2016-17 Conference Honors & Awards

All-AAC

Robert Gray, Houston [jr]
Damyean Dotson, Houston [sr]

Dedric Lawson, Memphis [soph]

Semi Ojeleye, Southern Methodist [jr]

Tacko Fall, Central Florida [soph]

Player of the Year: Semi Ojeleye, Southern Methodist

Top Defender: Tacko Fall, Central Florida

Best Freshman: K.J. Lawson, Memphis

Coach of the Year: Tim Jankovich, Southern Methodist

All-ACC

Donovan Mitchell, Louisville [soph]
Luke Kennard, Duke [soph]

Justin Jackson, North Carolina [jr]

Bonzie Colson, Notre Dame [jr]

John Collins, Wake Forest [soph]

Player of the Year: Bonzie Colson, Notre Dame

Top Defender: Ben Lammers, Georgia Tech

Best Freshman: Jayson Tatum, Duke

Coach of the Year: Mike Brey, Notre Dame

All-Big East

Jalen Brunson, Villanova [soph]

Josh Hart, Villanova [sr]
Trevon Blueitt, Xavier [jr]
Kelan Martin, Butler [jr]

Angel Delgado, Seton Hall [jr]

Player of the Year: Josh Hart, Villanova

Top Defender: Mikal Bridges, Villanova

Best Freshman: Shamorie Ponds, St. John's

Coach of the Year: Chris Holtmann, Butler

All-Big Ten

Melo Trimble, Maryland [jr]
Derrick Walton, Michigan [sr]

Bronson Koenig, Wisconsin [sr]

Ethan Happ, Wisconsin [soph]

Caleb Swanigan, Purdue [soph]

Player of the Year: Caleb Swanigan, Purdue

Top Defender: Ethan Happ, Wisconsin

Best Freshman: Miles Bridges, Michigan State

Coach of the Year: Chris Collins, Northwestern

All-Big 12

Monte Morris, Iowa State [sr]

Frank Mason, Kansas [sr]
Jawun Evans, Oklahoma State [soph]
Jevon Carter, West Virginia [jr]

Johnathan Motley, Baylor [jr]

Player of the Year: Frank Mason, Kansas

Top Defender: Jevon Carter, West Virginia

Best Freshman: Josh Jackson, Kansas

Coach of the Year: Bob Huggins, West Virginia

All-Pac-12

Lonzo Ball, UCLA [fr]
Markelle Fultz, Washington [fr]
Dillon Brooks, Oregon [jr]

TJ Leaf, UCLA [fr]
Jordan Bell, Oregon [jr]

Player of the Year: Lonzo Ball, UCLA

Top Defender: Jordan Bell, Oregon

Best Freshman: Lonzo Ball, UCLA

Coach of the Year: Sean Miller, Arizona

All-SEC

De'Aaron Fox, Kentucky [fr]

Malik Monk, Kentucky [fr]

Sindarius Thornwell, South Carolina [sr]

Sebastian Saiz, Mississippi [sr]
Bam Adebayo, Kentucky [fr]

Player of the Year: Sindarius Thornwell, South Carolina

Top Defender: Sindarius Thornwell, South Carolina

Best Freshman: De'Aaron Fox, Kentucky

Coach of the Year: Mike White, Florida

CBB Uniforms (1988-89 to Present): 6 Seeds

After taking a brief hiatus from the uniform rankings, RBP is back at it. We're ranking the 64 best college basketball uniforms from the 1988-89 season to the present. For more on the process, read the introduction to the original post. Here are the 6 seeds:

24) Georgetown (Alonzo Mourning): The iconic Georgetown grays are synonymous with Hoya Paranoia.





23) Florida State (Chris Singleton): All four colorways look great, and the Seminoles get bonus points for the giant feather.






22) Villanova (Tim Thomas):Nova's uniforms featured fantastic numbering, spectacular shorts, and a neckline that was a little too busy.




21) Xavier (Lionel Chalmers):Keep it clean; keep it simple.

Ten Thoughts: Anthony Davis Edition

1. Maybe I should take a step back before I weigh in, but Anthony Davis' performance tonight against Florida was one of the more remarkable defensive displays I've ever witnessed. The fact that Davis did it against a Top 10 team just adds to his performance's significance. I have to admit that I was surprised that Davis only had 4 blocks. (Only in the world of Anthony Davis can we talk about only 4 blocks.) Nevertheless, he seemed to be all over the floor, altered seemingly countless shots, and discouraged shots from even being taken when he wasn't altering them. Florida appeared to be demoralized before the first half was even over, and that was due, in large part, to Davis' presence.

