In addition to covering the CAA Tournament last weekend, I had to submit my ballot for the U.S. Basketball Writers Association postseason awards by midnight Sunday night. This consists of All-District and All-America teams, and Player of the Year and Coach of the Year for both and a National Freshman of the Year. Every member votes for ten players on the two teams, and let’s just say that this year was a little tougher. It was also tougher for a couple of the awards, although the national Coach of the Year tends to never be easy.
As I am based in metropolitan Boston, my district is District 1, which consists of the six New England states. With that established, here is a look at how I voted and what went into it, just like I did last week with the CAA postseason awards. The All-District teams and award winners were announced by the USBWA on Tuesday, and All-America will be announced next Monday. The national award winners will be honored at the Final Four.
All-District Team
Kyle Casey, Harvard
Bryce Cotton, Providence
Vincent Council, Providence
Ken Horton, Central Connecticut
Jeremy Lamb, Connecticut
Greg Mangano, Yale
Darryl Partin, Boston University
Rakim Sanders, Fairfield
Chaz Williams, UMass
Keith Wright, Harvard
Casey led a well-balanced Harvard team in scoring and had a few big games to lead the way, and he did that while being fifth on the team in minutes per game. Cotton emerged with new head coach Ed Cooley making him a focal point of the offense, and became one of the Big East’s better guards this season. Council has been racking up the assists ever since he arrived in Providence, and this year he was better at knowing when to call his own number. Horton was one of the Northeast Conference’s best players and capped off a terrific career this season. Lamb became the go-to guy for Connecticut this season for much of the year, and while the Huskies have been up and down he’s been a pretty consistent player for them. Mangano averaged a double-double as Yale became a contender in the Ivy League. Partin won the America East Player of the Year award and carried Boston University at times. Sanders made an instant impact at Fairfield in his final season after transferring from Boston College. Williams was a difference-maker for UMass, finally giving them the point guard they have lacked for much of Derek Kellogg’s tenure. Wright was similar to Casey in that he didn’t put up gaudy numbers, but was a key part of the well-balanced Crimson at both ends of the floor and one of their leaders.
Player of the Year: Chaz Williams, UMass
You couldn’t go wrong selecting Lamb, but Williams made a big difference for UMass with his scoring and, more importantly, floor leadership. UMass has lacked a true point guard for much of Derek Kellogg’s tenure, but he finally had one with Williams and he proved to be a keeper. Williams led the team in scoring, assists (a category in which he also led the Atlantic 10) and steals and also shot the ball well from long range and grabbed over four rebounds per game despite his diminutive stature. With his play, UMass rose in the Atlantic 10 standings this season.
Coach of the Year: Tommy Amaker, Harvard
If you want to know just how much of a down year it was in New England, just look at the consideration for this award, and I mean no disrespect to a couple of very deserving coaches. In thinking about who should be the District 1 Coach of the Year, only two truly viable candidates came to mind: Vermont’s John Becker, who kept them near the top of America East in his first season, and Amaker. There were some other good coaching jobs done in one respect or another, but the masterful season Harvard had made Amaker the choice. Harvard went 26-4, with an excellent non-league run as well, and they did so without many players standing out even though two got a vote from me for All-District.
All-America Team
Isaiah Canaan, Murray State
Jae Crowder, Marquette
Anthony Davis, Kentucky
Draymond Green, Michigan State
John Henson, North Carolina
Kevin Jones, West Virginia
Scott Machado, Iona
Doug McDermott, Creighton
Thomas Robinson, Kansas
Tyler Zeller, North Carolina
Canaan had a sensational year as Murray State’s leader, not only leading them in scoring but running the show as well. Crowder filled the stat sheet on a consistent basis for Marquette and proved to fit the way the Golden Eagles play perfectly. Davis was a game-changer for Kentucky and adjusted better to the physicality of the college game much better as the season went along. Green was the heart and soul of Michigan State and has value far beyond his numbers, as he has one of the highest basketball I.Q.s in the country. Henson was a consistent double-double machine for North Carolina and at times a game-changer with his length, leading the ACC in rebounding and blocked shots. Jones led the Big East in scoring and rebounding and has West Virginia, a team with a lot of youth, in the discussion for the NCAA Tournament. Machado led the nation in assists and was arguably the best point guard in the country, at least right there with Canaan. McDermott had a terrific season for Creighton as the Missouri Valley’s top player. Robinson was the biggest reason a Kansas team thought to be in a down year wound up winning yet another Big 12 regular season title. Zeller really came on during ACC play for the Tar Heels and was their best player in that time, and he was second in the conference in rebounding as he wasn’t far from averaging a double-double like Henson.
National Player of the Year: Thomas Robinson, Kansas
This was the toughest vote of all, coming down to Robinson and Anthony Davis. Robinson got a slight nod with how he led Kansas both on the stat sheet and on the court, averaging a double-double to lead a Jayhawks team that didn’t look overly imposing on paper to another Big 12 regular season title. The numbers were, relatively, a wash between Robinson and Davis, but Robinson does have the slight edge in the biggest ones of scoring and rebounding (second nationally in the latter category), and Davis isn’t averaging a double-double, although he’s not far away. You can’t go wrong selecting either player, but I went with Robinson in this case.
National Coach of the Year: Fred Hoiberg, Iowa State
For a while this season, Notre Dame’s Mike Brey looked like the selection here, and there were plenty of others worthy of consideration, from John Calipari (Kentucky) and Cuonzo Martin (Tennessee) to Bill Self (Kansas) and Frank Haith (Missouri). In the end, Hoiberg gets the nod for getting Iowa State to where they should be a good seed in the NCAA Tournament. The program had been dormant for a while, but if this year is any indication the Cyclones appear to be in a good place going forward, and “The Mayor” is leading the charge at his alma mater.
National Freshman of the Year: Anthony Davis, Kentucky
This was the easiest vote of all, although a few other freshmen had fine seasons. You couldn’t go wrong voting him for Player of the Year as well, and no one changed a game defensively like Davis did. He leads the nation in blocked shots and almost averages a double-double, and uses his length so well to be a difference-maker for the Wildcats.
