2020 USBWA Awards: One man’s vote

Just as Championship Week was getting underway, I shared how I voted for the CAA postseason honors. A few days after that story went live, I had to send in my ballot for the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) postseason honors as well. This is a little wider-ranging, as we vote for honors within our district as well as nationally. The results of that voting has long since been announced, as I am more than a little late with this.

Here, I share how I voted this year. We vote for 10 All-District players (I represent District I, which covers the six New England states), a District Player of the Year and Coach of the Year, along with 15 All-Americans along with a national Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Coach of the Year. The CAA awards had some tough votes, and most of these were tough votes as well. Along the way, I try to recognize some I didn’t vote for, especially since there were some compelling cases for some awards.

Without further adieu, I present my 2019-20 USBWA honors ballot and my thoughts.

All-District I

Paul Atkinson, Yale
Jordan Bruner, Yale
Alpha Diallo, Providence
Juvaris Hayes, Merrimack
Anthony Lamb, Vermont
Max Mahoney, Boston University
Tyrese Martin, Rhode Island
Jordan Roland, Northeastern
Fatts Russell, Rhode Island
Christian Vital, UConn

Atkinson and Bruner were two big reasons Yale had perhaps their best season during James Jones’ long and successful tenure in New Haven, along with Azar Swain, who also got some consideration. Diallo was not only Providence’s best player, but he seemed to do whatever it took for this team to win, even taking a back seat at times while others got going. Hayes closed out a great career by leading Merrimack to a historic season for a Division I newcomer, starring at both ends of the floor. Lamb was not as good as he was in his stellar junior year, but was still the best player in America East as the Catamounts cruised to another regular season title and were set to play for another NCAA Tournament bid. Mahoney did it all for Boston University, filling the stat sheet and making nearly 60 percent of his field goal attempts while getting better as the season went on. Martin made a monumental improvement to break out as a sophomore as one of Rhode Island’s key players. Roland was one of the nation’s leading scorers and long range shooters. Russell did it at both ends for Rhode Island as their best player, leading them to be one of the best teams in the Atlantic 10. Vital had a big year for UConn not only with numbers but also as an intangibles guy.

District I Player of the Year: Fatts Russell, Rhode Island

This was a tough call when considering individual success along with team success, but Russell being the go-to guy and one of the best defensive players in the Atlantic 10 gives him the nod. You could make compelling cases for several others, from Diallo as the leader of a Providence team that was set to go dancing to Hayes as as he closed out a great career leading Merrimack to a history-making inaugural Division I season to Roland with his high scoring to lead Northeastern. But Russell gets the nod for doing it at both ends, including all the way around offensively.

District I Coach of the Year: Joe Gallo, Merrimack

In most years, you could make a case for Ed Cooley based on how he turned Providence around during the season, or James Jones for how Yale is having perhaps their best season under him after losing their top three players from a year ago, or even Tommy Amaker for getting Harvard to second in the Ivy League through so many injuries that included their two best players for most of the season. You can make a case for David Cox at Rhode Island, as his team grew in a big way during the season, and John Becker led Vermont to another regular season title in America East even though their best player wasn’t quite as good as a year earlier. But no one has a better case than Gallo, who has led this program to a history-making inaugural Division I season. They won an outright Northeast Conference regular season title and set a record for the most wins by a team in their first year of Division I, and for that he deserves the nod.

All-America

Udoka Azubuike, Kansas
Vernon Carey Jr., Duke
Devon Dotson, Kansas
Ayo Dosunmu, Illinois
Malachi Flynn, San Diego State
Luka Garza, Iowa
Markus Howard, Marquette
Tre Jones, Duke
Jordan Nwora, Louisville
Myles Powell, Seton Hall
Payton Pritchard, Oregon
Immanuel Quickley, Kentucky
Jalen Smith, Maryland
Obi Toppin, Dayton
Cassius Winston, Michigan State

