Jimmer or Sullinger?

With March Madness right around the corner, conference tournaments are about to begin and some all-conference teams have already been announced (the MAAC went today).  That means it's time to start thinking about who's going to be named All-American.  There are two obvious choices (Jimmer Fredette and Jared Sullinger), but there are still three spots that need to be given out.  Assuming that either Jimmer or Sullinger will be the Player of the Year, who's going to fill the other three spots on the All-America team?  I think that the other three First Team All-Americans are also pretty easy to pick.

Let's start with the two obvious choices.  Jimmer's averaging 27.3 points (the most in the nation), 3.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game as 27-2 BYU (which is a football school, by the way) has risen to No. 3 in the AP poll.  Everybody knew what Jimmer's capable of after that NCAA Tournament game against Florida last season, which is why his numbers this year are so remarkable.  It's like the year after Stephen Curry's breakout.  When you're essentially a one-man team and still able to put up crazy numbers, that says everything you need to know.  Jimmer's ridiculous.  He's one of the few players in the college game I'd pay to see.  Plus his name's Jimmer.

But Jimmer's not my Player of the Year.  That goes to Jared Sullinger.  Now, when the Preseason All-Americans were announced, I was all up in arms because North Carolina's Harrison Barnes was selected.  Barnes is a freshman.  So is Sulligner.  But the difference is Sullinger has actually played collegiate games.  John Wall was the Player of the Year as a freshman last season, when he was clearly the best player in the nation.  Sullinger's a finalist for all the big national Player of the Year awards, and he deserves to be.  17.4 points, 9.8 rebounds and .558 shooting while starting every game for the No. 1-ranked team in the nation.  As a freshman.  Ohio State wouldn't be this good if Jared Sullinger wasn't this good.

Now, like I said, the remainder of the All-American team is a toss-up.  But I think UConn's Kemba Walker is an easy choice.  The probable Big East Player of the Year, he averages 22.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.9 steals per game.  UConn's in the middle of the pack in the Big East, but Walker's the best player in the best league in the country.  And he's got the ability to go off for 30 any given night.

For choice number four, I'm going with Duke's Nolan Smith.  It really is kind a toss up between the Duke guys (Smith and Kyle Singler), but Smith's numbers trump Singler's.  He leads Duke in scoring (21.4 ppg), and also averages 4.9 boards and 5.3 assists per game.  Singler averages 17.2 points and 6.3 rebounds, but that's probably about what you expected from Kyle Singler this season.  Singler was expected to be the guy for the Blue Devils as they attempted to defend their national title, but Smith turned out to be that guy.  Just as importantly, he moved to the point after Kyrie Irving got hurt.  And Duke got along just fine.  That's why Smith gets the nod over Singler.

My final selection is Jordan Hamilton of Texas.  Now, I don't watch that many Big 12 games, so I haven't seen that much of Jordan Hamilton, but the little bit I've seen of him has been impressive.  Talent-wise, there are probably a couple guys just in the Big 12 that are better (Baylor's LaceDarius Dunn, Kansas State's Jacob Pullen, the Morris brothers at Kansas), but Hamilton certainly gets an awful lot out of what he's got.  Plus, his supporting cast isn't as good.  Yet Texas is 24-5 and will likely get either a 1 or 2 seed in the Tournament.  Hamilton's numbers: 18.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.  He might get the nod for Big 12 Player of the Year.

There are so many great players in college basketball that I can easily see one of these guys dropping to the second or third team, and there are too many names to mention that picking 10 more would be so difficult I'm not even really going to try.  I'll just throw some of those names out there.  Obviously there's Kyle Singler, but how about Notre Dame's Ben Hansbrough, Purdue's JaJuan Johnson, Georgia's Trey Thompkins, John Leuer of Wisconsin, Tennessee's Scotty Hopson? 

I think you get my drift.  Just know that Jimmer, Sullinger, Walker, Smith and Hamilton are the five best players in the nation.  They deserve to be First Team All-Americans.