-Kansas State’s Mitch Richmond explodes for 35 points, grabs 12 rebounds and The Manhattan Mercury blares “Mitch Richmond: Player of the Year.”
-Iowa State’s Lafester Rhodes unleashes an astonishing 54-point salvo against Iowa. Nobody touts him for Player of the Year, though.
-Notre Dame’s David Rivers collects 29 points, dishes out seven assists and the national TV throats trumpet him as a Player of the Year possibility.
-Oklahoma’s Stacey King pumps in 36 points and swipes 21 boards against Iowa State. Anybody talk about him for Player of the Year? Nah.
Why were Richmond and Rivers singled out as College Player of the Year candidates while Rhodes and King weren’t?
Simple. Because Richmond and Rivers accomplished their feats against the man who is supposed to be Player of the Year, and thus they were deemed worthy by association.
Kansas’ Danny Manning has been the leader in Player of the Year consciousness since the preseason when he was featured on the cover of countless publications, as well as the prestigious NCAA Guide.
Manning has done little to dim his luster, either. To wit, he has:
-Averaged 23.3 points a game while shooting 59.5 percent from the floor. He’s been consistent, too. Not once in 19 games has his scoring dipped below double figures.
-After a slow start at the foul line, climbed over 70 percent by making 50 of his last 59 charities, including 26 of 28 against Big Eight foes.
-Blocked 38 shots and rebounded at an 8.2 clip.
OK, so it’s true all of those averages are slightly below the ones Manning put up during the 36 games he played during his junior season, but it’s also a fact Manning is commanding more attention from opposing defenses.
Or as K-State center Ron Meyer said: “He’s the best player I’ve ever played against…and when you look at it in that a major college team gears its whole defense to stopping one player, it says a lot for him.”
Next Question: What in the world is College Player of the Year, anyway?
Apparently, there was no such thing until 1955 when United Press International coronated Tom Gola of LaSalle. Four years later, the U.S. Basketball Writers Assn. decided to pick one, too. A couple of years after that, Associated Press jumped on the bandwagon.
Then came the Naismith Award in 1969 and the National Basketball Coaches Assn. selection in 1975 and, finally, the Wooden Award – it deems itself the equivalent of the Heisman – in 1977.
Usually, the same player hauls home the bulk of those trophies – what’s an award without a trophy anyway? – every year.
Navy’s David Robinson, for instance, carted ’em all off last year while Walter Berry of St. John’s took five of the six the year before. North Carolina’s Michael Jordan swept in ’84 as did Virginia’s Ralph Sampson in both ’82 and ’83. Plenty of others, too.
In 1985, however, the half-dozen Player of the Year awards were evenly divided between Chris Mullin of St. John’s and Pat Ewing of Georgetown, meaning there was some suspense that year…as there will be, perhaps, in 1988.
Oh, Danny Manning will be named A Player of the Year, all right. But will he be THE Player of the Year. Will he be a consensus choice?
It’s too early to say, obviously. Right now, Manning doesn’t appear to have any clear-cut competition, but somebody else – Rivers? Rony Seikaly? Charles Smith? – could slip in if the Jayhawks fail to qualify for the NCAA tournament, an unfortunate but real possibility.
It’s been 13 years since the College Player of the Year has failed to participate in the NCAA Tournament. That was David Thompson of North Carolina State – he was unanimous pick in ’75, by the way – but only 32 teams made the show then, half as many as now.
