Kansas' Thomas Robinson Boasts MVP Credentials After Slow Start
Here's to you, Mr. Robinson! Kansas junior forward Thomas Robinson, making incredible strides since an inauspicious freshman season two years ago, seemed to be the consensus mid-season choice as national player of the year. In a "Beasts of the Baseline" battle, he could gain an edge over Kentucky center Anthony Davis with a big game against Missouri when Allen Fieldhouse welcomes equally physically-imposing Ricardo Ratliffe, who was leading the nation in field-goal shooting (73%).
Robinson, a native of Washington, D.C., was anything but the country's most dominant player in 2009-10 when he averaged an anemic 2.5 points per game. If Robinson emerges as national player of the year, he will have posted the lowest first-year scoring average for any such honoree since the initial award by UPI in 1955.
Robinson, overshadowed last season (when he averaged a modest 7.6 ppg) by twins Markieff and Marcus Morris (combined for 30.8 PPG and 15.9 RPG before leaving school early to become NBA first-round draft choices), is a classic example why fans shouldn't put too much stock in freshman statistics. But Robinson is in plenty of good company among players who endured growing pains before blossoming into stars. He could be on the low end of the following list of nine national players of the year who averaged fewer than eight points per game in their first varsity campaign:
Shane Battier, F, Duke (7.6 ppg as freshman in 1997-98)
David Robinson, C, Navy (7.6 ppg as freshman in 1983-84)
*Sidney Wicks, F-C, UCLA (7.5 ppg as sophomore in 1968-69)
Marques Johnson, F, UCLA (7.2 ppg as freshman in 1973-74)
Jimmer Fredette, G, Brigham Young (7 ppg as freshman in 2007-08)
Danny Ferry, F-C, Duke (5.9 ppg as freshman in 1985-86)
Gary Bradds, C, Ohio State (4.7 ppg as sophomore in 1961-62)
Ed O'Bannon, F, UCLA (3.6 ppg as freshman in 1991-92)
Kenyon Martin, C, Cincinnati (2.8 ppg as freshman in 1996-97)
* Junior college recruit.
Player of the Year Watch: Premier College Hoopsters in 2011-12
Who among the following standouts has amassed sufficient cold hard facts to become the next national player of the year?
Thomas Robinson, F, Jr., Kansas (17.8 ppg, 12 rpg, 1.2 spg, 1.2 bpg, 54.6 FG%)/Odds: 5-to-2 If Robinson continues to improve, he could compile higher NBA career scoring and rebounding averages than KU assistant Danny Manning, the 1987-88 co-national player of the year who averaged 14 ppg and 5.2 rpg with seven different pro teams in 15 seasons.
Anthony Davis, C, Fr., Kentucky (14 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 1.5 spg, 4.9 bpg, 65.1 FG%)/Odds: 10-3 Attracting more attention than SI's annual swimsuit issue, he rejects and influences more shots than an NHL All-Star goalie. Astonishingly, he boasts more blocks by himself than about 300 DI teams. With only three games scoring more than 18 points, Davis needs to demonstrate he can do more offensively.
Jared Sullinger, F, Soph., Ohio State (17.6 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 1.6 spg, 56.1 FG%)/Odds: 10-1 After shedding baby fat, slimmed-down version looks better at first glance than last year's chubby freshman. Shooting range has improved to complement his lethal low-post moves, but back spasms have prevented him from taking his overall game to the next level. After committing 10 miscues against Michigan State, he has twice as many turnovers as assists and was the Buckeyes' leading scorer just three times in an earlier 13-game stretch.
Tyler Zeller, C, Sr., North Carolina (15.7 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 54 FG%, 71.2 FT%)/Odds: 10-1 Aging like fine wine to help offset teammate Harrison Barnes still trying to live up to last year's preseason billing. Runs the floor exceptionally well for a tall player but still needs to be more assertive at crunch time.
Kevin Jones, F-C, Sr., West Virginia (20.6 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 52.8 FG%)/Odds: 20-1 Superb offensive rebounder entered national-player-of-the-year picture after scoring at least 22 points in six consecutive contests. Could join Walter Berry (St. John's) and Troy Murphy (Notre Dame) as the only Big East Conference players to lead the league in scoring and rebounding. Difficult to assess his impact because the Big East is so far down from a year ago.
Doug McDermott, F, Soph., Creighton (22.7 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 61.3 FG%, 82.9 FT%, 50 3FG%)/Odds: 20-1 Beset by double- and triple-teaming from pesky Missouri Valley Conference opponents, three modest scoring outputs of fewer than 16 points in a recent five-game span kept his national profile from escalating to where he could realistically challenge Robinson the same way MVC alumnus Hersey Hawkins (Bradley) did with Manning in 1987-88.
MIA: Baylor forward Perry Jones III, exhibiting the heart of an insect while scoring in single digits nine times this season, should be among the top candidates but he plays way too passively to try to avoid an injury that would cost him dearly as a probable top five NBA draft choice.
How the Mighty Fell: Coach K and Roy Williams Often Ranked #1
In military lingo, it's a HVT (high-value target). No school with a bull's-eye on its back has incurred more defeats as nation's top-ranked team than North Carolina, which fell for the 30th time as #1 earlier this season when the Tar Heels bowed at UNLV, 90-80. The reversal marked the 17th such setback for Roy Williams (11 with Kansas), who only trails Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (25) and Carolina's Dean Smith (18) for most losses coaching the country's top-ranked club.
Notre Dame has 10 victories over the nation's top team but its triumph against Syracuse in mid-January was the Fighting Irish's first in this category since 1987, when Digger Phelps and Company clipped North Carolina, 60-58.
The next setback for Kentucky will mark the 28th time the Wildcats had a top-ranked squad knocked off its lofty perch since AP national rankings were introduced in the late 1940s.
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