The last of three postseason award ballots to send off was my USBWA ballot. As a USBWA member for over a dozen years, one of the responsibilities is the vote for the postseason awards the organization gives out. As noted with the CAA and ACC awards, it is always an interesting but challenging exercise, and the responsibility inherent in it should not be taken for granted.
We vote for ten top players from our district, ten All-Americans, district Player of the Year and Coach of the Year, national Player of the Year (Oscar Robertson Trophy) and Coach of the Year (Henry Iba Award) as well as a national Freshman of the Year (Wayman Tisdale Award). For each of the national individual awards, we vote for up to three players or coaches (I voted for three in each case).
The USBWA will start by announcing the All-District teams on Tuesday. Here is a look at how I voted, with some thoughts behind the selections. My district is District I, which is made up of the six New England states.
All-District I
Jalen Adams, UConn
Trae Bell-Haynes, Vermont
Ky Bowman, Boston College
Rodney Bullock, Providence
Kyron Cartwright, Providence
Tyler Nelson, Fairfield
Luwane Pipkins, UMass
Vasa Pusica, Northeastern
Jerome Robinson, Boston College
Jared Terrell, Rhode Island
The second-leading scorer in the American Athletic Conference and also one of the top assist men, Adams was one of the few bright spots in a dismal year for UConn. Bell-Haynes repeated as America East Player of the Year and is the nerve center of Vermont’s dominance in the conference, where they have lost just one game over the past two seasons. Bowman has put up tremendous numbers from the guard spot to help lead an improved Boston College team. Bullock leads Providence in scoring and is second on the team in rebounding, and he’s a big part of why they’re likely en route to another NCAA Tournament bid. Cartwright makes Providence go, leading the Big East in assists for the second straight year, but he’s also an improved shooter and came up big in wins over Xavier and Villanova. Nelson led the MAAC in scoring and became Fairfield’s all-time leading scorer to put the cap on a fine college career. Pipkins was one of the few bright spots in a rebuilding year for UMass, as he was second in the Atlantic 10 in scoring (led the conference in Atlantic 10 play) and shot over 41 percent from long range. Pusica was runner-up for CAA Player of the Year, as the San Diego transfer did it all for the CAA regular season co-champions. Robinson continued to grow this year and led the ACC in scoring and three-point field goal percentage. Terrell was the best player on a Rhode Island team that was the class of the Atlantic 10, and he did it at both ends of the floor
District I Player of the Year: Jerome Robinson, Boston College
Robinson was the runner-up for ACC Player of the Year behind Duke’s Marvin Bagley III, who might well snag a few national Player of the Year honors as well. When he came to Chestnut Hill, the thought was he would be the leader of the core that entered with him, and that has happened, but just how good he would become was not known. He’s turned into one of the ACC’s best players at a time when the conference is quite strong, and in leading the conference in three-point shooting, he showed he isn’t just a scorer or a volume shooter. Correspondingly, the Eagles also made a big jump this year, winning seven ACC games and guaranteeing a winning record for the season after wins were hard to come by his first two years, especially in the ACC.
District I Coach of the Year: Bill Coen, Northeastern
The CAA Coach of the Year for the first time, Coen has built the Huskies into the best place they have been in about three decades. They have never had a serious rebuilding cycle during his tenure, and even when talent and/or experience is down his coaching has been an X-factor since the Huskies have consistently been well-coached. This year, with a lot of production gone from last season’s team that included the CAA Player of the Year, the Huskies were widely thought of as a second division CAA team, but they instead tied for the regular season title. They also did that with only All-CAA caliber player this year, although they did have the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year and best sixth man. While you can make a case for the likes of Dan Hurley (Rhode Island) and John Becker (Vermont), Coen gets the nod this time around.
All-America
Deandre Ayton, Arizona
Marvin Bagley III, Duke
Keita Bates-Diop, Ohio State
Trevon Bluiett, Xavier
Jalen Brunson, Villanova
Jevon Carter, West Virginia
Devonte’ Graham, Kansas
Jock Landale, Saint Mary’s
Luke Maye, North Carolina
Trae Young, Oklahoma
Ayton was terrific all year long in leading Arizona to the top spot in the Pac-12 despite a lot of adversity around the program, as he was a double-double machine and competed all the time. Bagley did likewise for Duke, leading the ACC in rebounding and narrowly coming in second in scoring while carrying Duke so many times. Bates-Diop emerged as a star to lead Ohio State to a great run in the Big Ten after a non-conference run that had no one thinking they would be much more than a middle of the pack team. Bluiett had a tremendous year to lead Xavier to their first Big East regular season title. Brunson was right there with Bluiett for Big East Player of the Year in leading Villanova to another great run, as his toughness was a constant. Carter is the heart and soul of West Virginia and is closing out his career in fine fashion at both ends of the floor, especially as the key to their press. Landale led the West Coast Conference in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage, all by wide margins, and leads the country in one overall rating system. A hero in the Elite Eight last year, Maye went from being basically a bit player to a double-double machine for North Carolina. Young led the nation in scoring and assists and is the biggest reason Oklahoma is even close to an NCAA Tournament bid.
National Player of the Year (Oscar Robertson Trophy)
Marvin Bagley III, Duke
Trevon Bluiett, Xavier
Devonte Graham, Kansas
Bagley was instantly the best player in the ACC, carrying Duke with one double-double after another and leading many a rally when the Blue Devils dug themselves holes to come back from. Bluiett led the Musketeers to their first Big East regular season title with a stellar senior year where he did it all to lead the veteran ballclub. Graham was the biggest reason Kansas set a new record with 14 consecutive regular season conference titles, as he was the heart and soul of the Jayhawks and more, with his play at Texas Tech being the gold standard.
National Freshman of the Year (Wayman Tisdale Award)
Deandre Ayton, Arizona
Marvin Bagley III, Duke
Trae Young, Oklahoma
Ayton had a tremendous season for the Wildcats, leading the Pac-12 in scoring and rebounding and being among the national leaders in double-doubles. Bagley similarly dominated the ACC and carried the Blue Devils often. Young is the biggest reason Oklahoma is a likely NCAA Tournament team, leading the nation in scoring and assists.
National Coach of the Year (Henry Iba Award)
Rick Barnes, Tennessee
Tony Bennett, Virginia
Bruce Pearl, Auburn
Before talking about the three I voted for, it is worth noting that as usual, there were plenty of coaches to consider for this. Chris Beard (Texas Tech), Mick Cronin (Cincinnati), Chris Holtmann (Ohio State), Chris Mack (Xavier) and Bill Self (Kansas) are among those very much worthy of consideration for this as well as the three I voted for.
Tennessee was picked 13th in the SEC preseason poll and was nobody’s sleeper pick, yet they tied for the regular season title and have been in or near the top 10 in RPI for much of the season. Bennett coached a Virginia team full of good-not-great players to the ACC regular season title by four games and with a new ACC record for conference victories in a season. Pearl led Auburn to a tie for the SEC regular season title after they were picked ninth in the preseason poll and had a big distraction surrounding the program all year.