2. About a week ago, I ranked the Player of the Year candidates in the following order: Jared Sullinger, Thomas Robinson, and Anthony Davis. I also pointed out that the gap between Sullinger at 1 and Davis at 3 was negligible. Well, Davis moves to the top of the list after his performance tonight.

3. Basketball is alive and well in the Bluegrass state. Kentucky has won 16 straight and is the country's number one team. Murray State is undefeated. Louisville, on a five-game winning streak of its own, appears to be back from the dead after manhandling Connecticut on Monday.

4. Wichita State center Garrett Stutz made his first appearance on RBP on Sunday, as his photo was featured in the weekly Top 25 post. If you haven't seen him play, you're missing out. He's a mobile 7-footer with a nice touch who shoots 82% from the charity stripe. After watching the Shockers beat Indiana State on Saturday, I'm convinced Wichita State is a team that could make a run in March.

5. I may need to revise my Coach of the Year list to include Mike Brey. After losing 3 of their top 5 players to graduation, the Fighting Irish were projected to finish in the bottom half of the Big East. Then, fifth-year senior Tim Abromaitis, Notre Dame's most talented player and an All-Big East candidate, was lost for the season due to a torn ACL. Not surprisingly, the Irish struggled in the non-conference and entered Big East play with an 8-5 record that included neutral court losses to Georgia and Maryland. The Irish have been on a tear ever since, compiling a 7-3 record in Big East play, which includes wins over Louisville, Syracuse, Connecticut, and Marquette. The Irish are legitimately in the conversation for hottest team in the country and on the cusp of being ranked in the Top 25. At some point, I will learn to stop doubting Mike Brey and his mock turtlenecks.

6. Maybe we all wrote Pittsburgh off too soon. Prior to junior point guard Travon Woodall going down with a groin strain and abdominal tear, the Panthers were 6-1 and rated 17th in the country. By the time he made his return against Louisville on January 21, Pitt had fallen to 11-8 and were 0-6 in Big East play. While they loss to Louisville, the Panthers have since reeled off a 4-game winning streak that includes wins over Georgetown and West Virginia. Pitt has a favorable Big East schedule remaining, and I wouldn't be surprised if Jamie Dixon has his squad on the bubble come Selection Sunday.

7. Anyone else surprised how much better Syracuse is when Fab Melo is in the lineup? Jim Boeheim's team legitimately goes 10 deep, but Syracuse has no one that can replace Melo in the middle of its 2-3 zone. The sophomore's shot-blocking is a huge part of the Orange's success. Syracuse remains undefeated with Melo on the floor.

8. Xavier's 8-0 start seems like a distant memory. Since the brawl in the Crosstown Shootout against rival Cincinnati, Xavier is 7-8. The Musketeers have lost to Oral Roberts, Long Beach State, Hawaii, Southern Illinois, LaSalle, Dayton, Saint Louis, and Memphis. Their most impressive win during that time is probably a home victory over 15-9 St. Joseph's.

9. Illinois clearly has trouble focusing after big wins. After beating then fifth-ranked Ohio State on January 10, the Fighting Illini lost their following game at lowly Penn State. Three weeks later Bruce Weber's squad topped then-tenth ranked Michigan State and followed that up with a home loss to a mediocre Northwestern team this past Sunday. Unfortunately for the Illini faithful, underachieving has become a hallmark of Weber's tenure.

10. Congrats to the Evansville Purple Aces for their victory over 15th-ranked Creighton tonight. If I ever move back to western Kentucky/southern Indiana, you can bet I will be purchasing season tickets and enjoying Missouri Valley Conference basketball in the Ford Center. (I should also note that I will be eating Turoni's pizza on a nightly basis and taking my lunches at the Gerst Haus in the fall/winter and Tin Fish in the spring/summer.) Oh, and Creighton doesn't know how to play defense.

CBB Uniforms (1988-89 to Present): 9 Seeds

I don't mean to post over top of HAL 9000's return, but the Russians want their uniform rankings. We're ranking the top 64 uniforms from the 1988-89 season to the present. For more on that process, read the introduction to the original post. And here are the 9 seeds:

36) Virginia Tech (Malcolm Delaney): Bonus points both for making maroon and orange look good and for using white and orange lettering on the maroon jersey.





