Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Midseason Conference Awards
By Vince Senick
Pac-12 Player of the Year
Jan 7, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Utes guard Delon Wright (55) reacts during the second half against the Colorado Buffaloes at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Utah won 74-49. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
In the hunt:
G Delon Wright–Utah
G Chasson Randle–Stanford
F Stanley Johnson–Arizona
Not going to win it, but needs to be mentioned:
G T.J. McConnell-Arizona
The Winner:
Delon Wright-Utah
This is a very close race and one that will probably go down to the end of the season, but right now the Player of the Year has to go to Delon Wright. Sure, Chasson Randle is a good candidate as he leads the conference in scoring, and is eighth in the country, but that is all he really does for Stanford. He steals the ball a little too, but Randle does not do enough to win the POY.
A more serious case, and someone who may be able to steal this from Wright, is Stanley Johnson. He is the best player on the best team in the Pac-12 and does a little bit of everything. Johnson is in the top 15 in points per game, rebounds per game, and steals per game, but the Wildcats are such a balanced team that it may take away from Johnson’s chances to win POY, but he will surely get some award recognition no matter what.
If you eliminate Randle and Johnson, the most logical player left would be Delon Wright. He has a good shot at being a First-Team All-American and is having a really good year for the only other good team in this conference, besides Arizona. Wright averages 14.6 points per game (eleventh in the conference), 5.85 assists per game (second in the conference), 2.20 steals per game (second in the conference), and has a 3.25 assist to turnover ratio, which is also second in the conference. Wright also shoots 54.6% from the field (sixth in the conference) and 79.2% from the free throw line which ties him for ninth in the conference. It has been a brilliant year for Wright and the POY award is his to lose.
Next: Freshman of the Year