The Husky Haul
Fansided

Pac-12 Player Of The Year: Midseason candidates

By Kevin Hart

SPOKANE, WA - DECEMBER 05: Jaylen Nowell #5 of the Washington Huskies puts up a shot against the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the game at McCarthey Athletic Center on December 5, 2018 in Spokane, Washington. Gonzaga defeated Washington 81-79. (Photo by William Mancebo/Getty Images)
SPOKANE, WA - DECEMBER 05: Jaylen Nowell #5 of the Washington Huskies puts up a shot against the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the game at McCarthey Athletic Center on December 5, 2018 in Spokane, Washington. Gonzaga defeated Washington 81-79. (Photo by William Mancebo/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 5
Next

Now halfway through conference play, where are we at in the Pac-12 Player Of The Year race?

The Pac-12 Player of the Year debate is in full swing, with undefeated Washington’s Jaylen Nowell and Oregon State’s Tres Tinkle as the 1A and 1B favorites for the award. To look forward to this years vote, it’s important to take a look at past recipients and how they got there.

The last fourteen seasons have ended with the conference player of the year award given to a player on a top-four team. The last time someone won the award on a team outside of the top-four was 2004-2005, when Ike Diogu earned the honor on a sixth-place Arizona State squad.

With the award evidenced as hinging on team success, the field has been narrowed down significantly. The best example of this is Robert Franks. Franks leads the Pac-12 in scoring with 21.4 points per game, but plays for a 1-8 Washington State team near the bottom of the standings. It wouldn’t be crazy for Franks to find himself on the first team all-conference, but he likely won’t be looked at for Player of the Year awards.

While there’s a whole lot of basketball left, it should be noted that if the season were to end today, Washington would be joined by the Arizona State Sun Devils, the Oregon State Beavers and the USC Trojans as the top four seeds in the Pac-12 tournament, all earning a first-round bye.

Here’s my list of the top five midseason candidates for Pac-12 Player of the Year:

Home/Washington Huskies