National Player of the Year rankings: Will injury cost Zion Williamson?

Is the National Player of the Year still Zion Williamson’s to lose or has his knee injury opened the door for another college basketball stud to steal it?

Believe it or not, we are just two weeks away from the beginning of conference tournaments across college basketball, and the race for the National Player of the Year award is somewhat heating up.

After the most talked about injury in college basketball in recent memory to Zion Williamson, could the door be open for another player to make a late push for the National Player of the Year?

The race really hasn’t been close for the last month or so, as Williamson has just about locked it up with his play in the ACC. In 13 games he’s averaged 22.6 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. But he’s listed as day-to-day with a knee sprain, so the opportunity is there for someone to steal what has been long assumed to be his award.

Could we be in store for a Heisman Trophy-like finish? Meaning one player (Williamson in this case) is the prohibitive favorite for the entire season only to see another player steal it at the finish line as Kyler Murray did to Tua Tagovailoa?

While it may be unlikely, it’s worth examining who could be in the running for the award when it is announced in April. With a wild week of college basketball behind us lets take a look at where we stand on the top five players in the running.

Honorable mention – Guys who have made a blip on the radar this season but aren’t quite ready to crack the top five.

Cam Johnson – North Carolina

Rui Hachimura – Gonzaga

Grant Williams – Tennessee

De’Andre Hunter – Virginia

Brandon Clarke – Gonzaga

Cassius Winston – Michigan State