Biggest snubs from newly released Naismith Award watch list
When the Atlanta Tip-Off Club released its 50-man watch list for last year's Naismith Award, it left off a guard who became a first-team All-American, a forward who finished third in the nation in scoring and a center who was selected in the top five in last June's NBA Draft.
Chances are there's a Nick Johnson, T.J. Warren or Joel Embiid snubbed from this year's list too.
The list released Wednesday includes many of college basketball's top players so far this season, but there were a few glaring omissions too. Below you'll find a league-by-league look at the list itself and the most prominent players from each conference who didn't make the cut:
American Athletic Conference (2): Ryan Boatright, G, UConn; Nic Moore, G, UConn
Biggest snub: None
ACC (9): Malcolm Brogdon, G, Virginia; Jerian Grant, G, Notre Dame; Olivier Hanlan, G, Boston College; Montrezl Harrell, F, Louisville; Tyus Jones, G, Duke; Jahlil Okafor, C, Duke; Marcus Paige, G, North Carolina; Terry Rozier, G, Syracuse; Justise Winslow, G/F, Duke
Biggest snub: Angel Rodriguez, G, Miami — The Kansas State transfer is averaging 14.1 points and 4.8 assists in his first season with the Hurricanes, propelling them to an 8-0 start that includes a Charleston Classic title and victories over Florida and Illinois.
Big East (1): D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, Jr., Georgetown
Biggest snub: LaDontae Henton, F, Providence — The senior has taken the reins from Bryce Cotton as the Friars' go-to threat. Even with a poor showing against Kentucky in his last game, he is still averaging 21.3 points and shooting 52.4 percent from the floor.
Big Ten (7): Branden Dawson, F, Michigan State; Sam Dekker, F, Wisconsin; Yogi Ferrell, G, Indiana; Frank Kaminsky, C, Wisconsin; Caris LeVert, G, Michigan; Terran Petteway, G, Nebraska; D'Angelo Russell, G, Ohio State
Biggest snub: D.J. Newbill, G, Penn State — Penn State isn't a name-brand basketball program, but that doesn't mean what Newbill is doing should be ignored. He is averaging 25 points per game, shooting 50 percent from behind the arc and throwing in 5.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game on top of that. He belongs on this list.
Big 12 (9): Cliff Alexander, F, Kansas; Perry Ellis, F, Kansas; Marcus Foster, G, Kansas State; Georges Niang, F, Iowa State; Buddy Hield, G, Oklahoma; Wayne Selden, G, Kansas; Isaiah Taylor, G, Texas; Myles Turner, F, Texas; Juwan Staten, Sr., West Virginia
Biggest snub: Jonathan Holmes, F, Texas — Ask any Texas fan who their team's MVP has been thus far, and the answer would be Holmes. He has a game-winning three against UConn in the final seconds and he scored a combined 40 points in wins against Iowa and Cal. He also has defended multiple positions, rebounded capably and hit 62 percent of his threes.
Pac-12 (6): Brandon Ashley, F, Arizona; Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, F, Arizona; Stanley Johnson, G, Arizona; Chasson Randle, G, Stanford; Delon Wright, G, Utah; Joseph Young, G, Oregon
Biggest snub: Josh Scott, C, Colorado —He's the only player in the Pac-12 in the league's top five in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots so far this season. Scott averages 17.2 points and 8.6 rebounds for a Buffs team that has only lost one game thus far.
SEC (5): Willie Cauley-Stein, C, Kentucky; Aaron Harrison, G, Kentucky; Michael Frazier, G, Florida; Jordan Mickey, F, LSU; Karl-Anthony Towns, F, Kentucky
Biggest snub: Bobby Portis, F, Arkansas — The best player on what so far has been the SEC's second best team, Portis is averaging 14.5 points and 6.2 rebounds. You can probably also make a case for Alabama's Levi Randolph, who is averaging 19.5 points and shooting well over 50 percent from the field for the one-loss Crimson Tide.
Best of the rest (11):Ron Baker, G, Wichita State, Treveon Graham, G/F, VCU; Tyler Haws, F, BYU; R.J. Hunter, G, Georgia State; Kevin Pangos, G, Gonzaga; Wesley Saunders, F, Harvard; Winston Shepard, F, San Diego State; Keifer Sykes, G, Green Bay; Fred VanVleet, G, Wichita State; Rashad Vaughn, G, UNLV; Alan Williams, F, UCSB
Biggest snub: Vince Hunter, F, UTEP — If you haven't seen the 6-foot-8 sophomore play before, he's worthy of more attention. Hunter is averaging 18.4 points and 12.6 rebounds per game for a UTEP team whose only loss is to Washington.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
