1. D’Angelo Russell – G – Ohio State Buckeyes (19.5 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 5.4 APG) – It’s time to give Russell his due. He’s been knocking on the door all season, and finally got over the hump on Sunday against Rutgers by posting an impressive triple-double in a 79-60 win. Russell finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists to go along with 61 percent shooting from the field, and as usual, he made it look effortless. He has scored in double digits in all but one game this year, and is the leading scorer among not only NCAA freshman, but also this group of five. If Russell’s 33-point, six-assist, seven-rebound performance against Northwestern on Jan. 22nd was his breakout game, then Sunday’s outing was a confirmation of what we will continue to see from him in what is likely his only college season. Enjoy it while you can.
2. Jahlil Okafor – F – Duke Blue Devils (18.0 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 1.4 APG) – Okafor seemingly bounced back from a mediocre showing against Georgia Tech on Feb. 4th, scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds during a 90-60 throttling of Notre Dame. In reality, he missed over 50 percent of the first half after picking up some quick fouls, and left the game with only four points at the time, before going on to score 16 points in the second half when the game was already well-decided. The Blue Devils were actually able to build a huge lead against the Fighting Irish, and they did it without their best player. Now, of course Okafor shouldn’t be penalized for the play of his team without him, but still, his stats were inflated a bit while playing in the rare occurrence of mop-up duty against a top-10 team with nearly half the game remaining. He was much more instrumental in Duke’s 73-70 win over a bad Florida State team on Monday night, finishing a perfect 5-of-5 from the field with 13 points, four rebounds, and two blocks. Not necessarily a bad week for the star freshman, but not quite up to par with Russell’s.
3. Frank Kaminsky – C – Wisconsin Badgers (17. PPG, 8.1 RPG, 2.5 APG) – Kaminsky’s scoring has taken a slight dip in his past two games after averaging 23.0 points per game in his three games prior. Even so, he was his usual efficient self in the Badger’s two wins, and earned himself another double-double against Nebraska on Tuesday night, finishing with 13 points on an uncharacteristic 4-of-9 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds, four assists, and three blocks. Kaminsky may indeed play in the post, but Wisconsin’s offense clearly runs through him, which is helped by his ability to pass and hit perimeter shots. He can climb back up a spot or two if he fixes his current shooting “struggle,” which for him means finishing below 50 percent in a game. Upcoming games against Illinois and Penn State should help him do just that.
4. Jerian Grant – PG – Notre Dame Fighting Irish (16.8 PPG, 6.3 APG, 2.3 RPG) – It’s been an up-and-down stretch for Grant in his past two games. He was completely shut down during the blowout loss against Duke on Saturday, as he was only able to muster seven points off of 4-of-10 shooting, along with four assists and a 1-for-7 mark from the free-throw line. Grant’s dismal performance against the Blue Devils harassing defense proved that when he is shut down, the entire Notre Dame offense is shut down. He was much better against Clemson during the Irish’s 60-58 win on Tuesday night, hitting the go-ahead jumper with 47 seconds left that ended up being the difference. He finished with 22 points, five assists, two rebounds, and three steals while shooting a much better 7-of-14 from the field and 7-of-7 from the free-throw line.
5. Rakeem Christmas – F – Syracuse Orangemen – (18.5 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 1.4 APG) – Christmas has been overlooked this season on a Syracuse team that hasn’t had much to be excited about. If there was an award for Most Improved Player in the NCAA, it would certainly be him. He had career averages of just 4.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game in 18.6 game minutes prior to this season. Not only has the senior quadrupled his scoring while doubling his rebounding in his final season, he’s playing an ironman-like 33.7 minutes a game, and hasn’t played less than 40 minutes since Jan. 20th. That’s four complete games in a row. Not only that, but as an undersized center at 6-foot-9, he’s averaging 2.3 blocks per game, and has averaged 4.0 per game in his last three, highlighted by a six-block outing against Pittsburgh on Saturday. He also had 23 points and 12 rebounds in that game, which is now turning into an average performance for him since scoring a career-high 35 points against Wake Forest on Jan. 13th. Christmas, who also completed his degree in three years, would be receiving many more accolades if not for being on a Syracuse team that has banned itself from post-season play after infractions from 2007 recently came to light. It’s truly a shame, and one can only hope that he can carry his play on to the next level.
