College Basketball Player of the Year

The other day on ESPN.com there was a poll that asked the fans who the college basketball player of the year was right now. There were three choices. Stephen Curry, Tyler Hansbrough and Blake Griffin. I love the fact that we are already talking about this but I really don't think there is much of an argument at this point.

Tyler Hansbrough is great! Don't get me wrong, I love the way he plays and I love the way he doesn't put on a show while he is playing. The kid is solid and this is coming from a diehard Duke fan. I hate the fact that he plays in Chapel Hill because he can dominate a game whenever he wants to.

His stat line is this: 22.4 and 7.5 rebounds a game. Those are darn good numbers but when it comes to player of the year in college basketball I worry less about the stats and more about how the guy helps his team. Hansbrough does that but he loses my vote because he has so many great players around him. He may lose a little too because the Heels have lost two in a row. I just can't see voting for him for player of the year at this point.

Stephen Curry is what he is. The kid can flat out shoot. He is the nation's leading scorer at 28.5 points per game. The biggest knock on Curry in my mind is that his team has already lost 4 games. I know that is obviously not Curry's fault but it is what it is. He is averaging 6.7 assists per game which is very impressive in my mind but he is touching the ball every time down the court. He was good in the big games but not great. All the teams he plays in his conference are really just games to pad his stat sheet. If he would've gotten his team a W in one of those big early games, I may change my vote but right now he is second.

That leaves Blake Griffin. This guy is a beast! He is averaging 22.4 and 13.8 rebounds a game against constant double teams. Against Texas the other night he had 20 and 10. That was the number 11 ranked team in the country. You can't stop this guy, you just have to hope to stop all of his teammates. The problem is you always have to leave one guy open and so far those guys have been stepping up and making key shots. The reason Griffin gets my vote is that right now I feel like this guy more then any other is making the rest of his teammates better and Oklahoma is a top 5 team because of him.

Blake Griffin in my opinion is the College Basketball Player of the Year!

Stephen Curry won the vote of America, by the way.