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Who should be the Preseason Player of the Year: Marcus Smart or Andrew Wiggins?

Andrew Wiggins Marcus Smart

AP photos

Earlier today, we released the NBCSports.com All-American teams, which also included our pick for Preseason National Player of the Year: Marcus Smart.

We gave Smart the nod after a long argument because Raphielle Johnson and myself, and I figured that the back-and-forth was worth posting here. It’s been cleaned up a bit to make it suitable for posting:

Dauster: The way the season breaks down it seems that there are really only two logical choices for Preseason National Player of the Year: Oklahoma State sophmore point guard Marcus Smart and Kansas freshman Andrew Wiggins, a battle made all-the-more juicy by the fact that they represent the two favorites in the Big 12 race.

When it comes down to it, I always err on the side of talent, and with all due respect to Marcus Smart, Wiggins is the most talented player in the country. At his size with his athleticism and his mobility, there really isn’t anything that he can’t do. Throw in the fact that he’s playing on a team that actually will provide him with a supporting cast, and there’s a chance that, come March, the Jayhawks are the best team in the country. Hard to bet against the best player on the best team.

Johnson: While I certainly respect the talent Wiggins possesses, I don’t even know if he’s the most important player on his own team. I’d argue that Naadir Tharpe, the starter at a position (point guard) where the Jayhawks really don’t have a concrete answer behind him, is that guy for Kansas. While skill level and production obviously need to be accounted for when discussing Player of the Year possibilities, I think a player’s importance to his team needs to be factored in as well. That’s why I take Smart, who will once again be asked to set up guys like Le’Bryan Nash and Markel Brown while also scoring himself. With his skills, leadership ability and competitiveness, I think Smart’s the best choice.

Dauster: If Naadir Tharpe is the most important player for Kansas, than wouldn’t Michael Cobbins be the most important player for Oklahoma State? Decent talent looking to prove himself at a position without much depth on an otherwise loaded team?

And if we’re talking about how valuable a player is, let’s think about this: Wiggins may not actively set players up the way Smart does, but the attention that he will garner on the offensive end of the floor will make things that much easier for Wayne Selden and Perry Ellis. I’m not sure either of those guys are quite good enough yet to be the No. 1 and 2 options on a Big 12 contender. But when defenses are keyed in on stopping Wiggins, Selden and Ellis should be able to take advantage.

That said, the key word in your last email was competitiveness. Can Wiggins consistently bring the effort to dominate like he’s capable of?

Johnson: Attempting to apply my Tharpe thinking to Cobbins is apples to oranges and you know it.

As for attention, Smart won’t garner enough to take the pressure off of his teammates? I certainly believe he will, because while guys like Brown and Nash ultimately are talented enough to make things happen in their own the Cowboys have other pieces that need Smart’s presence in order to be at their best. And I think he’s going to be an improved perimeter shooter this season after making just 29% of his shots from beyond the arc in 2012-13, which will make Smart even more dangerous. I’m a big fan of Wiggins but we aren’t talking about the top pick in next summer’s NBA Draft. We’re talking about the best player in college basketball, and right now I’m taking the guy who last season led his team to their first win at Allen Fieldhouse since 1989.

Dauster: I don’t disagree with anything you just said about Smart -- although there’s no questioning the validity of my Tharpe/Cobbins comparison! -- but it belies a bigger point: the only thing keeping Andrew Wiggins from winning National Player of the Year is Andrew Wiggins.

We’ve all seen the early season reports, that he’s not yet competing on every possession in practice and that it’s been guys like Selden and Ellis and Joel Embiid that have drawn the rave reviews from reporters that have made the trip to Lawrence this month. We also know Wiggins reputation as a guy that coasts at times when he’s not being challenged on the court.

But there are two things to remember here: the last two times that Wiggins was really presented with some adversity, he went out and dominated Julius Randel at the Peach Jam in 2012, and he dropped 57 points for Huntington Prep on a day he was ticked off about an article that was written up on SI.com. If Wiggins decides that he wants to dominate for 40 minutes every night, I think he can dominate for 40 minutes every night. Even if Smart can now shoot like Doug McDermott, Wiggins will still be bringing home the Naismith trophy.

Johnson: But therein lies the problem with making Wiggins POY: he’s still not to the point where he’s competing on every possession in practice. That isn’t an issue with Smart currently and it wasn’t last season either. He performed well enough with the US U-19 team to be one of two college players to receive an invite to their senior team training camp this summer, and that competitiveness/leadership was a big reason why that happened. I’m a huge fan of Wiggins and expect him to have an excellent career. But I can’t label a guy as being the best player in America when we’re still talking about him “choosing” when to dominate. Give me the guy who goes at his opponent’s throat consistently.

Dauster: Fine. Well roll with Smart. But don’t think for a second I’ll let you forget about this when Wiggins goes all Kevin Durant on the Big-12.

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