Goodman's midseason All-Americans
We're just about at the midway point of the season, which makes it as good a time as any to do an All-American Reset in which we give out awards to those who have earned it so far.
The player of the year race is wide open among four or five players -- and believe it or not, we're sticking with four of our five-man preseason All-America team. We also handed out a coach of the year, freshman of the year, most improved player and an all-freshman squad.
The shocker? Just one frosh made the list of 15 All-Americans.
Player of the year
Buddy Hield, Oklahoma Sooners
This was extremely difficult because there are a few worthy candidates, but it came down to Hield or Providence guard Kris Dunn. Denzel Valentine is on the mend, and Ben Simmons is making up ground quickly, but Hield has been scorching this season, and he is coming off one of the best individual performances in recent memory with 46 points at Kansas. His team is also No. 2 in the land.
Coach of the year
Chris Mack, Xavier Musketeers
There's just one loss, and it came at Villanova in a game in which his starting point guard, Edmond Sumner, took a nasty fall in the opening minutes. No one saw this coming with the Musketeers, who are 14-1 with wins over Michigan, Dayton, Cincinnati and Butler.
Most improved
Moses Kingsley, sophomore, center, Arkansas Razorbacks
There were tons of candidates -- from Butler's Kelan Martin to Xavier's James Farr to Colorado's George King. We didn't count Providence's Ben Bentil since we gave him the nod on one of the All-America teams. We went with a guy who went from 3.6 points and 2.5 boards last season to 17.1 points and 9.9 rebounds this season.
Freshman of the year
Ben Simmons, LSU Tigers
An easy choice and the lone frosh to place on any of the All-America squads.
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Jeff Goodman ESPN Insider
We're just about at the midway point of the season, which makes it as good a time as any to do an All-American Reset in which we give out awards to those who have earned it so far.
The player of the year race is wide open among four or five players -- and believe it or not, we're sticking with four of our five-man preseason All-America team. We also handed out a coach of the year, freshman of the year, most improved player and an all-freshman squad.
The shocker? Just one frosh made the list of 15 All-Americans.
Player of the year
This was extremely difficult because there are a few worthy candidates, but it came down to Hield or Providence guard Kris Dunn. Denzel Valentine is on the mend, and Ben Simmons is making up ground quickly, but Hield has been scorching this season, and he is coming off one of the best individual performances in recent memory with 46 points at Kansas. His team is also No. 2 in the land.
Coach of the year
There's just one loss, and it came at Villanova in a game in which his starting point guard, Edmond Sumner, took a nasty fall in the opening minutes. No one saw this coming with the Musketeers, who are 14-1 with wins over Michigan, Dayton, Cincinnati and Butler.
Most improved
There were tons of candidates -- from Butler's Kelan Martin to Xavier's James Farr to Colorado's George King. We didn't count Providence's Ben Bentil since we gave him the nod on one of the All-America teams. We went with a guy who went from 3.6 points and 2.5 boards last season to 17.1 points and 9.9 rebounds this season.
Freshman of the year
An easy choice and the lone frosh to place on any of the All-America squads.
