02-13-2014, 06:18 PM
4. Russ Smith, Louisville Cardinals
With Smith, we take a big step down on this list in terms of current buzz. Even if McDermott's 30-plus points per game are relatively "quiet," he's at least widely acknowledged as the best player in the college game. And Parker and Ennis are freshmen, so there are no worries about buzz with those guys.
But who's talking about Russ Smith right now? Not many people. That's too bad, because his experience suggests all those tired old cliches about player development and maturation may have some grounding in reality. Not so long ago, Smith was a shooting guard whose judgment was routinely called into question. Now he's a rock-solid scoring point guard who also plays very good defense (as he has always done). No one's talking about Smith or the Cardinals at the moment, but that may change come March. This is an elite point guard on one of the nation's best teams.
7. Shabazz Napier, Connecticut Huskies
If you saw the game Napier had against Cincinnati last week, you know it was not the senior's finest hour. He was 5-of-19 from the floor in a game where DeAndre Daniels was sidelined by back spasms, and the Huskies still lost by just five on the road to the first-place Bearcats. I suppose if we're seeing this glass as half full, though, we can marvel at how good Napier has to have been the rest of the time to have posted such impressive season totals.
Kevin Ollie's star is having the best season of his career from the perimeter, connecting on his 3s at a 42 percent rate. And Napier has made all those outside shots while running an offense that's vying with Louisville's for the No. 1 ranking in terms of efficiency in AAC play. He also shoots 88 percent at the line, defends well and even grabs a few defensive boards. Napier is virtually a team unto himself, and his career seems to be building to a suitably impressive finish.
10. Sean Kilpatrick, Cincinnati Bearcats
If someone asks me why my Top 25 is better than the Wooden Award's slate of 25 finalists, I start with the fact that my rankings contain two key words nowhere to be found on that other list: Sean Kilpatrick. The senior has been heroic for Mick Cronin's team. To take just one example, few players nationally have taken better advantage of the new emphasis on whistling defensive fouls than has Kilpatrick. Not only is he drawing more fouls than ever (you see that a lot with players this season), the Bearcats star has improved his free throw shooting to the point where he's now draining 86 percent of his attempts from the line.
This is Cincinnati we're talking about, so even a leading scorer like Kilpatrick is also a tenacious defender. (Be more impressed than ever by respectable steal rates such as Kilpatrick's, by the way. In our strange new era, fouls are many but turnovers are few.) And on a team not lacking for combo guards, Kilpatrick is the starter who takes the most shots and maintains the highest assist rate. All of the above is certainly enough for the Cincinnati star to secure a spot on my (clearly superior) list. Congratulations, Sean. You don't need those other award-givers.
http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-...basketball
With Smith, we take a big step down on this list in terms of current buzz. Even if McDermott's 30-plus points per game are relatively "quiet," he's at least widely acknowledged as the best player in the college game. And Parker and Ennis are freshmen, so there are no worries about buzz with those guys.
But who's talking about Russ Smith right now? Not many people. That's too bad, because his experience suggests all those tired old cliches about player development and maturation may have some grounding in reality. Not so long ago, Smith was a shooting guard whose judgment was routinely called into question. Now he's a rock-solid scoring point guard who also plays very good defense (as he has always done). No one's talking about Smith or the Cardinals at the moment, but that may change come March. This is an elite point guard on one of the nation's best teams.
7. Shabazz Napier, Connecticut Huskies
If you saw the game Napier had against Cincinnati last week, you know it was not the senior's finest hour. He was 5-of-19 from the floor in a game where DeAndre Daniels was sidelined by back spasms, and the Huskies still lost by just five on the road to the first-place Bearcats. I suppose if we're seeing this glass as half full, though, we can marvel at how good Napier has to have been the rest of the time to have posted such impressive season totals.
Kevin Ollie's star is having the best season of his career from the perimeter, connecting on his 3s at a 42 percent rate. And Napier has made all those outside shots while running an offense that's vying with Louisville's for the No. 1 ranking in terms of efficiency in AAC play. He also shoots 88 percent at the line, defends well and even grabs a few defensive boards. Napier is virtually a team unto himself, and his career seems to be building to a suitably impressive finish.
10. Sean Kilpatrick, Cincinnati Bearcats
If someone asks me why my Top 25 is better than the Wooden Award's slate of 25 finalists, I start with the fact that my rankings contain two key words nowhere to be found on that other list: Sean Kilpatrick. The senior has been heroic for Mick Cronin's team. To take just one example, few players nationally have taken better advantage of the new emphasis on whistling defensive fouls than has Kilpatrick. Not only is he drawing more fouls than ever (you see that a lot with players this season), the Bearcats star has improved his free throw shooting to the point where he's now draining 86 percent of his attempts from the line.
This is Cincinnati we're talking about, so even a leading scorer like Kilpatrick is also a tenacious defender. (Be more impressed than ever by respectable steal rates such as Kilpatrick's, by the way. In our strange new era, fouls are many but turnovers are few.) And on a team not lacking for combo guards, Kilpatrick is the starter who takes the most shots and maintains the highest assist rate. All of the above is certainly enough for the Cincinnati star to secure a spot on my (clearly superior) list. Congratulations, Sean. You don't need those other award-givers.
http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-...basketball