College Basketball Awards Preview: NPOY, How the Hell Are They Still in College, All-Americans

If you’re a college basketball junkie you’re getting gassed up knowing practices have been going on and we’ve seen some teams already hold Midnight Madness, which truly signifies the start of the season. We’re just about a month away from real games being played and someone ranked high in these rankings losing an awful game.

So what better time to come out with the awards preview? We’ll take a look at All-American Teams, National Player of the Year and How the Hell Are They Still in College Team – otherwise known as the Robbie Hummel-Team.

I’m sure you’ll disagree with me, so let me know your picks on Twitter @barstoolreags

National Player of the Year: RJ Barrett (Duke)
It’s a weird year for National Player of the Year and even All-American race. Last year pretty much everyone thought it would be Miles Bridges as NPOY, although I correctly gave out Jalen Brunson (albeit it was a contrarian pick). This year there are a lot of guys that feel like they are in the race for NPOY. I mean, hell, there are two other guys from Duke that could be in contention in Cam Reddish and Zion Williamson. UNC has Luke Maye. Tennessee has Grant Williams. There are two potential guys from Gonzaga. There is Carsen Edwards. There is Dedric Lawson. There is PJ Washington. There’s just a ton of options as to who you could see here.

But, I’m not going to try and overthink this. I think RJ Barrett is the most talented player in the country. I think he’s going to bet he No. 1 pick in the NBA draft as well. I think Duke is going to be a top-10 team all year, which is part of what helps goes into the NPOY voting. Barrett has good size at 6’8″ and will be able to attack from the wing. I also think part of what will help Barrett get some easy buckets is playing alongside of Tre Jones, who does an excellent job of setting guys up.

We’ve seen Barrett on the biggest stages already as he played for Canada in the U19s, leading them to a win over the United States and dropped 38 in that game. Barrett is someone who can just absolutely take a game over, so it might be a boring pick, but Barrett is my official pick for preseason NPOY.

All-America Teams:

1st Team
RJ Barrett (Duke) – See above

Carsen Edwards (Purdue) – Edwards becomes the lone guy left from the heart of the Purdue rotation last year. Edwards is a bit of a do-it-all lead guard, especially when you talk to the coaching staff. They know they can put him both on or off the ball and still run the offense through him. This year, he’ll be on the ball way more than he’s off the ball and have one of the heaviest usage rates in the country. Last year, with all that talent around him, Edwards was still 97th in possession percentage and 44th in shot percentage.

Dedric Lawson (Kansas) – The Memphis transfer heads to Kansas along with his brother. We’ve seen guys built like Lawson – 6’9″, 230lbs – succeed in Self’s system. A lot of people will look at someone like Morris twins for Lawson’s game. He’s going to likely be the go-to guy for Kansas, the potential best team in the country. During his last year at Memphis he averaged 19.9 points, 9.9 rebounds and over 3 assists/2 blocks per game. He’s going to be a star at Kansas.

Tremont Waters (LSU) – This is likely going to be the highest you see Tremont Waters listed on any All-America teams. But, I absolutely love Water’s game and think he’ll end up as SEC Player of the Year. Waters averaged 16 per game last year as a freshman on an LSU team that was average at best. That said, Waters is someone who can create for himself and others (6.0 apg). It also will help that I’m high on LSU this year and think they’ll be a top-25 team.

Caleb Martin (Nevada) – Martin and his twin brother Cody decided to stay for another year at Nevada after transferring from NC State. If he has no problems with his foot that lingered during the last two months of the season, he’s going to be even better this year. That’s a bit tough to say considering he shot 40% from three and averaged over 18 points per game. But, Nevada is a top-5 team. Muss is going to have these guys playing fast and Martin can score anywhere on the court.

2nd Team

Luke Maye (UNC) – Luke Maye was one of the biggest breakout starts in the country last year. He averaged a double-double as he put up 16 and 10 per game. He can stretch the floor and is excellent at offensive rebounding. More importantly he’s excellent at finishing right after he gets an offensive rebound. This year he’ll be called upon to possibly do more with the loss of Joel Berry and Theo Pinson.

