Let's assume that the award comes down to 3 primary factors: 1) Stats, 2) Player-of-the-Week honors, and 3) the "eye test". With the race for POY pretty wide open at this point, it would be wise to look at all the contenders for the award with these criteria in mind. I've narrowed it down to 8 candidates. In no particular order, here goes....


Daniel Dixon, W&M

Player-of-the-Week Awards: 2 (both during CAA play)

Scoring: 2nd (20.9 ppg)
FG %: 9th (.508)
Assists: 12th (2.8 apg)
Rebounding: 14th (5.7 rpg)
FT %: 2nd (.850)
3-Pt %: 11th (.397)

Dixon, much like his teammate Omar Prewitt, has been on a tear in the 2nd half of the CAA campaign, leading the Tribe to wins over UNCW, Northeastern and Charleston over the past 3 weeks. And in 2 of those 3 victories, Dixon put up over 25 points.

He's also certainly not a one-trick pony as a scorer. While he's still an excellent three-point shooter, he's been able to leverage his outside shooting ability to also get easier buckets in the 2-point range. And when he drives to the bucket for fouls, he's automatic from the stripe.

As one of three players in the league who has won multiple Player-of-the-Week awards in CAA play, Dixon will benefit from the "what have you done for me lately?" vote, though he might split the vote a bit with Prewitt.


T.J. Williams, Northeastern

Player-of-the-Week Awards: 2 (0 during CAA play)

Scoring: 3rd (20.6 ppg)
Assists: 3rd (4.8 apg)
FG %: 14th (.468)
Rebounding: 19th (4.6 rpg)
A/TO Ratio: 11th of 11 (1.3)
Minutes: 1st (38.1 mpg)

Williams has battled injuries of late, but as long as he finishes strong, POY might be his award to lose. No one in the league fills the stat sheet like he does, thanks in part to being relied on by Bill Coen for heavy minutes night in and night out. His only weakness? Turnovers. Perhaps from trying to do a little too much at times, Williams' many touches of the ball have also come with a lot of giveaways, giving him the worst Assist:Turnover ratio of any qualifying guard in the league.

The Huskies' tough schedule to finish out the season gives T.J. opportunities to shine as well. NU faces UNCW twice, Charleston once, and Elon on the road in their remaining 4 games. It's "sink or swim" time for Northeastern as well as Williams' POY chances. One more Player-of-the-Week honor would do wonders for his chances.


Tyler Seibring, Elon

Player-of-the-Week Awards: 2 (both during CAA play)

Scoring: 12th (15.1 ppg)
Rebounding: t-6th (7.1 rpg)
FT %: 9th (.795)
3-Pt %: 6th (.418)
Blocks: 8th (0.9 bpg)

Seibring has flown under the radar a bit for the Phoenix. But the 6-8 sophomore big man can no longer be ignored, even as his own teammate, Brian Dawkins, put up the more impressive offensive numbers in recent games against Charleston and UNCW. Seibring has been Elon's most consistent player over the course of the season, doing the dirty work inside while also displaying a strong shooting touch.

With a pair of Player-of-the-Week honors during league play and strong overall numbers, Seibring is certainly in the conversation for Player-of-the-Year, though he will need to have a breakout performance or 2 in the final 4 games to have a realistic chance.


Omar Prewitt, W&M

Player-of-the-Week Awards: 1 (occurred during CAA play)

Scoring: 7th (16.7 ppg)
Assists: 9th (3.5 apg)
Rebounding: 9th (6.1 rpg)
FG %: 11th (.494)
A/TO Ratio: 9th of 11 (1.7)

As mentioned previously for Dixon, Prewitt has been on an absolute tear in the 2nd half of the CAA schedule, more than arguably any other player in the league. After a solid junior campaign, Omar was asked to be "the guy" for the Tribe in many ways as a senior, and struggled in that role for much of the season.

