"The King of College Hoop"

What's up Sports Fans? It's right around the corner, anxious fans are waiting to see if their favorite school can bully their way to a National Championship, Cinderella is silently lurking to steal the National Spotlight from some of the more prestigious schools. Rocket Scientist, there is no need for your help on this one, because any avid sport fan understands that it is time for MARCH MADNESS!

The Madness officially begins during the heart racing Conference Tournaments, for some teams it's do or die and winning the Conference Tournament is the only way that many of them will even have a chance of competing for the National Championship. Thinking about March Madness gives me goose bumps which is why I will simply focus on who I think are the top 5 players in College Basketball who are also candidates for the Player Of The Year Award.

Another good thing about March Madness is the chance for many young men to showcase their talents to a National Audience, not to mention several NBA scouts, but the 5 players that I will list really don't need much exposure, their resumes for the upcoming NBA Draft are pretty much complete. Here are my top five: Stephon Curry - Davidson, Blake Griffin - Oklahoma, Hasheem Thabeet - UCONN, Tyler Hansbrough - North Carolina, and closing out the list is Jodie Meeks of Kentucky.

Standing at 6-3 in a 185 pound frame is my first candidate in Davidson's Junior Guard Stephon Curry. We hear the phrase "Shooting Lights Out" often, and with Curry the phrase is a definite fit. Shooting wise he is almost a mirror image of his father, former Virginia Tech great and NBA vet Dell Curry who made a name for himself by blistering the nets on both the College and Pro level.

Stephon currently leads the nation in scoring at 29pts per game, eclipsing the 40 point plateau 3 times, scoring 30 or more 9 times with a season high of 44 twice. His first 44 point performance was on the National Scene during a ESPN Broadcast against the Oklahoma Sooners. Though Curry's Davidson Team would go down in defeat, there was little doubt whether or not Curry could explode against the big boys, in reality this is the same guy who lead his team to the Elite 8 during the NCAA Tournament on last year where a felled last second shot was the only thing that stood in the way of their faith to the Final Four and an upset victory over the eventually National Champions Kansas Jayhawks.

Playing in the Southern Conference is the only knock on Curry, but I think many will agree that he is a strong Candidate for the P.O.Y.

Let's now shift gears a little and talk about a complete monster on the hardwood. If you have yet to see Oklahoma's Blake Griffin play then you my friend have missed out on a treat. Griffin brings and intimidating 6-10 251 pound frame to the court, and often serves as a defensive nightmare for anyone who has to guard him. For the season Griffin averages 22 points and 14 rebounds alone with several rim rocking highlights. Griffin's best perfomance came during Valentine's day where he showed no love in breaking the hearts of everyone on the Texas Tech Staff, dominating the game with 40 pts. and 23 rebounds. Griffin's NBA stock continues to rise as the season progresses, and in case you have forgotten he is still a part of that outstanding Freshman Class of 07 that produced the likes of: Derrick Rose, O.J. Mayo, Kevin Love, and Michael Beasley.

For my next candidate we will take a stroll over to the Big East where the play of UConn's Junior Center Hasheem Thabeet makes the Huskies one of the favorites to win it all in the Motor City come April. At 7-3, 263 pounds Thabeet follows in the footsteps of other big men who have dominated the Big East Conference in the Past....Patrick Ewing, Derrick Coleman, Charles Smith, Alonzo Mourning, Deikembe Mutumbo; more recent memory Emeka Okafor and Roy Hibbert. Thabeet's presence on the defensive end is a big reason why the Huskies are one of the top defensive teams in the Nation, his 13.2 points and 10.6 rebounds are not to shabby either. The most impressive stat to me is the 4.3 blocks that he averages per game, Thabeet not to be outdone by Blake Griffin offered up a small Valentine's day gift for the Seton Hall Pirates when he scored 25 points 20 rebounds and block an amazing 9 shots! What's more impressive about Thabeet is that he is still adjusting to a game that he hasn't played very long, talk about the potential for growth. Thabeet will definitely make a great impact on the NBA!

The fourth player on my radar is a guy who never, and I repeat never takes a possession off. He is the current Player Of The Year in North Carolina's Center Tyler Hansbrough. Hansbrough's stats are down a bit from last year, but there is not a Player in the country who would pout about averaging 21.4 points and 7.5 rebounds. What's really commendable is that he has played most of the season hurt, but hurt or not you would never know because Hansbrough toughness and determination are consistent game by game. I wont spend alot of time gloating on the magnificent career that Hansbrough has had because there is not a College Basketball Fan in the world who is unfamiliar with Tyler Hansbrough.

Last on my list and certainly not least is a guy that even Adolph Rupp would be proud of. You have probably guessed that I am about to pub Kentucky's dynamite Shooting Guard Jodie Meeks. Meeks is a guy that only averaged 8pts during his first two years in the Blue Grass State, this season he has stepped his game up tremendously averaging almost 26 points per game. Meeks has crack 40 plus twice, 30 plus 4 times, and who can ever forget the 54 point one man show that he put on at Thompson Bowling arena against the Tennessee Volunteers on January 13th. Meeks already posses a strong NBA build at 6-4 and 208 pounds, there is not an NBA G.M. anywhere that would disagree that Meeks is poised for stardum. Meeks is definitely a sleeper to walk away with the award and if he can go on a tear during the SEC and NCAA Tournaments, he could very well bring the Player of The Year hardware to a school that is very rich in College Basketball tradition!

In the process of closing out this article, I guess it wouldn't be fair if I didn't give my consensus pick for the Player of The Year. While every player on my list is surely deserving, I will have to go with Blake Griffin. His play alone is the big reason why the Sooners only have 1 lost and are geared to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. Griffin is simply a Freak of Nature who can score, block shots, and rebound. Blake Griffin is a sure NBA Lottery pick, that's if he decides to leave. Agree or disagree Fam, but do it tastefully.

by William Terrell