Mike Daum (South Dakota State) – Daum is an NBA prospect and someone who can just dominate a game. The 6’9? big guy averaged 24 and 10 last year while shooting 42% from three. The Jackrabbits will continue to run their offense through him. He’s been a two-time honorable mention for All-American teams while winning the Summit League Player of the Year award the last two seasons.

Grant Williams (Tennessee) – Grant Williams is a forward that uses his body to get into position in both the high and low post. Tennessee likes to run shuffle cuts to get him up towards the mid-high post and then a cross screen to get him on the low block. He was 119th in the country in possession percentage – meaning possessions that ended with him shooting, turning the ball over or making an assist. Simply put, Tennessee runs its offense through him.

Killian Tillie (Gonzaga) – I know Rui Hachimura is the bigger name right now, but I’m going to go with Killian Tillie here. Tillie played 26 minutes per game and averaged just under 13 points per game. He’s someone who can really shoot the ball as he shot 47% from three last season. His ability to stretch the floor at 6’10” makes him a unique mismatch along with being a strong rebounder.

PJ Washington (Kentucky) – The one thing that Kentucky will look for is someone to be the go-to guy. PJ Washington has that alpha dog type mentality when it comes to him. He’s going to demand the ball and we’ve seen Cal work on getting post guys touches. I’m not worried about him splitting time with Reid Travis and think Washington ends up the best collegiate player on this UK team.

3rd Team

Tyus Battle (Syracuse) – The focus of the Syracuse offense again is going to be Tyus Battle. He was the one guy last year that Boeheim could just let go with the ball. This year, they actually have depth and some outside shooting to alleviate some help for him. He averaged over 19 per game last year. He should do the same again this year.

Ethan Happ (Wisconsin) – Happ returns back to Wisconsin after averaging 18 and 8 last year. You know what you’re going to get out of Happ. He’s going to be patient in the post, go through his moves and look for the open man as well. He’ll draw the attention of defenses throughout the season.

Romeo Langford (Indiana) – It’s all about Romeo Langford this season. The guy is going to be a one-and-done player and is one of the best scorers in the class. He’s a hell of a player and someone that can turn Indiana around in Archie Miller’s second season

Ty Jerome (Virginia) – There are three guys from Virginia that could make an All-American team. That’s Ty Jerome, Kyle Guy and De’Andre Hunter. The reason I’ll take Jerome? He’s the one that’s going to have the ball in his hands. He’s confident from the point guard spot, a deadly shooter and knows how to look for his own shot.

Shamorie Ponds (St. John’s) – He’s coming off a year where he averaged over 21 points per game while also finishing 83rd in the country in assist rate. The ball is simply going to be in his hands. He was 18th in the country in possession percentage – meaning possessions that he’s on the floor where he shoots or assists.

Honorable Mention: Rui Hachimura (Gonzaga), Zion Williamson (Duke), Cam Reddish (Duke), Charles Matthews (Michigan), Eric Paschall (Villanova), Kellan Grady (Davidson), Sagaba Konate (West Virginia), Ky Bowman (Boston College)

How the Hell Are They Still in College Team: 

This is something I’ve been doing as a joke for years and it’s sort of caught on. Those guys that you see pop up and wonder just how long they’ve been playing. People like to refer to this as Perry Ellis, but nay on that. The true legend of the how the hell are they still in college team is Scott Martin, who played at Notre Dame and Purdue from 2007-2013. That’s just outstanding. So without further ado this year’s squad:

1st Team:

Makai Mason (Baylor) – Captain

Ethan Happ (Wisconsin)

KeVaughn Allen (Florida)

Nick Emery (BYU)

Phil Booth (Villanova)

2nd Team:

Rex Pflueger (Notre Dame)

Keyshawn Woods (Ohio State)

Jalen Adams (UConn)

Tramaine Isabell (St. Louis)

Eli Cain (DePaul)