The NCAA tournament is upon us, and the teams are set to give their all. Many stars have been at the top of their game this season and have elevated the level of college basketball. AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, Kingston Flemings, Darius Acuff Jr., Caleb Wilson, Keaton Wagler, and Jeremy Fears Jr. are a few names that have made the most impact.
Apart from the three candidates for the top spot in the draft (Dybantsa, Peterson, and Cameron), multiple players have flown under the radar and are underrated but deserve every bit of appreciation because of a tremendous season. Acuff Jr. was one of those players, but his SEC tournament propelled him into the mix. Another player who has been a class apart is Zuby Ejiofor of St. John’s.
Playing under the legend of the game, Rick Pitino, St. John’s senior Ejiofor has found a new level in his last year in college basketball. In 34 games, he has averaged 16.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists.
He was the Big East Player of the Year, Big East Defensive Player of the Year, Big East Most Improved Player, Most Outstanding Player of the Big East Tournament, and also the Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He became the only player in Big East history to win all that in one season. So when he was left out of the All-American team, it did not sit right with the fans.
“The Big East Conference has a very serious PR problem. No respect with awards, tournament selections, etc. Val Ackerman needs to do a much better job of promoting and advocating for the conference,” one fan claimed.
“Zuby is a great player but he was no Myles Powell or Markus Howard types. He has great players around him. Those guys didn’t,” another advocated.
“This is another example of how the NCAA disrespects STJ and why Val A needs to be fired,” one fan said.
“St. John’s is consistently disrespected,” another stated.
“This is a disgrace, they lost all credibility. Not putting Zuby as an All-American is a joke and embarrassing. Big East Bias,” one fan accused.
“Just like the seeding debacle. There is a serious anti- Pitino/ St. John’s group out there,” another commented.
AP All-American First Team
Duke’s Cameron Boozer, BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr., Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg, and Texas Tech’s JT Toppin completed the AP All-American first team. Dybantsa has led the nation in points and has been unmatched all season. He has averaged 25.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 3.8 assists.
Another player who has been as consistent, if not more, is Boozer. The Duke star has averaged 22.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 4.2 assists. Darius Acuff Jr. had been underrated for most of the season, but his SEC tournament display put him back on the map as one of the best players this season. He averaged 22.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 6.5 assists.
Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg averages 14.4 points, 7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in 33 games. Last but not least, Texas Tech’s JT Toppin averages 21.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists.
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