A Closer Look at 2015-16 #Pac12Hoops Award Nominees
Prior to the start of the 2015-16 season, 16 Pac-12 men's basketball standouts were named to a variety of national player of the year watch lists. Here is a look at how those players have fared midway through the season, and a few other student-athletes whose play possibly warrants reconsideration.
Jakob Poeltl, UTAH
NOMINATED:
- Wooden Award Preseason Top 50
- Naismith Trophy Early Season Watch List
- Oscar Robertson National Player of the Year Watch List
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Watch List
The lone two-time Player of the Week selection in the Pac-12 so far this season, Poeltl is the anchor for the nationally ranked Utes. He's in the top 5 in the league in scoring (18.0 ppg), rebounding (9.7 rpg) and blocks (2.2) and paces NCAA Division I in field goal percentage at 71.2 percent. All in under 28 minutes per contest...which gives him a Player Efficiency Rating (PER) of 35.4, second-best in the nation according to College Basketball Reference.
Gary Payton II, OREGON STATE
NOMINATED:
- Wooden Award Preseason Top 50
- Naismith Trophy Early Season Watch List
- Oscar Robertson National Player of the Year Watch List
- Lute Olson Award Watch List
- Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Watch List
The only player in the nation currently averaging at least 16.0 points (16.8 ppg), 8.0 rebounds (8.2 rpg), 5.0 assists (5.0 apg) and 2.5 steals (2.5 spg), Payton II has been the leader for Coach Wayne Tinkle's young and resurgent Oregon State (9-2) squad, whose only losses are to league favorites Kansas and Valparaiso. He is the lone Pac-12 player in the top 10 in the league in scoring (4th), rebounding (8th), assists (4th) and steals (1st).
Tyrone Wallace, CALIFORNIA
NOMINATED:
- Wooden Award Preseason Top 50
- Naismith Trophy Early Season Watch List
- Oscar Robertson National Player of the Year Watch List
- Lute Olson Award Watch List
- Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Watch List
The floor general for Cal's talented lineup, Wallace leads the Golden Bears in scoring (15.5 ppg), assists (4.4 apg) and steals (1.2 spg), and is third on the team in rebounding and blocks. He is one of four players ranked in the top 10 in the Pac-12 in scoring and assists along with Payton II, UCLA's Bryce Alford and Washington's Andrew Andrews.
Jaylen Brown, CALIFORNIA
NOMINATED:
- Wooden Award Preseason Top 50
- Naismith Trophy Early Season Watch List
- Wayman Tisdale National Freshman of the Year Watch List
- Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Watch List
The second-highest freshman scorer in the Pac-12, Brown is also the second leading point producer in Cal's talented lineup at 14.5 points per game. He has led the Golden Bears in scoring three times this season, including a game-high 18 points in a marquee matchup at No. 5 Virginia and 27 points against Richmond, while also averaging 5.5 rebounds, second-best on the team.
Kaleb Tarczewski, ARIZONA
NOMINATED:
- Wooden Award Preseason Top 50
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Watch List
Tarczewski averaged 8.6 points on 58 percent shooting and 7.2 rebounds to get Arizona off to a 5-0 start, but has been sidelined for the remainder of non-conference play due to injury. The 7-0 senior has returned to the practice floor and is expected back in the 12-1 Wildcats' frontcourt during Pac-12 play.
Ryan Anderson, ARIZONA
NOMINATED:
- Naismith Trophy Early Season Watch List
Back in action for the first time in two seasons, the Boston College transfer has been the post workhorse for Arizona with frontcourt partner Kaleb Tarczewski sidelined. He is one of three Pac-12 players to average a double-double (15.5 ppg/10.3 rpg) in non-conference play, doing so in just 29 minutes per game, and is a major reason the Wildcats are fifth in the nation with a +12.8 rebound margin.
Ivan Rabb, CALIFORNIA
NOMINATED:
- Wayman Tisdale National Freshman of the Year Watch List
- Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Watch List
One-half of Cal's dynamic freshman duo, Rabb has rivaled senior teammate Wallace's all-around game. Rabb is the leading rookie rebounder and shooter in the Pac-12 at 9.0 rebounds per game and 65.6 percent from the field, while adding 12.4 points and 1.7 blocks per contest. His rebounding total is the seventh-best among Division I freshmen and his shooting would be the best for a Cal rookie since Tony Gonzalez in 1994-95.