However, the light switch has clearly gone on. In a blowout win over UNCW, he put up 28 points, 7 boards and 4 dimes. And in an 89-79 victory over Charleston, the best defensive team in the league, he posted a line of 30 points on 13-19 shooting, another 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in 36 minutes. Being the best player on the court in a game like that will garner you votes, even if he didn't so much as share Player of the Week honors for doing so.


Joe Chealey, Charleston

Player-of-the-Week Awards: 1 (occurred during CAA play)

Scoring: 4th (18.7 ppg)
Assists: 11th (3.3 apg)
FT %: 3rd (.833)
3-Pt %: 7th (.417)
A/TO Ratio: 5th (1.9)
Minutes: 4th (35.9 mpg)

The best overall player on the 2nd-place team in the league, Chealey is another candidate that hasn't been mentioned nearly enough in the POY conversation.

It's possible that the Cougars' performance of late might be hindering his chances. Back to back losses to Northeastern and Charleston, with the former coming at home despite a 16-point halftime lead, are lending doubts to just how well the Cougars will perform even as the "host team" in the CAA Tournament.

Nevertheless, Chealey's play hasn't dipped over the course of the season. Against NU he put up 28 points on 8-14 shooting, was a perfect 9-9 from the line and had 3 assists and 1 steal.


Devontae Cacok, UNCW

Player-of-the-Week Awards: 2 (0 during CAA play)

Scoring: 20th (12.5 ppg)
Rebounding: 1st (11.1 rpg)
FG %: 1st (.760)
Blocks: 1st (1.7 bpg)
Steals: t-7th (1.4 spg)

Cacok blends so many qualities that any coach would covet out of a big man. As the 5 in UNCW's 4-guard lineup, Cacok is able to run the floor on offense for big buckets inside and plays bigger than his 6-8 frame on the defensive end. He's thrived in Coach Keatts' system in just his sophomore campaign.

Unfortunately, two things work against him: 1) He isn't a top scorer in the league, which is a characteristic that nearly all POY winners have had, and 2) Being on such a successful UNCW team, he might split votes with his own teammate, Denzel Ingram (more on him later) or perhaps even a "sleeper" candidate like C.J. Bryce. Be patient, big fella. With 2 years left in his career following this season, many accolades will be coming his way the remainder of his career.


Justin Wright-Foreman, Hofstra

Player-of-the-Week Awards: 2 (both during CAA play)

Scoring: 1st (22.2 ppg)
FG %: 4th (.525)
3-Pt %: 12th (.389)

Wright-Foreman picked up his 2nd POW honor on Monday, and as the CAA's top scorer has to be included as a top candidate for POY. However, with Hofstra sitting at 6-12 in league play, facing a tough remaining schedule, and with Wright-Foreman providing little else to the table other than scoring, I view Wright-Foreman as one of the weaker candidates on this list.

However, if the scoring title favorite is able to lead the Pride to key wins down the stretch, such as in their upcoming week where they host Charleston and UNCW, my views on him can change very quickly.


Denzel Ingram, UNCW

Player-of-the-Week Awards: 1 (0 in CAA play)

Scoring: 10th (16.0 ppg)
Assists: 2nd (5.3 apg)
Steals: t-9th (1.4 spg)
3-Pt FG Made: 1st (3.7 threes per game)
A/TO Ratio: 1st (3.5)

Ingram, the other candidate from the 1st-place Seahawks, does a lot of great things for his team that put him in contention for the POY award. Ingram is a clutch shooter who has also proven to be a very capable scoring point guard in Coach Keatts' system. Despite playing in a fast-paced scheme, Ingram is surprisingly efficient as a distributor, dishing out the 2nd most assists AND protecting the ball better than any point guard in the league.

The issue for Ingram is much the same as the ones facing Cacok: He might split votes, and if he finds himself outside of the Top 10 in the scoring ranks, that would unfortunately hurt him as well.

However, you can expect that UNCW will have two 1st-team all-CAA players when all is said and done. Two star performers for the current 1st-place team deserve some preferential treatment in that regard.