McDermott Could Become 3rd Non-Senior National POY From Mid-Major School

December 26th, 2012 - 21:28

Creighton's Doug McDermott is the odds-on favorite to become the 18th national player of the year from a mid-major school never to be a member of a power conference. But he could become only the third non-senior in this group, joining Massachusetts' Marcus Camby (1996) and Gonzaga's Adam Morrison (2006).

McDermott would be the fourth individual named national player of the year from the Missouri Valley Conference, joining Cincinnati's Oscar Robertson (1958 through 1960), Indiana State's Larry Bird (1979) and Bradley's Hersey Hawkins (1988). Following is a chronological list of national POYs from a mid-level schools that never has been a member of a power league:

Year Player School Class Statistics Award(s) Season Summary
1955 Tom Gola La Salle Sr. 24.2 ppg, 19.9 rpg UPI The Explorers (26-5 record) finish runner-up to Bill Russell-led San Francisco in the NCAA Tournament.
1956 Bill Russell San Francisco Sr. 20.6 ppg, 21 rpg, 51.3 FG% UPI The Dons (29-0) capture the NCAA championship after winning all 14 of their conference games by more than 10 points.
1957 Chet Forte Columbia Sr. 28.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 85.2 FT% UPI The Lions (18-6) do not appear in postseason competition after finishing in a tie for third place in the Ivy League. One of their non-conference victories was against Syracuse, which later made its initial NCAA playoff appearance.
1965 Bill Bradley Princeton Sr. 30.5 ppg, 11.8 rpg, 53.3 FG%, 88.6 FT% AP, UPI, USBWA The Tigers (23-6) finish in third place in the NCAA Tournament after winning the Ivy League title with a 13-1 mark.
1968 Elvin Hayes Houston Sr. 36.8 ppg, 18.9 rpg, 54.9 FG% AP, UPI, USBWA The independent Cougars (31-2) finish in fourth place in the NCAA Tournament after entering the playoffs with an unbeaten record.
1979 Larry Bird Indiana State Sr. 28.6 ppg, 14.9 rpg, 5.5 apg, 53.2 FG%, 83.1 FT% AP, UPI, NABC, USBWA, Naismith, Wooden The Sycamores (33-1), NCAA Tournament runner-up, become the first Missouri Valley school to go undefeated in league competition (16-0) since Oklahoma A&M went 10-0 in 1948.
1980 Michael Brooks La Salle Sr. 24.1 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 52.4 FG% NABC The Explorers (22-9) lose in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Mideast Regional after winning the East Coast Conference Tournament following a third-place finish in the ECC's Eastern Section.
1981 Danny Ainge Brigham Young Sr. 24.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 51.8 FG%, 82.4 FT% NABC, Wooden The Cougars (25-7) lose the NCAA Tournament East Regional final after finishing in third place in the WAC with a 12-4 league record.
1987 David Robinson Navy Sr. 28.2 ppg, 11.8 rpg, 4.5 bpg, 59.1 FG% AP, UPI, NABC, USBWA, Naismith, Wooden The Midshipmen (26-6) lose in the first round of the NCAA Tournament East Regional after winning the Colonial Athletic Association with a 13-1 mark.
1988 Hersey Hawkins Bradley Sr. 36.3 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 2.6 spg, 52.4 FG%, 84.8 FT% AP, UPI, USBWA The Braves (26-5) lose in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Southeast Regional after winning the Missouri Valley title with a 12-2 league record.
1990 Lionel Simmons La Salle Sr. 26.5 ppg, 11.1 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.9 spg, 2 bpg, 51.3 FG% AP, UPI, NABC, USBWA, Naismith, Wooden The Explorers (30-2) lose in the second round of the NCAA Tournament East Regional after compiling the best record in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (16-0 in South Division).
1991 Larry Johnson UNLV Sr. 22.7 ppg, 10.9 rpg, 3 apg, 66.2 FG%, 81.8 FT% NABC, USBWA, Naismith, Wooden The Rebels (34-1) lose in the NCAA Tournament national semifinals after going undefeated (18-0) in the Big West Conference.
1996 Marcus Camby Massachusetts Jr. 20.5 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 3.9 bpg AP, NABC, Naismith, UPI, USBWA, Wooden The Minutemen (35-2) won 26 consecutive games in one stretch before reaching the Final Four for the first time in school history. Camby copped the honor despite missing four games after mysteriously collapsing before a contest in mid-January. He is the only individual to win a national player of the award despite missing so many contests.
2003 David West Xavier Sr. 20.1 ppg, 11.8 rpg, 51.3 FG%, 82 FT% AP, USBWA Three-time Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Year is the only player in league history to collect more than 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. Led the Atlantic 10 in rebounding all four seasons.
2004 Jameer Nelson St. Joseph's Sr. 20.6 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 5.3 apg, 3 spg, 39 3FG% Naismith, USBWA, Wooden Marked the first time ever that the consensus national player of the year won the Pomeroy Award as the best player in the country shorter than six feet tall.
2006 Adam Morrison Gonzaga Jr. 28.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 43.2 3FG% shared Naismith and Wooden Nation's leading scorer set school single-season marks for points, field goals made and free throw made.
2011 Jimmer Fredette Brigham Young Sr. 28.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 4.3 apg, 1.3 spg, 89.4 FT%, 39.6 3FG% AP, NABC, Naismith, USBWA, Wooden Fredette had fifteen 30-point outings and four 40-point efforts, including a school-record 52 vs. New Mexico, en route to surpassing Danny Ainge as the school's all-time scoring leader.