College Basketball’s Naismith Award is down to 10 semifinalists with the winner being announced during the Final Four.
The Naismith panel works quickly. What started out as a list of 50 for College Basketball Player of the Year is now down to ten. Every candidate is deserving of the award and has contributed to their team’s success a lot. The 10 semifinalists that make up the Naismith Award, according to the NCAA website, are Grayson Allen (Duke), Malcolm Brogdon (Virginia), Kris Dunn (Providence), Buddy Hield (Oklahoma), Brice Johnson (North Carolina), Jakob Poeltl (Utah), Ben Simmons (LSU), Tyler Ulis (Kentucky), Jarrod Uthoff (Iowa), and Denzel Valentine (Michigan State).
Ben Simmons
People who think that one-and-dones are bad for the game will be pleased to see this list as Ben Simmons is the only freshmen included — and he’s a generational talent as well as the consensus first overall pick. However, the next batch of finalists for the Naismith will be announced during March Madness and it’s hard to imagine Simmons will still be there if he can’t get his team to the Big Dance.
At 18-12 and a trip to Kentucky looming, the Tigers are hanging by a thread. However, as long as Simmons can contribute to future recruiting and transition to the NBA well, he shouldn’t care about winning the Naismith. Averaging a double-double and single-handedly winning games they shouldn’t be winning means that people recognize Simmons’ talent. Besides, Karl-Anthony Towns went first overall and looks like a dominant force even though his name was nowhere near the final Naismith ballot.
Grayson Allen
After going off in the National Championship Game, Grayson Allen returned for a second year to prove that he wasn’t a one-hit wonder, even when most of his freshmen teammates declared for the draft. While his Blue Devils may be struggling, Allen isn’t as he is scoring at an incredible rate of 21.2 points per game. He’s gone from bench player to regular starter and it’s worked wonders so far. Whereas Allen may have been a late first to early second round pick last year, he’s improved his draft stock considerably and could end up being a lottery pick. Of course, adding a Naismith to his resume will only boost that.
Despite losing to teams like Clemson, Syracuse, and Notre Dame, any team coached by Mike Krzyzewski should never be counted out. They’re still in the Top 25 and have a realistic shot at winning the ACC Tournament. Plus, when they get to the Big Dance, they have too much talent on that team to truly be counted out against anyone. While Brandon Ingram may be getting all the attention from scouts, Grayson Allen is leading by example and helping his team get back to where they should be.
Malcolm Brogdon
At No. 4 in the poll and 22-6 overall, Virginia have been firing on all cylinders. Many are waiting for their inevitable collapse in the tournament, but Malcolm Brogdon has been there and done that and has no interest in going down that road again. He has averaged 18.5 points per game and spearheads the team’s offense. He has played the most minutes of anyone on the team and reached 28 points three times on the road. While Virginia prides itself on playing great team basketball, Malcolm Brogdon is clearly the focal point and if they are going to do any damage in the Tournament, he will be the cause of it.
Buddy Hield
If anyone should be considered the early favorite for the Naismith, it should be Buddy Hield. His 25.3 points per game is the highest out of any of the semifinalists, and he’s also proven himself to be the team’s leader. Were it not for Ben Simmons, Hield would be the one getting all the attention as well as the title of best player in the country. Perhaps the best moment of this college basketball season remains his 46-point game against Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse. It was in a losing effort, but he earned the respect of the KU fans who gave him a standing ovation after the game.
After once being considered early favorites to at least make the Final Four, the Sooners have started to drop games late in the season against Texas and Texas Tech while barely scraping by teams they should be blowing out. They failed to end Kansas’ title reign atop the Big 12, but Hield has remained a consistent force throughout. As long as he’s performing at a high level, his team will go far. There’s a good chance he’ll get to meet Kansas again in the Big Dance, and nobody would complain after their last two meetings this year.
Kris Dunn
Providence stormed out of the gate this year when they started 12-1 and only lost to Michigan State. However, they have lost five of their last six and their conference record is a very average 8-8. None of that is due to Kris Dunn, who makes his teammates better with his electric play. He averages 16.4 points but that’s only because he’s a distributor and looks to get all of his teammates in on the action rather than steal the spotlight. But he has still reached double figures in scoring in 23 out of 26 games.
