2016 Naismith Trophy: Complete Early-Season Watch List Announced

Just a few weeks into the 2015-16 college basketball season, the Naismith Trophy, an award given to the sport's player of the year, released its early-season watch list on Wednesday. 

This first list includes 50 players and will be cut down to 30 in February. Continue for the full watch list, courtesy of NaismithTrophy.com. 

Player	Class	Position	School	Conference
Grayson Allen	Sophomore	SG	Duke	ACC
Ryan Anderson	Senior	PF	Arizona	Pac-12
Ryan Arcidiacono	Senior	PG	Villanova	Big East
Ron Baker	Senior	SG	Wichita St.	Missouri Valley
DeAndre Bembry	Junior	F	Saint Joseph	Atlantic 10
Malcolm Brogdon	Senior	SG	Virginia	ACC
Jaylen Brown	Freshman	SF	California	Pac-12
Kyle Collinsworth	Senior	G	BYU	West Coast
Kellen Dunham	Senior	G	Butler	Big East
Kris Dunn	Junior	G	Providence	Big East
Perry Ellis	Senior	PF	Kansas	Big 12
A.J. English	Senior	G	Iona	MAAC
Yogi Ferrell	Senior	PG	Indiana	Big Ten
Rico Gathers	Senior	F	Baylor	Big 12
Michael Gbinije	Senior	F	Syracuse	ACC
Jack Gibbs	Junior	G	Davidson	Atlantic 10
A.J. Hammons	Senior	C	Purdue	Big Ten
Shaquille Harrison	Senior	G	Tulsa	American Athletic
Nigel Hayes	Junior	F	Wisconsin	Big Ten
Buddy Hield	Senior	SG	Oklahoma	Big 12
Danuel House	Senior	G	Texas A&M	SEC
Brandon Ingram	Freshman	G-F	Duke	ACC
Demetrius Jackson	Junior	G	Notre Dame	ACC
Justin Jackson	Sophomore	SF	North Carolina	ACC
Damian Jones	Junior	C	Vanderbilt	SEC
Skal Labissiere	Freshman	PF	Kentucky	SEC
Damion Lee	Senior	G	Louisville	ACC
Caris LeVert	Senior	G	Michigan	Big Ten
Frank Mason III	Junior	PG	Kansas	Big 12
Sheldon McClellan	Senior	G	Miami (Fla.)	ACC
Nic Moore	Senior	PG	SMU	American Athletic
Monte Morris	Junior	G	Iowa State	Big 12
Jamal Murray	Freshman	SG	Kentucky	SEC
Malik Newman	Freshman	G	Mississippi State	SEC
Georges Niang	Senior	PF	Iowa State	Big 12
Marcus Paige	Senior	PG	North Carolina	ACC
Gary Payton II	Senior	G	Oregon State	Pac-12
Jakob Poeltl	Sophomore	F-C	Utah	Pac-12
Domantas Sabonis	Sophomore	PF	Gonzaga	West Coast
Wayne Selden Jr.	Junior	G-F	Kansas	Big 12
Ben Simmons	Freshman	F	LSU	SEC
D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera	Senior	G	Georgetown	Big East
Caleb Swanigan	Freshman	F	Purdue	Big Ten
Isaiah Taylor	Junior	PG	Texas	Big 12
Melo Trimble	Sophomore	PG	Maryland	Big 10
Tyler Ulis	Sophomore	PG	Kentucky	SEC
Denzel Valentine	Senior	G	Michigan State	Big Ten
Fred VanVleet	Senior	PG	Wichita St.	Missouri Valley
Tyrone Wallace	Senior	PG	California	Pac-12
Kyle Wiltjer	Senior	PF	Gonzaga	West Coast

Not even having a month of collegiate play under their belts, seven freshmen are included on the early list, including Kentucky's Skal Labissiere and LSU's Ben Simmons, who is making plenty of noise with an average of 16.0 points and 15.0 rebounds per night.   

On the opposite spectrum, one of the front-runners is senior Michigan State guard Denzel Valentine, whom Brian Mull of NCAA.com ranked No. 1 in the Naismith race. 

Valentine has proved early that he is the epitome of an all-around player, averaging 19.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and 8.6 assists per game this season. 

ESPN's Jeff Goodman kept it simple when describing Valentine:

But the 22-year-old will have plenty of competition, including North Carolina's Marcus Paige. The senior made his season debut on Tuesday against No. 2 Maryland and dropped 20 points. His opposite number from Tuesday, Maryland's Melo Trimble, will have something to say about that after a 23-point, 12-assist performance in the 88-81 loss. 

The true best of the best will be weeded out throughout this season, but the Naismith Trophy has given college basketball fans a guide on whom to look out for as the year progresses. With 2015-16 in its infancy, these candidates are sure to give the game a thrill before March. 

Stats courtesy of ESPN.com.