College Basketball: B/R National Player of the Year Award Watch ~ Jan. 1

Doug BrodessJun 7, 2018

As 2012 begins, college basketball teams are getting ready to or have just begun their conference schedules.

Instead of facing a random collection of non-conference teams in November and December, most teams will now be playing their league slate of games from here on out.

Here is a quick New Year's look at the 2012 B/R National Player of the Year Watch list.

Three new players have played their way onto this week's list.

Here we go!

10. Anthony Davis (Kentucky)

1 of 10

Position: Power Forward

Class: Freshman

Ht: 6'10" Wt: 220 lbs

Year-to-Date Stats:

Points: 12.1

Rebounds: 10.2

Assists: 0.9

Steals: 1.5 Blocks: 4.6

Last week's ranking: Not listed

Anthony Davis is leading the nation in blocked shots on the team that is leading the nation.

This past week:

Davis had two good games scoring 10 points, grabbing 13 rebounds and blocking 6 shots against Lamar.

He followed it up with 18 points, 10 boards and six blocks against No. 4 Louisville.

He shot 8 for 14 from the field and 12 for 13 from the line.

9. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Kentucky)

2 of 10

Position: Small Forward

Class: Junior

Ht: 6'7" Wt: 232 lbs

Year-to-Date Stats:

Points: 14.2

Rebounds: 7.7

Assists: 2.1

Steals: 1.2 Blocks: 1.0

Last week's ranking: Not listed

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist may be the best all-around freshman in the country.

This past week:

Kidd-Gilchrist had two great games this week.

He scored 18 points and grabbed 6 rebounds against Lamar.

Then, the freshman came up huge against Louisville, scoring 24 points and grabbing 19 boards.

8. Tyler Zeller (North Carolina)

3 of 10

Position: Center

Class: Senior

Ht: 7'0" Wt: 250 lbs

Year-to-Date Stats:

Points: 14.4

Rebounds: 8.7

Assists: 1.1

Steals: 1.1 Blocks: 0.9

Last week's ranking: Not on list

This past week:

Tyler Zeller poured in 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in 22 minutes of action against Elon.

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7. John Henson (North Carolina)

4 of 10

Position: Power Forward

Class: Junior

Ht: 6'11" Wt: 220 lbs

Year-to-Date Stats:

Points: 14.6

Rebounds: 10.1

Assists: 1.6

Steals: 1.0 Blocks: 3.2

Last week's ranking: No. 9

This past week:

Henson continues to be a double-double machine.

He dropped in 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in only 16 minutes against Elon.

UNC opens their ACC slate at home against Boston College on Jan. 7.

6. Marcus Denmon (Missouri)

5 of 10

Position: Shooting Guard

Class: Senior

Ht: 6'3" Wt: 185 lbs

Year-to-Date Stats:

Points: 18.7

Rebounds: 4.8

Assists: 2.2

Steals: 2.2 Blocks: 0.0

Last Week's Ranking: No. 5

Marcus Denmon has launched the Tigers to a perfect 13-0 record.

This past week:

Denmon had a solid outing against a pesky Old Dominion team, scoring 19 points, grabbing 3 rebounds and dishing out 5 assists.

5. Jeremy Lamb (UConn)

6 of 10

Position: Shooting Guard

Class: Sophomore

Ht: 6'5" Wt: 185 lbs

Year-to-Date Stats:

Points: 18.9

Rebounds: 4.5

Assists: 1.6

Steals: 2.2 Blocks: 0.9

Last Week's Rating: No. 6

This past week:

Lamb continues to lead the way for the defending National Champs.

He scored 23 points (8 for 11 from the field, 1 for 2 from beyond the arc) against South Florida and 15 (5 for 9 from the field and 4 for 7 from beyond the arc) against St. John's.

4. Doug McDermott (Creighton)

7 of 10

Position: Shooting Forward

Class: Sophomore

Ht: 6'7" Wt: 210 lbs

Year-to-Date Stats:

Points: 23.8

Rebounds: 8.5

Assists: 1.3

Steals: 0.1 Blocks: 0.1

Last Week's Ranking: No. 2

Doug McDermott is the No. 2 scorer in the nation.

This past week:

McDermott had a very good game (19 points and 12 rebounds) in a disappointing loss in the Blue Jays' Missouri Valley opener against Missouri State.

He came back and helped (12 points and 7 rebounds) Creighton beat Wichita State on the road

3. Harrison Barnes (North Carolina)

8 of 10

Position: Small Forward

Class: Sophomore

Ht: 6'8" Wt: 215 lbs

Year-to-Date Stats:

Points: 16.9

Rebounds: 4.9

Assists: 1.2

Steals: 1.0 Blocks: 0.4

Last Week's Ranking: No. 4

This past week:

Barnes only played 20 minutes, but he scored 18 points, grabbed 5 boards and handed out 5 assists in a blowout win against Elon.

2. Jared Sullinger (Ohio State)

9 of 10

Position: Power Forward

Class: Sophomore

Ht: 6'9" Wt: 280

Year-to-Date Stats:

Points: 16.2

Rebounds: 9.5

Assists: 1.2

Steals: 1.2 Blocks: 0.9

Last Week's Ranking: No. 1

This past week:

Sullinger had a nice game (17 points and 14 rebounds) in a blowout victory over Northwestern, and then had an average outing (15 points and 9 rebounds) as the Buckeyes were upset at Indiana.