BY: ISAIAH LAMPTON
MARCH 13, 2023
We’re over half-way in the college basketball season, and the Late Season Wooden Award List has been released. Headlined by award favorite Zach Edey, the list represents the best players in the country. Upperclassmen take up a majority of the list, but Freshman like Brandon Miller, Kyle Filipowski, and Grady Dick seem to be surefire All-Americans, respectfully. Here are my current top 5 candidates for the Men’s Basketball Wooden Award.
Jalen Pickett is leading an experienced Nittany Lions team into March. While struggling with numerous inconsistencies, Pickett has been one of the few bright spots the team can count on. The senior is averaging 18, 7 and 7 per game. He carries a heavy workload for Micah Shrewsberry’s offense. However, they will need a desperate run in the Big Ten Tournament to make a splash into March Madness.
Wong is leading his Hurricane squad atop the ACC standings. Posting averages of 16, 4 and 3, he proves Miami can hang with anybody. The New Jersey Native is leading a ferocious scoring attack for the U. On December 7, 2022, Miami hosted Cornell. Wong dropped a staline of 36 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. The ACC is in a down year, and Wong is taking advantage.
Houston sits in a fantastic position to obtain a 1 seed in March, and that’s thanks to the Senior Captain. They sit two full games ahead in the AAC standings, with only 5 games remaining in their regular season. Sasser posts 17, 3, and 3 per game. But, with the success of Kelvin Sampson’s Cougars, Sasser is a lock as an All-American.
TJD simply does it all for Indiana. Down the stretch many teammates have underperformed. But, Davis is nearly impossible to guard. You never know what statline he’s going to put up. He posted a triple double earlier this season, and can be seen putting up 30 and 10 casually. He’s an anchor on the defensive end as well, and has proven to be the paint protector for the Hoosiers. Davis averages 20, 11, and 4, but due to the Hoosiers inconsistencies he likely won’t win the award.
Alabama Men’s Basketball is leading the country, and Freshman guard Brandon Miller has shocked the country. He was the highest rated player out of Alabama, but no one was expecting a freshman season quite like this. Miller is leading the Crimson Tide with 20 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists per game. The #1 ranking won’t last too long, as Alabama fell to Tennessee (again) on wednesday night.
The 7’ 4” phenom has simply exploded for the Boilermakers this season. The Big Maple is posting averages of 22 points and an NCAA-leading 13 rebounds per contest. Edey has been a matchup nightmare for each team Purdue has faced this season. He’s also averaging 62% from the field and 75% from the free throw line. We are witnessing the most dominant individual season in college basketball since Zion Williamson.
The Pioneer Online 
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