Allonzo Trier, ARIZONA
NOMINATED:
- Wayman Tisdale National Freshman of the Year Watch List
- Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Watch List
The lone freshman to win a Pac-12 Player of the Week award this season, Trier is third among the league's rookies with 13.7 points per game on an efficient 51.9 percent shooting, third-best among conference guards behind Payton II and Washington State's Ike Iroegbu.
Tyler Dorsey, OREGON
NOMINATED:
- Wayman Tisdale National Freshman of the Year Watch List
The top rookie scorer in the Pac-12, Dorsey (15.0 ppg) is the second-most efficient three-point shooter in the league at 51 percent (24-47) and adds 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in less than 29 minutes per game.
Tony Parker, UCLA
NOMINATED:
- Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Watch List
The first UCLA big man to record three double-doubles to open a season since Bill Walton in 1973-74, Parker finished non-conference play with a total of seven double-doubles. He is one of three Pac-12 players to average more than 10 points and 10 boards (13.8 ppg/10.3 rpg) and grabbed a league-high 19 rebounds in the season opener against Monmouth. He corrals the nation's ninth-most offensive rebounds at 4.2 per game.
Jordan Loveridge, UTAH
NOMINATED:
- Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Watch List
The versatile 6-6 forward has been the Pac-12's most productive perimeter threat so far this season, leading the league with 33 made threes while ranking seventh at 44.6 percent (33-74) behind the arc. He also paces the Pac-12 in free throw shooting at 86.7 percent (39-45).
Josh Scott, COLORADO
NOMINATED:
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Watch List
Among the nation's leaders with a 33.0 PER (the same as Oklahoma's Buddy Hield), Scott joins Utah's Poeltl as the only Pac-12 players in the top 10 in the league in scoring (2nd, 18.4 ppg), rebounding (5th, 9.4 rpg), field goal percentage (4th, .623) and blocks (8th, 1.8 bpg). He has scored in double-figures in every game this season and made at least half his shot attempts in 11-of-13 contests.
Josh Hawkinson, WASHINGTON STATE
NOMINATED:
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Watch List
The double-double machine has recorded nine in his 11 games for Washington State so far this season, which gives him a whopping 29 total double-doubles in his last 41 outings. The Pac-12's leading and NCAA's 15th-best rebounder at 10.5 rebounds per game, Hawkinson's nine double-doubles are the sixth-most in the nation. He joins Arizona's Anderson and UCLA's Parker as Pac-12 players averaging a double-double at 16.5 points and 10.5 rebounds.
Jordan Mathews, CALIFORNIA
NOMINATED:
- Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Watch List
Mathews balances Cal's strong interior presence with the second-most made threes in the Pac-12 in non-conference play with 31. He also converts at a 42 percent rate (31-74), good for 12th in the league, including 17-of-35 over the last five games.
Brandon Taylor, UTAH
NOMINATED:
- Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Watch List
Taylor is the top assister for Utah, which boasts four double-digit scorers and the Pac-12's highest-scoring offense at 84.8 points per game. He adds 8.2 points and a team-best 1.2 steals per game for the Utes.
FURTHER CONSIDERATION
Bryce Alford, UCLA
Alford is joined by Payton II as the only players in the league in the top 5 in both scoring (5th, 16.5 ppg) and assists (2nd, 5.5 apg). He's also the second-best free throw shooter in the Pac-12 (.855) and ranks sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.3-to-1).
Julian Jacobs & Jordan McLaughlin, USC
The duo gives the 11-2 Trojans one of the most productive backcourts in the nation. Jacobs leads the Pac-12 in assists (6.1 apg) and is second in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.2), while McLaughlin ranks third in assists (5.3 apg) and fifth in assist-to-turnover rate (2.3). Along with the combined 11.4 assists per game, Jacobs (12.0 ppg/5.8 rpg/1.4 spg) and McLaughlin (12.4 ppg/3.2 rpg/1.7 spg) also combine to average 24.4 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.1 steals. McLaughlin's 16 assists against Lafayette are the most in a Division I game this season, and Jacobs dished out 13 against Cal Poly.
Andrew Andrews, WASHINGTON
The Pac-12's scoring leader (19.7 ppg) who is among the nation's best at getting to and converting at the foul line, ranking sixth nationally in made free throws (86) and eighth in attempts (104). He has one of six games of 30-10-5 in Division I this season with 30 points, 13 rebounds and five assists against Charlotte.