If the reports are true that Kris Dunn is returning to Providence for his junior year, college basketball fans will be in for a phenomenal National Player of the Year race again. This past season we got to see senior Frank Kaminsky go up against freshman Jahlil Okafor for the National Player of the Year award, with Kaminsky obviously winning.
Next year it should be a battle between two upperclassmen with the news of Dunn possibly returning and Kyle Wiltjer from Gonzaga returning for sure. The two players are both incredible talents and have taken different paths than most, despite both being McDonald’s All-American’s coming out of high school.
Wiltjer, the rising redshirt senior forward originally went to Kentucky as part of one of the best recruiting classes in history joining the likes of Anthony Davis, Michael-Kidd Gilchrist and Marquis Teague to help lift the Wildcats to their eighth national championship.
While the rest of his classmates declared for the NBA Draft after one season, Wiltjer stuck around and it looked like he would be the man on another dominant Kentucky squad. However, Nerlens Noel tore his ACL, players didn’t develop the way they usually do under John Calipari and Kentucky lost in the first round of the NIT to Robert Morris.
Wiltjer then made a decision which ultimately will help him in the long run. He announced his decision to transfer back closer to home and play at Gonzaga. He averaged 16.8 points and 6.2 rebounds last year on his way to becoming a consensus second-team All-American, as well as a first-team All-WCC player. He’ll still have his frontcourt teammates as last year with Przemek Karnowski and Domantas Sabonis returning to Gonzaga.
Dunn, on the other hand, took a different route to becoming a star. A 2012 McDonald’s All-American, Dunn’s career has been marred by shoulder injuries.
Dunn tore his labrum and had surgery to repair it in June 2012 before he ever played a game for the Friars. He made his collegiate debut in Dec. and played in 25 games. More surgery was needed in Dec. 2013 and he ended up playing in just four games before taking a medical redshirt last season.
Dunn was co-Big East Player of the Year last season when he averaged 15.6 points, 7.5 assists and over five rebounds per game for Providence. He was projected in numerous mock drafts to go in the lottery, but reports came out that he is expected now to return to college.
While these are the two biggest stars to return to college basketball there will be plenty of surprises and freshmen to try and contend with the two upperclassmen. Someone like a Ben Simmons from LSU could have a D’Angelo Russell type season while you never know what transfer can be the next Kyle Wiltjer.
But, for the mean time give me just these two for National Player of the Year as we will hear plenty about their stories from McDonald’s All-American’s to forgotten about players to now stars this coming year.
Next: NBA Awards Watch: Final MVP Pick For 2014-15
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