Rush The Court

Zach Hayes is an editor, contributor and bracketologist for Rush the Court. Follow him on Twitter @zhayes9.

Every August, ESPN college football guru Kirk Herbstreit releases his Herbie awards, a grab bag of honors and predictions about the upcoming season covering everything from quickest running back to hardest-hitting linebacker. The Herbies are so popular they even resulted in their own half-hour show hosted by Herbstreit and Erin Andrews. With no equivalent in the hoops world, I volunteered to step up to the plate. Some of these awards are Herbie knock-offs, some are 100% original and all are intended to be fun. Whether they look ridiculous by March…well, the jury is out. Here are this year’s Pro-Zach awards, passing out happy pills since 2011:

All-Next Chapter

• Team Irreverence: Players Who Don’t Get Enough Respect – GOLD: Rodney McGruder (Kansas State), SILVER: Kent Bazemore (Old Dominion), BRONZE: Doug McDermott (Creighton)
• Shhh, Don’t Tell: Best Kept Secrets – GOLD: C.J. McCollum (Lehigh), SILVER: Alex Young (IUPUI), BRONZE: Dominique Morrison (Oral Roberts)
• Forwarding Address: Top Transfers – GOLD: Mike Rosario (Florida), SILVER: Royce White (Iowa State), BRONZE: Brandon Wood (Michigan State)
• Fresh Approach: Top True Freshmen – GOLD: Anthony Davis (Kentucky), SILVER: Austin Rivers (Duke), BRONZE: Andre Drummond (Connecticut)
• Off and Running: Ready To Take It To The Next Level – GOLD: Terrence Ross (Washington), SILVER: Keith Appling (Michigan State), BRONZE: Michael Snaer (Florida State)

All-Skill Set

• SWAT Team: Intimidating Shot-Blockers – GOLD: David Foster (Utah), SILVER: John Henson (North Carolina), BRONZE: C.J. Aiken (St. Joseph’s)
• Floor Generals: Best Passing Guards – GOLD: Kendall Marshall (North Carolina), SILVER: Scott Machado (Iona), BRONZE: Dee Bost (Mississippi State)
• Kiss The Sky: Best Dunkers – GOLD: Quincy Acy (Baylor), SILVER: Mason Plumlee (Duke), BRONZE: Jared Cunningham (Oregon State)
• Twine Ticklers: Best Pure Shooters– GOLD: John Jenkins (Vanderbilt), SILVER: Ashton Gibbs (Pittsburgh), BRONZE: Doron Lamb (Kentucky)
• Complete Coverage: Best Defenders – GOLD: Bernard James (Florida State), SILVER: Ronald Nored (Butler), BRONZE: Jeffery Taylor (Vanderbilt)

All-CEO

• Chairmen of the Whiteboard: Top In-Game Coaches – GOLD: Mike Krzyzewski (Duke), SILVER: Brad Stevens (Butler), BRONZE: Rick Pitino (Louisville)
• Used Car Salesmen: Top Recruiters – GOLD: John Calipari (Kentucky), SILVER: Sean Miller (Arizona), BRONZE: Roy Williams (North Carolina)
• Instant Impact: Best Coaching Hires – GOLD: Mark Turgeon (Maryland), SILVER: Lon Kruger (UNLV), BRONZE: Pat Skerry (Towson)
• Show Me Some Respect: Underrated Coaches – GOLD: Matt Painter (Purdue), SILVER: Brad Brownell (Clemson), BRONZE: Stew Morrill (Utah State)

All-Miscelleny

• Dress for Success: Looks the Part – GOLD: Thomas Robinson (Kansas), SILVER: Patric Young (Florida), BRONZE: Trevor Mbakwe (Minnesota)
• The Longar Longars: All-Name Team – GOLD: Indiana Faithfull (Wofford), SILVER: God’s Gift Achiuwa (St. John’s), BRONZE: Jabs Newby (Eastern Kentucky)
• Little Giants: Best Diminutive Guards– GOLD: Peyton Siva (Louisville), SILVER: Casper Ware (Long Beach State), BRONZE: D.J. Cooper (Ohio)
• Paint Patrol: Best Big Men – GOLD: Jared Sullinger (Ohio State), SILVER: Terrence Jones (Kentucky), BRONZE: Thomas Robinson (Kansas)
• All-Elmer’s: Glue Guy Extraordinaires – GOLD: Jorge Gutierrez (California), SILVER: Darius Miller (Kentucky), BRONZE: Mark Lyons (Xavier)
• Stat Sheet Stuffers: Most Versatile Players – GOLD: Tu Holloway (Xavier), SILVER: Draymond Green (Michigan State), BRONZE: Robbie Hummel (Purdue)

All-ProZach Team

• The Ultimate ProZach: Best College Ambassadors – GOLD: Robbie Hummel (Purdue), SILVER: Jordan Taylor (Wisconsin), BRONZE: Tim Abromaitis (Notre Dame)
• Your 2012 ProZach MVP – GOLD: Jared Sullinger (Ohio State), SILVER: Jordan Taylor (Wisconsin), BRONZE: Harrison Barnes (North Carolina)