There’s typically some clarity to the national player of the year race by the final week of the regular season, but that’s not the case this year.
As the calendar turns to college basketball’s most important month, you can reasonably make a case for a handful of guys, each of whom have been instrumental to leading their teams into national title contention.
With Selection Sunday only 11 days away, we asked four of our college basketball writers to give their Player of the Year picks so far. A consensus emerged regarding who the leading candidates are but not the order in which they should be ranked.
PAT FORDE
Frank Mason III, Kansas
Josh Hart, Villanova
Lonzo Ball, UCLA
Nigel Williams-Goss, Gonzaga
Caleb Swanigan, Purdue
I hated this list as soon as I finished it, because I had to leave off the entire Atlantic Coast Conference and Oklahoma State’s Jawun Evans, and neither of those things feels right. However, the assignment was a top five, so there will be notable omissions.
The most important thing about all five players on this list is that their teams would be drastically diminished without them: Purdue isn’t leading the Big Ten without Swanigan’s double-doubles; Gonzaga is not 27-1 without Williams-Goss’ ability to fill all parts of a box score; Ball has elevated UCLA to national contender status; Hart is the embodiment of Villanova’s championship toughness; and Mason has a will to win that stands out even among other hyper-competitive athletes.
Mason gets the top spot not just because he averages 20 points, four rebounds and five assists for the nation’s No. 1 team — it’s the endless array of big plays at big times, for a team that has found itself in a surprising number of close games. Bill Self has leaned hard on Mason this year, piling on the minutes and the responsibilities at both ends of the floor, and he’s handled it all.
By now, Kansas fans have to believe they’re always going to win, because Frank Mason is always going to find a way.
HENRY BUSHNELL
Josh Hart, Villanova
Frank Mason III, Kansas
Caleb Swanigan, Purdue
Lonzo Ball, UCLA
Johnathan Motley, Baylor
There is a great argument for the best player (and point guard) on the nation’s top-ranked team, and there is a solid argument for a dominant big who has recorded 24 double-doubles and four 20-20 games. But I’ll take the player who combines the most compelling aspects of both arguments. That player is Villanova’s Josh Hart.
Hart admittedly isn’t putting up the per-game scoring numbers of a typical Player of the Year favorite, and hasn’t been as prolific over the past three weeks. He is, however, like Mason, the best player on arguably the nation’s best team, and he is, like Swanigan, a multi-dimensional monster who is outstanding on both ends of the court.
Hart’s per-game numbers are also deceptive. Whereas Kansas and Purdue (and UCLA and Gonzaga) rank in the top 100 nationally in offensive pace, Villanova’s adjusted tempo ranks 320th. The Wildcats average fewer than 65 possessions per game; Kansas, on the other hand, averages more than 70. Hart’s 18.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game are therefore more impressive than Mason’s 20.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.9 assists.
That is reflected in per-possession numbers. Hart is a more efficient offensive player than Mason. His effective field goal and true shooting percentages are higher. His block and steal rates are higher. And his assist rate — especially coupled with his turnover rate — is great for a non-point guard.
Hart is also doing all of this on a team that has effectively been reduced to a six-man rotation lately. He’s led that team to a 27-3 record, a fourth consecutive Big East title, and a likely No. 1 seed. That’s POY material.
via Yahoo!Sports