Against Butler, he was one assist and three rebounds away from a triple-double to will his team to victory. He could’ve left after last season – which was his first healthy season – but decided to come back to much fanfare. He has remained one of the best players in the country and should get a lot of attention from scouts come draft time.
Brice Johnson
It’s hard for Brice Johnson to separate himself from a team that includes Marcus Paige, Justin Jackson, and Kennedy Meeks. Yet that’s what he’s done in averaging a double-double on the season thus far. In total, he has 18 double-doubles this season which is more than half of the games played. By far his best game of the season was against Florida State when he went off for 39 points and 23 rebounds.
The Tar Heels have a chance to win the ACC in their regular season finale against Duke, and you know that Johnson wants it bad, especially after coming up painfully short in their first meeting. While they have faltered a bit recently, the Tar Heels have mostly played up to their billing as preseason favorites, and Johnson has played a big part in that, especially in the beginning of the season when he had to step up and fill the void left by Marcus Paige’s injury.
Jakob Poeltl
Despite the loss of Delon Wright, Utah has not taken a step back, and that’s due largely in part to their big man Jakob Poeltl. He has filled in greatly during his sophomore year, seemingly emerging as the team’s leader after playing under Wright, and has put up 10 double-doubles so far this season. Even though the Pac-12 is traditionally a conference dominated by Arizona, Oregon and Utah have emerged this season. After a slow start to conference play, the Utes have rattled off six straight wins and find themselves one-half game away from the title behind Oregon with a game left. Credit that to Poeltl’s emergence on the team as the Utes head into the Big Dance with all the momentum on their side as a trendy sleeper pick.
Tyler Ulis
One could’ve easily made an argument for Jamal Murray to be on this list, but Ulis fits just as well. While Kentucky are a far cry from their near-perfect season last year, Ulis made the right choice to stay behind and keep the Wildcats a consistent force instead of missing the tournament the year after they won in 2012. Heading into their final game against LSU, they will look to avenge their previous loss to them and clinch a share of the SEC title despite a tough year in which hyped prospect Skal Labissiere has looked flat and tough losses to Texas A&M and Vanderbilt.
Nevertheless, Ulis hasn’t missed a beat from last season, and has benefited from a lot more playing time now that Cal doesn’t have to implement the platoon. He posted the first 20-point, 10-assist game by a Kentucky player since John Wall and posted a career high of 26 points against Kansas. He’s proven that he’s not a part of a system but is in fact talented in his own right and his success this season should translate well to the NBA. But first, he should be focusing on getting his team ready for a deep tournament run.
Denzel Valentine
Valentine returning for his senior year boosted Michigan State’s chances of winning big time, and when he posted a triple-double against Kansas, the comparisons to Magic Johnson started flowing. While that may be a bit much, Denzel Valentine has had a fantastic year for the Spartans and are the reason why they’ve remained a consistent, top 5 team throughout the season.
If not for an injury he suffered midseason that coincided with Buddy Hield’s breakout performance in Kansas, Valentine might be the one having his named carved into the Naismith Trophy. But he should still be focused on getting his team primed and ready for the Big Dance. Tom Izzo coached his team all the way to the Final Four last year as a seventh seed, so one can only imagine how far he can take the Spartans this year with an improved Valentine.
Jarrod Uthoff
The only reason Michigan State hasn’t run away with the Big Ten title is because of the Iowa Hawkeyes who have been one of the biggest surprises this season. Their first win against the Spartans was dismissed since the team didn’t have Valentine and they were playing on the road. But when Iowa won again in East Lansing, and by double digits, the secret was out that they were one of the best teams in the country.
At the heart of their success has been Jarrod Uthoff. He has averaged 18.5 points per game, and is an excellent defender as well, leading the Big Ten in blocked shots. The only time he didn’t score double-digit points was against Maryland who are a quality opponent in their own regard. What was a good story has since fallen apart at the seams with the Hawkeyes losing four straight as well as five of their last six. They can still try to make up some ground in the Big Ten tournament and the Big Dance, but Uthoff is the only reason the Hawkeyes haven’t fallen off of a cliff. Look for him to carry his high level of play into the postseason where his team will be highly motivated to end their recent slide.