It’s time to breakdown the Naismith Player of the Year Award candidates. What is the Naismith PoY Award and how is it awarded? Well, according to Wikipedia, the free source of all information worth knowing:
What it is:
- An annual basketball award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the top men’s and women’s collegiate basketball players. It is named in honor of the inventor of basketball (in 1891), Dr. James Naismith.
How it is awarded:
- Annually before the college season begins in November, a “watchlist” consisting of 50 players is chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club board of selectors, comprising head coaches, administrators and media members from across the United States. By February, the list of nominees is narrowed down to 30 players based on performance. In March, four out of the 30 players are selected as finalists and are placed in the final ballot. The final winners are selected in April by both the board of selectors and fan voting via text messaging. The winners receive the Naismith Trophy.
At this point in the season, the ol’ Naismith selection committee is as busy as the NCAA Tournament guys, trying to figure out who gets to hoist the trophy. Typically, while they are required to narrow it down to four in March, the public and media can figure out who those four will be and really widle it to 1 or 2 in February. Those one or two this year are Kentucky’s Anthony Davis and Kansas’ Thomas Robinson.
Look, the qualifications are just what is listed above: The best basketball player. As you can guess, that’s really subjective to the person voting. Looking at the last 10 winners below, you’ll find a few “who was that”s and “oh yeah, him”s, because of that subjectivity.
| 2002 | Jason Williams | Duke | Guard | Junior |
| 2003 | T. J. Ford | Texas | Guard | Sophomore |
| 2004 | Jameer Nelson | Saint Joseph’s | Guard | Senior |
| 2005 | Andrew Bogut | Utah | Center | Sophomore |
| 2006 | J. J. Redick | Duke | Guard | Senior |
| 2007 | Kevin Durant | Texas | Forward | Freshman |
| 2008 | Tyler Hansbrough | North Carolina | Forward | Junior |
| 2009 | Blake Griffin | Oklahoma | Forward | Sophomore |
| 2010 | Evan Turner | Ohio State | Guard | Junior |
| 2011 | Jimmer Fredette | Brigham Young | Guard | Senior |
You saw in 2010 John Wall vs Evan Turner, in 2011 Kemba Walker and Jared Sullinger vs Jimmer Fredette … and in 2012 you’re seeing Anthony Davis vs Thomas Robinson.
After last night’s Dick Vitale love fest for Davis and his Twitter comments earlier in the day claiming Davis could be the first ever triple crown winner (Player of the Year, Freshmen of the Year, and Defensive Player of the Year – with an asterisk of #1 NBA Draft pick), Davis was placed firmly into that debate.
Here’s a little Wildcatbluenation look into the candidates:
| Category | Reason | Winner | ||
| Candidate: | Anthony Davis | Thomas Robinson | ||
| Stats: | 14.0PPG 66% FG 4.8 Blocks 10 Rebounds 1 Assist 1.5 Steals .9 Turnovers | 18 PPG 53% FG 1.2 Blocks 12 Rebounds 1.7 Assist 1.2 Steals 2.5 Turnovers | 4 fewer points, 2 fewer rebounds, but 4 fewer attempts for Davis. 3.1 more blocks and 1.5 fewer turnovers has the winner as … | Close but Davis |
| Year: | Freshmen | Junior | The only Freshmen to win the award was Kevin Durant. 6 Juniors have won this thing, including 2 in the last 4 years. | Robinson |
| NCAA Storyline to be heard more: | Started off a PG turned PF after a late growth spurt. Hails from Chi-town and is quiet, hustles, and gets the job done. | His mom, grandma, grandpa passed away within weeks of one another. He was left to fend for himself and his sister. He’s held it together to become a top player in the country his Junior Year | Success after tragedy is the making of a movie – sell those rights to Paramount. Sell “The kid grew 7 inches in a year” to Disney. Its a nation pulling for underdogs and Robinson is one everyone wants to pull for. | Robinson – landslide |
| Nicknames: | Swat Team, Human Eraser, Brow Down, Uni-block | Thomas Earl Robinson | Defense isn’t sexy and neither is that uni-brow, but his dunks are unbelievable and his forehead adds character – any other college kid would give into the pressure to change. | Davis – Robinson Brows before him |
| Game Changer: | Defense is keyed on him, offense is keyed around him. | Robinson can score. He can rebound. He can feed other players. He changes the feel of the squad. He is a game changer. | Two most embarrassing things you can have done to you in basketball: be dunked on, be blocked into the 4th row (#3 – have your coach get a woman that is not his wife, pregnant). Anthony Davis has #1 and #2 covered, which means players aren’t going to shoot by him or defend him… | Davis |
| Team MVP: | Contender | Contention | The squad is full of players that would step up in Davis’ absence. Sure, it’d be a different look all together, but there’s a chance for a run still. If Robinson is out, the Jayhawks are out. | Robinson |
| Looks: | Skinny, goofy, lanky, arms like inspector gadget. | Big guy, tall, manly, muscular. | Watching sports with a woman that doesn’t watch sports is always interesting. Watching a game where she has no interest, but takes interest in the grooming habits of one guy, in a negative aspect – its fascinating. | Robinson |
| Coach: | John Calipari | Bill Self | Calipari should be a top contender for coach of the year. His reputation among other coaches and the media impact him in a negative manner and likely will impact his players ability in the same media and coaches… | Robinson |
| School: | Kentucky | Kansas | Kentucky has never won the award. Kansas won in 1988… | Robinson |
| Decision: | Points grab attention. Stories grab headlines. | Robinson |