The Wooden Award Top 50 watch list was released on Monday, tabbing seven Big Ten players – Wisconsin’s Sam Dekker and Frank Kaminsky, Nebraska’s Terran Petteway, Michigan State’s Branden Dawson, Michigan’s Caris LeVert, Maryland’s Dez Wells and Indiana’s Yogi Ferrell. There were no surprises in those who were named to the list, but since only 50 total players received the honor in the first place, there are a number of other Big Ten players who could very well find themselves among the 25 finalists in January.
Denzel Valentine and Branden Dawson are the only two returning starters at Michigan State and the former is one of the most versatile players in the Big Ten. Tom Izzo was not pleased with Valentine’s performance in the Spartans’ season opener versus Navy, criticizing the 6’5” junior for being reckless (Valentine turned the ball over three times and shot 20 percent from the field.) However, the very recklessness shown by Valentine may have been more indicative of the inexperience of many of the players around him. There’s little doubt that Valentine will turn it around — it was only one game, after all — he’s been praised for the vast improvements he made during the offseason. With Dawson and Valentine as the drivers of the Spartan squad, it’s not a stretch to tab both as potential Wooden finalists.
Aaron White is the catalyst at Iowa after the departure of Roy Devyn Marble, and he’s off to a solid start this season. Against admittedly less-than-stellar competition, White has tallied 29 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in 46 minutes, leading the Hawkeyes to two victories by a combined total of 65 points. He earns a majority of his points from driving to the hoop, but his jumper has shown improvement so far this season, among the top 100 players nationally in offensive rating (154.6). We’ll have to wait until the Hawkeyes face tougher competition to see if his newfound mid-range game is truly up to snuff, but it seems like he’s ready to establish himself as the primary Hawkeyes’ star this season.
If you read any article about college basketball’s untapped potential this year, you’re probably going to find Purdue’s A.J. Hammons name somewhere between the margins. His performance in the Boilermakers’ first two wins were both disappointing and encouraging. Hammons has played the second-most minutes on the team (47) but has only scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds during that action. When you’re a 7’0”, 261-pound center playing the likes of Samford and IUPUI, those numbers simply aren’t acceptable. Now, for the good news – Purdue has gotten outstanding play from Kendall Stephens and Vince Edwards thus far, as they’ve combined for 73 points in two games. If those totals aren’t an anomaly, their play will help to space the floor for their big man. He’s got a lot of work to do in order to be considered among college basketball’s best — and he can’t wait much longer to make an impact — but it wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility for him to eventually turn the corner.