With just a handful of games left in the conference season, it’s time to look at our predictions for the Pac-12 Postseason Awards.
Player of the Year: Dillon Brooks, Oregon Ducks
With the Ducks in a position to win the conference, it makes sense to look at the best player on the best team in the conference for the award. Brooks has been ridiculous this season, averaging 16.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game–not to mentioned 3.2 assists per game. All of which are improvements from his freshman year, though he’s not shooting the ball as well from three-point land. Should Brooks win, that would make back-to-back POY awards for Oregon, with Joseph Young winning last season in a controversial nomination, as most felt Arizona’s T.J. McConnell was the most important player in the conference.
Coach of the Year: Andy Enfield, USC Trojans
The Trojans currently sit t 18-5, 7-3 as of publishing, meaning they’ve won two more conference games than they had the previous two seasons, combined. On one hand, you could say that this is just USC doing what USC should be doing when they recruit as well as they do–however, that shouldn’t take away from the improvements made in this program. They just finished off a season sweep of UCLA for crying out loud–Enfield has this program rolling.
Defensive Player of the Year: Gary Payton II
He’s the most versatile defender in the conference, leading the Pac-12 in steals this season while also being eighth in defensive rebounding. Oregon State playing zone can cause him to be hidden at times since he rarely matches up one-on-one with someone, but he may be the best zone defender in the country. Oregon’s Chris Boucher would be second in my eyes, due to his ability to block shots at a prolific rate.
Most Improved Player: George King, Colorado Buffaloes
Honestly, with Dillon Brooks being POY, this thing isn’t close. King went from being a non-factor as a true freshman, to being one of the best scorers in the conference as a RS-sophomore. He’s now the poster child for what a redshirt year can do for a player.
Freshman of the Year: Dejounte Murray, Washington Huskies
There are a handful of contenders for this award like Jaylen Brown, Allonzo Trier, and Tyler Dorsey, but Murray is as much of a reason for UW’s revival as Andrew Andrews with his versatility and well-rounded statistical ability.
