The first regular season of the post-realignment era is complete. With that, conferences have spent the week revealing their individual awards and all-conference teams. From Duke’s Cooper Flagg to Auburn’s Johni Broome, here are the talents that brought home Player of the Year honors in college basketball’s best conferences this season.
ACC: Cooper Flagg, Duke, Fr.
19.4 PTS, 7.6 REB, 4.2 AST, 1.5 BLK, 1.3 STL
The campaign: There aren’t enough superlatives to describe Flagg’s freshman season at Duke. Deemed by many to be one of this decade’s defining high school prospects, Flagg has lived up to the hype and then some. “The Maine Event” leads Duke in all five major statistical categories, propelling the Blue Devils to a 28-3 overall record and an all but guaranteed No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. The last time Duke finished the regular season with that mark or better was in 2014-15, coincidentally the last time the Blue Devils won the national title. Flagg’s performance this season has also made him the prohibitive odds-on favorite to win the Wooden and Naismith National Player of the Year Awards. Not bad for a player who technically could still be in high school.
Signature performances: Flagg’s best performance of the season was on Jan. 11 against Notre Dame, as the freshman led Duke to an 86-78 victory by tallying 42 points, six rebounds and seven assists. Flagg finished that game a remarkable 11-of-14 from the field and 16-of-17 from the free throw line and he scored or assisted on 65 percent of Duke’s points that afternoon. Flagg also led Duke to an 84-78 win over then-No.2 Auburn with a 22-point outing, outscoring Johni Broome in the process.
Big East: RJ Luis Jr., St. John’s, Jr.
18.1 PTS, 7.1 REB, 2.2 AST, 0.9 BLK, 1.6 STL
The campaign: Rick Pitino’s inspiring revitalization of St. John’s wouldn’t have happened without RJ Luis. The Miami native went from being just a key bench piece last season to being the number one option on the No. 6 ranked team in all of America. Luis wasn’t only the Johnnies’ number one contributor offensively, he’s also helped anchor a unit that’s ranked third nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency. Luis has scored in double figures in all but one of St. John’s 31 games this season. He also scored 20 points in four of St. John’s last five regular season games, pushing the Johnnies to a 5-0 finish and the Big East regular season title.
Signature performances: Luis closed the regular season with perhaps his timliest performance in Saturday’s 86-84 OT win over Marquette. Luis scored 24 of his 28 points in the second half before teammate Zuby Ejiafor won the game at the buzzer in overtime, sending St. John’s to the Big East tournament with an 18-2 record. Luis also led the Johnnies with 21 points and seven rebounds in their Feb. 7 win over then-No.19 UConn, which was precisely the time the national media figured out how serious of a threat this group could be. It feels like 1985 again in Queens and Luis is among the chief forces behind it.
Big Ten: Braden Smith, Purdue, Jr.
16.3 PTS, 8.8 AST, 4.7 REB, 0.2 BLK, 2.3 STL
The campaign: Braden Smith was already one of the nation’s best point guards last season, even if he was most casually known as Zach Edey’s sidekick during the Boilermakers’ run to the national title game. Smith turned into Superman himself for Purdue this season, leading the Big 10 and ranking second nationally in assists, while also being the Boilermakers’ second-leading scorer. Smith improved his numbers in all three major offensive categories over last season and his 2.3 steals per game ranks 15th nationally.
Signature performances: Smith had at least 10 assists in eight games this season, with his gaudiest stat line being a 34-point, 12-assist performance in an 83-64 win over Toledo on Dec. 29. Smith led Purdue to ranked wins over Oregon and Michigan in Big Ten play, tallying a 24-point, 10-assist double-double against the Wolverines on Jan. 24.
Big 12: JT Toppin, Texas Tech, Soph.
18.1 PTS, 9.3 REB, 1.1 AST, 1.2 BLK, 0.9 STL
The campaign: Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland and the Red Raiders knew they landed a star when they persuaded JT Toppin to leave New Mexico after winning Mountain West co-Freshman of the Year last season. What they didn’t know, perhaps, was just how dominant Toppin would be in his jump to a power conference. Toppin leads Texas Tech in points, rebounds and blocks per game, with his scoring and rebounding numbers both ranking third in the Big 12. Toppin tallied 14 double-doubles in 31 games this season and had eight games with at least 12 rebounds.
Signature moments: Toppin had one of the most impressive performances of any Division I player this season, scoring 41 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in a 111-106 win over Arizona State on Feb. 12. He followed that performance with a 32-point, 12-rebound outing in a 93-55 win over Oklahoma State on Feb. 15. Toppin recorded 30 points and 14 rebounds against Colorado on March 5, leading Texas Tech to a 91-75 victory in what could have been in his final home game as a Red Raider.
SEC: Johni Broome, Auburn, 5th-Year Sr.
18.6 PTS, 10.6 REB, 3.3 AST, 2.4 BLK, 0.8 STL
The campaign: Johni Broome would be the runaway NPOY in most seasons contested in recent memory. Frankly, you could make a convincing argument that Broome has had a better season than Flagg outright. Broome has led Auburn to a 27-4 record and a regular season SEC title, going 15-3 in what many pundits consider to be the strongest conference in history. Broome finished the season with 17 double-doubles and he leads the SEC in rebounding while ranking third in scoring. Broome finished with 10+ rebounds in 17 of the 29 games he played in this season. In addition, Broome ranked ninth among all players nationally in both double-doubles (17) and blocks per game.
Signature performances: Broome’s most ridiculous performance of the season came in a 91-53 win over Ohio State on Dec. 14, where the senior tallied 21 points, 20 rebounds and tied his season-high with six assists. A not-so-distant second was his performance against LSU on Jan. 26, where he scored 26 points and collected 16 rebounds. Broome also led the Tigers to a 94-85 victory over then-No. 2 Alabama on Feb. 15, recording 19 points and 14 assists.
