The Wooden Award is Upon Us

Don’t make this something it’s not. The best player deserves the most prestigious award in college basketball (the Wooden Award); that just so happens to be Zion Williamson. Ever since becoming the number one high school recruit in the country, the sensational freshman has been under the national spotlight and rightfully so. He is a human highlight reel and makes a huge impact on his team. He is poised to sign a $100 million-contract with a shoe company just mere days from now, and the former high school standout deserves every penny.

Zion Williamson is a freak of nature, standing at six feet seven inches and weighing 285 pounds. These numbers make Williamson comparable to Charles Barkley, who in his heyday stood at six feet six inches and weighed in at 253 pounds. However, Williamson can run the floor like a shooting guard and jump about 40.2 inches, the 10th highest out of any NBA prospect of all time! Don’t forget—he is 285 pounds! One physics professor even calculated that taking a charge from him is compatible to a head-on car crash from a Jeep going at 10 miles an hour. Zion is the player that NBA teams see as worth tanking for.

Zion has only lost three games in his college basketball career, while playing in the best conference in college basketball (the American Coastal Conference). He simply leads his team to victory day in and day out and even played at his best when it mattered the most: the postseason. Zion willed his team to victory in the postseason, averaging 27 points a game against the most elite opposition in the sport. Teams are afraid of playing the red hot Blue Devils because they have the best player in the country.

Williamson averages 22.5 points per game throughout the season and more importantly, 27.6 points per game in the postseason. Zion’s ability to score consistently and step up for his team when it matters most makes him the epitome of a winner of the Wooden Award, as he carried his team to an ACC tournament victory, defeating Florida State in the final. Zion also makes the play for his team in the big moments, such as during the final minute of the UCF game when his team was down three. In addition to all of this, Zion is a true team player, helping out on the boards and averaging about nine rebounds a game.

Despite only playing four games, Zion was the first freshman to score 100 points in a NCAA tournament since Derrick Rose in 2008. He averaged 26 points per game in the NCAA tournament and came in clutch down the stretch of all the games. In the game against Michigan State, Zion scored 10 points in the first five minutes of the second half to give his team the lead and rejuvenate the energy needed to get to victory. Zion also came up with crucial defensive plays to help the transition offense attempt to get started and slow down Michigan State’s Cassius Winston. Though the Blue Devils didn’t win in the end, Zion was the reason why they were in that game and had a shot down the stretch.

Runner Up:

As Zion is the far and away winner, the surefire runner up is Grant Williams. Williams is “Mr. Clutch” and always makes the big shot in the big moments. Williams won six points in the recent overtime against Iowa to help propel the Vols to victory. The junior forward can make clutch mid-range shots and get to the hoop at will. His 83 percent free throw percentage makes him truly unguardable and leaves many defenders dumbfounded.

Grant Williams is leading the second best team in the country to a possible final four. His poise under pressure and ability to take over games in the final two minutes like Lebron in the NBA are essential come the postseason and the NCAA tournament. Williams is the definite runner up because his versatility on both ends of the floor and his unpredictability on offense are unmatched.