As we approach March Madness and the start of conference tournaments, the National Player of the Year debate is about to come to the forefront. Last year, it was pretty clear that two guys--Jimmer Fredette and Jared Sullinger--were far and away the two best players in the nation. This year that's not the case. If you were to ask 10 different people who they thought was the Player of the Year, you'd probably get 10 different answers. And I'm not sure any of them would be "wrong." But as it is, there are still a couple players that stand out a little bit more than the others.
My All-American team begins with Kentucky forward Anthony Davis. The best player on the best team should obviously automatically be in the Player of the Year discussion, but it's almost unfair how good this guy is. Davis has 13 double-doubles in 29 games this season. In fact, he's almost averaging a double-double (14.3 points, 9.8 rebounds per game). He also leads the nation in blocks (4.8 per game) and ranks second in field goal percentage (.658). For good measure, he's also the team leader with 1.5 steals per game. Davis is a virtual lock for SEC Player of the Year. It wouldn't be a surprise if he's the National Player of the Year, too.
You want to talk double-doubles, how about Kansas forward Thomas Robinson? The guy's a double-double machine. 20 in 29 games. Robinson's averaging 17.8 points per game, and his 11.9 rebounds per outing are second in the nation. He's also among the top 50 nationally in field goal percentage (.537). Sure, a guy who gets to the line as much as he does should be better than a 70 percent free throw shooter, but, that my friends, is called nitpicking. Robinson's going to be the Big 12 Player of the Year, he's going to be a First Team All-American, and he very well might be the National Player of the Year.
Robinson might have some competition for Big 12 Player of the Year, though. Missouri guard Marcus Denmon is pretty damn good, too. Denmon's among the national leaders in six different categories, which has to put him under some serious All-American consideration. Denmon is fourth in the country in free throw percentage, shooting better than 90 percent at the line. His three-point percentage is also ridiculous (.410), and he sinks nearly three treys per game. Denmon's also on the national list in field goal percentage (.468) and steals (1.5 per game). Oh, and he's "only" averaging 5.1 rebounds a night to go along with 18.2 points per game.
The best player in the Big Ten is clearly Michigan State's Draymond Green. Like Robinson, he's averaging a double-double for the season (15.6 ppg, 10.3 rpg). He also leads the Spartans with 27 blocks and 44 steals (1.5 a night). In addition, Green's right there among the team leaders in assists, averaging 3.6 per game. As for the percentages--field goal: .449, three-point: .402, free throw: .713. Michigan State's always in the Final Four. If they get there again this year, Draymond Green will be a big reason why.
My final First Team All-American selection is a guy who was virtually unknown until a feature on him appeared in Sports Illustrated two weeks ago. That's what Doug McDermott gets for playing at Creighton. But if you want to know why Creighton's 25-5, nationally ranked, and a lock for the Tournament even if they don't win the Missouri Valley conference tournament, look no further than the coach's son. McDermott's third in the country in scoring (23.1 ppg), and he's led the team in scoring in 25 of its 30 games. And McDermott doesn't average 23 points per game because he takes a million shots. His .607 field goal percentage is the eighth-best in the nation. As for rebounding, McDermott's good at that, too. He grabs 8.1 per game.
So there you have it. If I'm filling out a ballot for the All-American team, those are the five guys at the top of my list. Of course, that's just the short list. There are three All-American teams. Some of the players I think will be in consideration for Second and Third Team All-American honors include Wisconsin's Jordan Taylor, Indiana's Kyle Zeller, the Lambs (Kentucky's Doron and UConn's Jeremy), Vanderbilt's John Jenkins, North Carolina's Harrison Barnes, Robbie Hummel of Purdue (how great is it that he's back?), Yale's Greg Mangano (seriously, the guy's a beast; best Ivy League player since Jeremy Lin), Isaiah Canaan of Murray State (he could even be a dark horse First Team candidate), Jared Sullinger of Ohio State, and Iona's Scott Machado (the national leader in assists).
As for Player of the Year, I think it comes down to Davis and Robinson. Neither one would be a bad selection. I think it's amazing that the best player on the best team is once again a freshman. The precedent's already been set. If the best player in the nation is a freshman, why not make him the National Player of the Year? But I think being a freshman worked against Sullinger last year, and it might work against Davis this year. Robinson is a junior. Regardless, I think Anthony Davis is the best player in the nation, so he'd get my vote for Player of the Year.
No comments:
Post a Comment