St. John’s as an automatic win, especially considering that the Red Storm defeated the Hoyas twice last year.

3. Julian Vaughn’s emergence has been huge for the Hoyas.

Two weeks ago, we discussed how Georgetown had been getting the vast majority of its points from four players in its first three games, and how a fifth scorer was needed to take the Hoyas to the next level. The column argued that Hollis Thompson could be that player, and he has certainly stepped up, nailing all six of his shots – including four three-pointers – in a 16-point performance against

Lafayette. However, no one has raised his game more over the last two weeks than Julian Vaughn.

Vaughn has been a constant contributor in Georgetown’s last three games, averaging 12 points, seven rebounds and two blocks per game while making an astonishing 74 percent of his field goal attempts.

He is showing the talent that made him a force on an Oak Hill team that included NBA rookie sensation Brandon Jennings and Duke’s current leading scorer, Nolan Smith. If Vaughn can continue this level of play, there will be few starting fives in the country that can match Wright, Clark, Freeman, Vaughn and Monroe.

All Vaughn needs to do now is show that he can perform against big-time competition as well. He’ll get his chance when the Hoyas face No. 20 Butler tonight and No. 10 Washington on Saturday.

This is the last installment of Three-Point Play this semester, so thanks for reading and we’ll see you in January!

Parimal Garg is a junior in the College. Three-Point Play appears in every other Tuesday issue of Hoya Sports.”