True rookie is a player who came straight out of high school like Nonoy.

As of press time, University of Santo Tomas’ (UST) Mark Nonoy had already been named Rookie of the Year of Season 82 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball tournament.

He is the first Growling Tiger to win the award since Jeric Teng took home the honor a decade ago.

But aside from Nonoy, who else were the top rookies of Season 82?

Please take note that in the UAAP, a “true rookie” is a player who came straight out of high school like Nonoy. It means that UAAP “newcomers” like Kobe Paras of University of the Philippines (UP) and Rhenz Abando of UST are considered as transferees and not as rookies.

The same principle applies to “one and done” players like Jamie Malonzo of De La Salle University, Rey Suerte of University of the East (UE), Val Chauca of Adamson, who all earned their respective degrees somewhere, but are only playing for one season while taking up post-graduate studies.

Still, I personally want to build a two-tier All-Rookie Team for UAAP Season 82, if only to get a glimpse of which young guns to watch out for in the near future.

Mark Nonoy (UST) — I coached against Nonoy in the UAAP juniors division last year and he was one of the toughest guys to contain.

This kid can flat out play and take over a game, and though he isn’t the King Tiger yet in España, don’t put it past him to inherit that mantle once the likes of Renzo Subido and Abando finally hang up their collegiate kits.

I mean, Nonoy averaged 10.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.9 triples per game and the future definitely looks bright.

Sherwin Concepcion (UST) — The Tigers also snagged a golden forward in Concepcion, the former Mapua Red Robin who spent one whole year in UST high school before finally joining the Tigers in Season 82.

Concepcion has the size to mix it up in the paint while also possessing the touch to torch opponents from long range. He put up 7.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.8 triples per game this season.

Neil Tolentino (UE) — The former National University Bullpup and Letran Squire may be my favorite rookie this season because of how relentless he is on both ends of the floor.

I also love how he can score even when UE doesn’t really run plays for him and how he can make impact with his energy and hustle.

He posted 6.2 points and 2.4 rebounds per game this season while shooting close to 53 percent from the field.

Joem Sabandal (Adamson) — Sabandal was one of the finest wingmen in the UAAP juniors the past couple of seasons, and it won’t take long before he finds his own groove in the seniors division.

He has already shown some flashes of brilliance this past season despite coming off the bench behind Adamson’s strong wing corps of Jerrick Ahanmisi, Val Chauca and Jerome Lastimosa.

Sabandal registered 4.3 points and 1.9 rebounds per game this season while shooting 60 percent from beyond the arc.

Royce Alforque (FEU) — This Cebuano is one of the quickest guys with a basketball in the league.

He can hurt a lot of teams with his quick first step and his ability to finish around the basket.

He also torched our team in last season’s juniors wars more than a few times, and he is one of the vital cogs for Olsen Racela’s potent backcourt in Morayta.

Alforque wrapped up his rookie season with averages of 4.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game this season while playing just 13 minutes per outing.

Ap Manlapaz (Adamson) — This guy went viral a few years ago for dunking on Kai Sotto in a preseason game, and he remains to be one of the most athletic guys on Adamson’s roster.

Manlapaz played mostly both forward positions in high school, and though he has had to adjust to principally being a perimeter player in college, he has been able to hold his own.

He put up 5.9 points and 2.7 rebounds per game in 14 matches while cracking coach Franz Pumaren’s main rotation in his rookie season.

Xyrus Torres (FEU) — Nobody expected the former Batang Gilas player to be FEU’s third-leading scorer in Season 82, but armed with his reliable sniping, Torres did just that.

I remember Torres hitting seven triples against our team in a single game last season in the juniors division, and man, this kid is really one of the streakiest shooters in college basketball.

This season, he shot close to 35 percent from beyond the arc, sinking 2.1 triples per game.

Patrick Wilson Yu (NU) — The younger brother of Dave Wilson Yu wasn’t the most heralded high school recruit this season, but he made his presence felt in a few games for the Bulldogs, who were aching this season for anyone to backstop the Ildefonso brothers.

Yu is a solid shooter, making 35.3 percent of his three-point attempts in 13 games for NU.

Miguel Oczon (NU) — The former Chiang Kai Shek Blue Dragon and NU Bullpup was known as a 3-and-D guy in high school, and he continued to do well in that role for NU in the senior ranks.

Many were surprised that Oczon actually started all 14 games for the Bulldogs, averaging 4.1 points and 2.1 rebounds per game while also being tasked to guard some of the best perimeter players of the entire league.

Harvey Pagsanjan (UE) — Pagsanjan stayed behind in Hope Christian High School when most of his contemporaries were already jumpstarting their careers in the seniors division a couple of years ago.

Now that the former Batang Gilas wingman is already in college, UE has reaped the rewards.

The Red Warriors have in their team one of the most fearless and explosive young perimeter players around, and I have no doubt Pagsanjan will build on his 3.5 points and 1.8 rebounds averages from this season.