35) Xavier (Tu Holloway): The "X" on the shorts is one of the more creative uniform details in recent memory, but the odd number placement (too high on both front and back of jersey) keeps Xavier's current look from being ranked higher.






34) USC (O.J. Mayo): Nike provided the Trojans with four very different looks for Orange Juice's single season in SoCal.





33) Old Dominion (Kent Bazemore):Navy with what I'm told is cerulean blue trim is a good look for the Monarchs.

The Starting Five: Tu Holloway Edition

1. Outside of Jimmer and Kemba, no one imposes his will on the game like Xavier's Tu Holloway. At a solid 6-0 185 lbs, he's a bull with the rock and gets where he wants to be on the court. And while he can be a bit of a hothead, he plays with a fury that is too often lacking in this generation of AAU prima donnas. Plus, the junior guard knows how to fill a stat sheet, averaging just over 20 points, right at 5 assists, nearly 5 rebounds, and 1.5 swipes per contest. Down to 9 healthy scholarship players, Holloway is the main reason the Musketeers are tied for first place in the A-10 and 16-6 overall. As a side note, kudos to Holloway for following in Jordan Crawford's footsteps by rocking a jersey number in the 50s while playing on the perimeter. We can only hope this becomes something of a tradition at XU.

2. About three weeks ago RBP put together a list of the top 25 players in college basketball at the season's mid-way point. Perhaps the list's most egregious omission – Wisconsin point guard Jordan Taylor. Built like a tailback and conducting Bo Ryan's demanding swing offense at maximum efficiency, Taylor is quite possibly more important to his team's success than highly-touted teammate Jon Leuer, who, incidentally, came in at #17 on my list. To say Taylor knows how to take care of the ball is an understatement. To put things in perspective, the Badger junior has 44 assists to 11 turnovers in Big Ten play. Or, put another way, 11 turnovers in 376 minutes of running the point for Wisconsin against Big Ten foes. (Well, he was playing defense for about 188 of those minutes.) He's also scored 20 points or more in 6 of 10 conference games and at least 14 points in the other 4. Fellow Big Ten point guards Kalin Lucas and Demetri McCamey got the preseason ink, but Taylor has played the best basketball.

3. Minnesota is in trouble. Point guard Al Nolen is out until at least the end of February with a broken foot, and combo guard Devoe Joseph left the team, opting to transfer to Oregon, leaving Tubby Smith's squad without its two best ballhandlers . A season-ending injury to big Mo Walker hasn't helped matters, as the once deep Gophers find themselves a tad thin on the bench. After losing their last three, Minnesota is one game below .500 in Big Ten play. Their remaining conference schedule is favorable. They get Illinois and Michigan State at home, and Penn State will be their toughest road test. Unfortunately, if the Gophers can't find a solution at the point guard position, it won't matter how well they finish in conference play, because an early exit in March will be inevitable.

4. The Texas Longhorns may be playing the best basketball in the country right now, and that is due, in large part, to the maturation of Jordan Hamilton. Hamilton's freshman campaign consisted largely of jacking up ill-advised shots seemingly every time he got his hands on the ball, providing only minimal effort on defense, and sulking. Just when it seemed safe to write him off as a talented headcase with no hustle, Hamilton has morphed into, not only one of the nation's most improved players, but an All-American candidate. Averaging 18.9 points per contest and 7.6 boards, Hamilton is making a case for Big 12 Player of the Year honors. Oh, and shades of Calbert Cheaney on this kid's jump shot. He doesn't have the lift of the Indiana legend (and Evansville native), but his ability to catch and shoot in rhythm without putting the ball on the floor is certainly reminiscent of one of the Big Ten's all-time greats.

5. As has been the case for the past couple years, it's the Big East and everyone else. It may not be as top-heavy with national title contenders as in years past, but this year's Big East offering may be just as impressive, as 11 teams realistically have at-large hopes. After the Big East, I may give a slight edge to the Big 12 over the Big Ten. There's a significant drop off after these three, though. In fact, I think the SEC, ACC, and Pac-10 have more in common with the Mountain West and Atlantic-10 right now in terms of the level of basketball being played in-conference.