The race for the Naismith Trophy, presented annually by the Atlanta Tip-Off Club to college basketball’s player of the year, once appeared to be conceded to Oklahoma freshman guard Trae Young, the NCAA Division I leader in both scoring and assists.
As the Sooners have struggled to win, and Young has struggled with his shot, it seems possible there’ll be a competition for this honor, after all. If so, the other candidates will be found on the Naismith list of 30 candidates announced Wednesday.
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Could it be Duke freshman Marvin Bagley? Villanova veteran point guard Jalen Brunson? Ohio State’s surging Keita Bates-Diop?
All are among the 30 candidates.
Purdue and Arizona have two candidates each: guard Carsen Edwards and forward Vincent Edwards of the Boilermakers; guard Allonzo Trier and forward Deandre Ayton of the Wildcats.
Ayton joins Young among the five freshmen on the list. In a season many view as being oriented more toward veterans than dynamic frosh, there are a dozen seniors including Gary Clark of Cincinnati, Trevon Bluiett of Xavier and Keenan Evans of Texas Tech. All have their teams ranked among the nation’s top 10.
The Naismith panel will cut the list down to 10 finalists by early March and will present the 50th Citizen’s Naismith Trophy at a ceremony at the Final Four in San Antonio on April 1. Fans will have a say in the vote; their collective voices will weigh as five percent of the total.
Naismith Player of the Year Candidates
Deandre Ayton, freshman forward, Arizona
Marvin Bagley, freshman forward, Duke
Mohamed Bamba, freshman forward, Texas
Keita Bates-Diop, junior forward, Ohio State
Joel Berry, senior guard, North Carolina
Trevon Bluiett, senior wing, Xavier
Mikal Bridges, junior wing, Villanova
Miles Bridges, sophomore wing, Michigan State
Bryce Brown, junior guard, Auburn
Jalen Brunson, junior guard, Villanova
Jevon Carter, senior guard, West Virginia
Gary Clark, senior forward, Cincinnati
Mike Daum, junior forward, South Dakota State
Angel Delgado, senior center, Seton Hall
Carsen Edwards, sophomore guard, Purdue
Vince Edwards, senior forward, Purdue
Keenan Evans, senior guard, Texas Tech
Marcus Foster, senior guard, Creighton
Devonte’ Graham, senior guard, Kansas
Kyle Guy, sophomore guard, Virginia
Tra Holder, senior guard, Arizona State
Chandler Hutchison, senior guard, Boise State
Kevin Knox, freshman forward, Kentucky
Jock Landale, senior center, Saint Mary’s
Caleb Martin, junior forward, Nevada
Luke Maye, junior forward, North Carolina
Collin Sexton, freshman guard, Alabama
Landry Shamet, sophomore guard, Wichita State
Allonzo Trier, junior guard, Arizona
Trae Young, freshman guard, Oklahoma
