NCAA Basketball Postseason Awards

It is officially March Madness and if you were watching Gonzaga vs. St. Mary's or Davidson vs. Western Carolina you know this to be true. Both games went needed extra time to find a winner and Davidson and St. Mary's punched their tickets to the Big Dance. It is the most exciting time for college basketball, but let us not forget about the regular season. It was, in my opinion, one of the best regular seasons in a very long time. There has not been any one team separate themselves from the mix and there have been several instant classics. We have seen the resurgance of Indiana basketball, the final conference game between Kansas and Missouri and have watched some of the best freshmen dominate the game. Here are the World of Wadley postseason awards for the 2011-12 college basketball season.

First Team All-Americans

Thomas Robinson, PF, Kansas: There is not a more dominant big man in the country than Robinson. The Kansas forward posted averages of 18.0 points, 11.9 rebounds and nearly two assists per game, while leading his team to another Big 12 title. His rebounding average is second in the nation and he ended the season with four straight double-doubles. Robinson showed up in the biggest games, scoring 28 points and grabbing 12 rebounds against Mizzou on February 3rd. He also scored 27 points and hauled in 14 rebounds against then #3 Baylor in January.

Green

Anthony Davis, PF, Kentucky: Davis is well on his way to being the first to shake David Stern's hand on draft night in June. The fab frosh has shown all facets of his game, averaging 14.4 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.7 blocks per game. He recently won the SEC Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year and some speculate that he could sweep all of those awards at the national level as well. His intimidating presence around the basket has been the anchor of UK's defense.

Draymond Green, SF, Michigan State: Green is the best do-it-all man in the country. The senior is aiming to make it to one more Final Four before his career in East Lansing is over and he carried the Spartans to a 24-7 record. He finished the regular season with averages of 16.2 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. For his career he has gone over the 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds marks. His leadership and all-around game have helped Tom Izzo and the Spartans stay near the top of the polls.

Davis

Marcus Denmon, SG, Missouri: Nobody expected the Missouri Tigers to be in the Top 5 and fighting for a number one seed, but here they are. They are such a well-balanced team but Denmon is the key man. He is the team's leading scorer at 18.0 points per game and also grabs 5.1 rebounds per game along with 2.2 assists. On top of that he averages 1.5 steals per game and shoots high percentages from three point land and the charity stripe. His biggest moment came in the first meeting against Kansas when he led the Tigers back in the second half, finishing the game with 29 points and nine rebounds.

Isaiah Canaan, PG, Murray State: Canaan is the main reason the Racers have been in the Top 10 most of the season. The little guy can fill it up, averaging 19.2 points per game and he also grabs 3.3 boards and dishes out 3.7 assists per game. For the season he is shooting over 48 percent from the field and over 47 percent from long distance. He has led Murray State to a one loss regular season, but now the question is how far can he take them in March?

Second Team All-Americans
Tyler Zeller, C, North Carolina: 16.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, 54.9% FG
Doug McDermott, F, Creighton: 23.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 61% FG
Jae Crowder, F, Marquette: 17.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.4 assists
Kevin Jones, F, West Virginia: 20.1 points, 11.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists
Darius Johnson-Odom, G, Marquette: 18.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.0 steals

Best Moment of the Year

Is this even a question? Without a doubt the moment of the regular season was Christian Watford's buzzer-beater three against Kentucky. The win signaled the return of the Hoosiers and is also the only thing keeping the Cats from a perfect season. Bloomington was in a frenzy that night as students rushed the court, creating a mass that blocked reporters from getting to the postgame press conferences. The shot is now used for an ESPN commercial and the clip is not hard to find on Youtube. Indiana is the only team to take down Kentucky so far this year and Tom Crean and the Hoosiers could possibly be looking at a top four seed depending on how the Big Ten tournament goes.

Game of the Year

Robinson

There were several good games this season, but again I don't feel like this is a hard decision. Missouri and Kansas are huge rivals and it's a shame that they will no longer play in the same conference. However, they played two of the best games ever this season and the matchup at Allen Fieldhouse was an instant classic. The Tigers had a huge lead before Thomas Robinson and the Jayhawks came storming back, forced overtime and then won the game. Michael Dixon Jr. was unable to get a shot off at the end of the game and KU, once again, took the Big 12 title. It would be nice to see this matchup one more time for the Big 12 conference tournament title.

Player of the Year

This is a close race between Anthony Davis and Thomas Robinson, but Robinson gets my vote. Take him off the Jayhawks roster and they do not win the Big 12 and are looking at a much lower seed in the NCAA Tournament. Take Davis off of Kentucky and they still win the SEC and at worst are looking at a 3-seed. They have that much talent. That's not to say Kansas isn't loaded, but Robinson means that much to the Jayhawks. He has had an incredible year and is a lock to be a lottery pick in June, should he decide to enter the Draft.