KU’s Devonte’ Graham tossed into early player of the year chatter

By Matt Tait     Oct 11, 2017

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Kansas guard Devonte' Graham (4) turns to the bench with excitement as the Jayhawks pulls away during the second half against Kentucky, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017 at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.

The most popular theory circulating among fans of the Kansas men’s basketball program says that point guard Devonte’ Graham returned to KU for his senior season to take the reins from Frank Mason III and make his own run at national player of the year honors.

At least one publication believes that scenario is entirely possible.

Attempting to pinpoint the preseason picks for national player of the year during the upcoming 2017-18 college basketball season, [Chris Johnson, of SI.com, recently tossed Graham into his first tier, labeled “The Favorites.”][1]

Graham was joined by Michigan State’s Miles Bridges, Arizona’s Allonzo Trier and Duke’s Grayson Allen.

> “Last season Graham played second
> fiddle to the senior guard who swept
> the national player of the year
> awards, Frank Mason,” Johnson wrote.
> “Mason’s departure, as well as that of
> lottery-bound freshman forward Josh
> Jackson, should enable Graham to
> spread his wings as a featured scorer
> and lead playmaker while piloting a
> team that’s heavily favored to take
> home at least a share of its 14th
> consecutive Big 12 championship.”

Johnson projects Graham’s senior stats to look something like this — 15.8 points per game, 3.5 rebounds per game and 4.3 assists per game.

While those numbers are a notch below what Mason was able to produce last season — 20.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 5.2 apg — they speak to a similar impact, with Graham both scoring and setting up teammates to do the same while chipping in on the glass and on defense.

Beyond that, Johnson’s projections and lofty praise are based on the fact that Graham’s minutes and points per game increased during each of his first three seasons at KU.

> “Our model likes Graham to continue
> his positive year-over-year trend in
> scoring efficiency, and he’s a good
> bet to shoulder one of the heaviest
> minutes loads in the conference,”
> Johnson wrote. “The biggest cause for
> hesitation with Graham involves one of
> his teammates: The more times
> Mississippi State transfer Malik
> Newman calls his own number, the fewer
> shots there will be for Graham to
> take.”

While those four were listed as the favorites, Johnson’s list featured six other names broken into two more tiers.

The “Challengers” included Bonzie Colson (Notre Dame), Jalen Brunson (Villanova), Michael Porter Jr. (Missouri), and Joel Berry II (North Carolina). The “Don’t Overlook These Guys” tier included Trevon Bluiett (Xavier) and Jock Landale (Saint Mary’s).

[1]: https://www.si.com/college-basketball/2017/10/10/player-of-the-year-naismith-wooden-projections?utm_campaign=si-ncaabb&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&xid=socialflow_twitter_si

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.