Some Freshmen can play day 1...especially guards. Barkley, Cook, Lovett, Ponds, Posh, etc. are evidence of that here. Man, how good was Lovett right out of the gate?
The recent evidence we are going off of is freshmen haven't done well here under Pitino. Even Clayton was underwhelming for him at Iona playing several levels below where he belonged. The defensive stuff can be overwhelming for them as you know from watching practice.
From Louisville on, some really good guards have struggled year 1 for him. Even Donovan Mitchell.