Azubuike was the best big man in college basketball and got better as the season went along at both ends of the floor. Carey was the best freshman in the country and a big reason Duke was right there in the running for the ACC regular season title. Dotson teamed with Azubuike as the best inside-outside combination in the country. Dosunmu showed promise as a freshman and then became a star this season, leading Illinois to contention in the Big Ten with big games and big shots. Flynn transferred in and became a star as he led the Aztecs to a big run well into February and surely back into the NCAA Tournament were it to have been played. Garza was a double-double machine for the Hawkeyes in leading them to what would have been an NCAA Tournament appearance. Howard led the nation in scoring and was scintillating at times to lead the Golden Eagles. Jones was everything Duke needed him to be as a leader and a clutch player, including unforgettable plays in the first meeting at arch rival North Carolina. Nwora had a great year for the Cardinals that amazingly flew under the radar considering he entered the season as a fairly known quantity and the Cardinals were right there with Florida State and Duke atop the ACC. Much was expected of Powell when he returned, and he certainly delivered in leading Seton Hall to a share of the Big East regular season title and not just with his numbers. Pritchard was the heart and soul of Oregon, as well as Mr. Clutch, in leading them to the Pac-12 regular season title with a season that showcased the immense growth over his entire career. Speaking of growth, Quickley showed a great deal of that from last season and over the course of this season to become the SEC’s best player, and no one had him pegged for that on this Kentucky team. Smith was a double-double machine for Maryland and teamed with Anthony Cowan Jr. to form a terrific inside-outside combo for the Big Ten regular season co-champs. Toppin had a great year all the way around to lead Dayton to the best season they have had, including an undefeated run in the Atlantic 10. Much was expected of Winston as a returning All-American, and perhaps because of that as well as what he had to overcome off the court and a slump that his team went through at one point, he didn’t get enough credit for how great a season he had.

National Player of the Year (Oscar Robertson Trophy): Obi Toppin, Dayton

This figured to be a tough one before the season simply because there was no clear choice, although Cassius Winston probably got selected by many for it given his prior success and the Spartans being many people’s choice as the top team in the preseason, and it wasn’t much easier now. In the end, I gave the nod to Toppin, the best player on a team that went undefeated in the Atlantic 10 and was clearly better than everyone else there, while he also showed up in other big games as well. He was a force all the way around and did it all for the Flyers, even as he had a supporting cast full of solid but underrated performers. The two right behind him in my vote are Udoka Azubuike and Winston. Azubuike was dominant inside for Kansas and got better as the year went on as he finally stayed healthy, while Winston went through a lot to deliver a terrific season, one that most have underrated.

National Freshman of the Year (Wayman Tisdale Award): Vernon Carey Jr., Duke

This year, it didn’t feel like as many freshmen made big impacts on the college game. In fact, Carey was the only one to also get an All-America vote from me. He was arguably Duke’s best player, though Tre Jones won ACC Player of the Year (despite finishing fourth in first team voting there, strangely) and beat out Precious Achiuwa (Memphis) and Onyeka Okongwu (USC) among the best freshmen. Carey led Duke in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots, finishing in the top five in the ACC in all three categories and leading the conference in field goal percentage. Anthony Edwards may end up being the first pick in the NBA Draft, and he did have a good year at Georgia, but he had some games where he played like a freshman and the others simply had better years.

National Coach of the Year (Henry Iba Award): Leonard Hamilton, Florida State

As with the district award and as is usually the case with this award, several coaches made a good case for the award. I initially narrowed this down near the end of the season to a little more than a half dozen coaches, and we had to select three candidates for this one. In the end, I gave Hamilton the nod by a small amount over Dayton’s Anthony Grant (who won the award) and UCLA’s Mick Cronin.

Hamilton led the Seminoles to an outright regular season ACC title despite heavy personnel losses from a season ago, and not just in terms of numbers; Terance Mann was a big loss from an intangibles standpoint as well. All the same, the Seminoles are getting to the point where the names and faces may change, but the game – and the result – is still the same. They continue to have length, competitors, athletes and guys who can defend, and Hamilton maximizes what he has. This season was perhaps his best work yet, with the best result yet up to the point of the voting (which was before the ACC Tournament).