The Wooden Award Advisory Board released its Midseason Top 25 on Wednesday, listing the candidates it feels are the front-runners for college basketball's most prestigious award. As expected, players like Doug McDermott, Marcus Smart and Jabari Parker made the list, but several players were noticeably absent. Perhaps no omission more glaring than that of Kansas center Joel Embiid.
2014 Wooden Award Midseason Top 25: Joel Embiid among Wooden snubs
Doug McDermott and Marcus Smart lead the way on the Midseason Top 25, but who did the committee forget entirely?
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It should be noted, of course, that players not listed in the top 25 are still eligible to receive the award; this is merely a check-in to see who is performing the best so far, much like your Top 25 polls.
So, with about six weeks left in the regular season, these five players may have a little something extra to prove after having narrowly missed the cut on the Wooden Midseason Top 25 list:
1. Joel Embiid, Center, Kansas (11.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 2.8 bpg)
As the Jayhawks have found a rhythm in January, Embiid has become the popular pick to go first in the 2014 NBA Draft this summer. He is a seven-footer who can impact a game even more than his stats indicate. On defense he can change shots, scaring away even the most aggressive slashers. Those 2.8 blocks per game are on their way up as well; he swatted away eight against Oklahoma State in a win last Saturday. Oh, and Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg called Embiid the "best player in the country."
2. Nik Stauskas, Guard, Michigan (18.0 ppg, 3.8 apg, 44% 3pt)
There are few players in the country more exciting to watch than Stauskas when he gets going. He’s hit four or more threes in a game five times this season. Threes are fun, but Stauskas has added more to his repertoire this year, showing an ability to find the open man (as his assist numbers indicate). And like Embiid in Kansas, Stauskas has sparked his team at exactly the right time. He’s dropped 20-plus points in each of the Wolverines’ last three games and Michigan has not lost in five weeks.
3. Gary Harris, Guard, Michigan State (18.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.8 apg)
If Stauskas does make a push toward Wooden consideration, he might have some competition from within his own state. Harris has rebounded from an ankle injury to come back and fill up the scoring column. He has shot 15-for-22 over his last two games, including 6-for-10 from three. Though he leads the Spartans in scoring, Harris is one of three players on the team averaging more then 15 points per game, meaning he won’t have to put the team on his back quite as much as other Wooden candidates. That said, the Spartans face Stauskas and Michigan this weekend in a game that will be a test for both players.
4. Markel Brown, Guard, Oklahoma State (16.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 2.8 apg)
Those who think Oklahoma State’s star power stops with Smart are sorely mistaken. Though Brown may have been a little too inconsistent for the Wooden committee, he has shined when the Cowboys have needed him most. Brown drained the game-winning three on Jan. 11 as time expired to lift Oklahoma State over West Virginia, 73-72. He’s also recorded six 20-plus-point games this year and is a solid rebounding guard.
5. Xavier Thames, Guard, San Diego State (17.0 ppg, 46% 3pt, 82% ft)
Thames has the disadvantage of playing for a Mountain West school, meaning not only is he not in a power conference, but his games are on when much of the East Coast has already gone to sleep. That doesn’t mean he should be forgotten. Thames’ already-stellar numbers appear even better when you take into account his improvement from a year ago. As a junior, Thames was in and out of the lineup with injuries, and even when he did play, he was not always effective. Now, he appears to be making up for lost time with one of the more efficient shooting stat lines that you’ll see.
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