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Player of the Year Power Rankings: Jahlil Okafor continues to hold top spot

Jahlil Okafor, Tanner Plomb

Jahlil Okafor, Tanner Plomb

AP

Jahlil Okafor

Jahlil Okafor (AP Photo)

AP

1. Jahlil Okafor, Duke: Just another dominant performance from the nation’s best big man on Monday evening, as he went for 27 points and eight boards in a win over Toledo. There is no more dominant offensive weapon in college basketball.

2. Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin: Frank The Tank put together arguably his best all-around game on the season on Sunday night, as he went for 25 points, 11 boards and six blocks against Buffalo while shutting down the Bulls star forward Justin Moss in the process.

3. Jerian Grant, Notre Dame: It will be interesting to see where Jerian Grant goes from here this season. Notre Dame has looked like an offensive juggernaut through the season’s first month and a half, but they’ve done it against one of the worst non-conference schedules in the country. Will Grant still be a Player of the Year candidate when the Irish are squaring off with the likes of Louisville and Duke? Also worth noting here: take away the 6-for-8 that Grant shot from three in a 48 point win over Chicago State, and he’s shooting just 30 percent from beyond the arc on the season.

Georges Niang, Bobby Portis

Georges Niang (AP Photo)

AP

4. Willie Cauley-Stein, Kentucky: Cauley-Stein actually had a relatively forgettable game as Kentucky beat Louisville in the Yum! Center over the weekend. He finished with just five points, six boards and three steals, but his impact on the defensive end of the floor is hard to quantify simply with stats.

5. Georges Niang, Iowa State: Iowa State will kick off Big 12 play this weekend, which means that Niang will finally get some tougher tests. Niang has been up-and-down against high-major opponents this year. He was dominant in wins against Alabama and Arkansas, he struggled in a loss to Maryland and he had one good half in the win over Iowa. The Cyclones also blew out Georgia State, but Niang was just 3-for-12 from the floor in that game.

6. Montrezl Harrell, Louisville: Harrell came back from his one-game suspension against CSUN against Kentucky, but he wasn’t all that effective in a loss to the Wildcats, finishing with just nine points and eight boards. He was visibly frustrated with Chris Jones’ inability to run offense by the end of that game. You’d think, instead of taking challenged, fadeaway 23-footers, getting the ball to your future lottery pick would be a good idea, right?

7. Justin Anderson, Virginia: Anderson has been terrific this season, but my one issue with having him this high is that he’s not a go-to guy for Virginia this season. He’s a complimentary player, a spot-up shooter and a defender, and while he may be the best player in that role in the country, it’s still a role. Is that deserving of being an All-American? If you’re shooting 60.0 percent from, I’d say yes.

8. Delon Wright, Utah: Wright had his most efficient game of the season against South Dakota State: 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting, 10 assists and one turnover. Not bad.

9. Ty Wallace, Cal: Wallace is still putting up terrific numbers, but the Bears have come back to earth a bit after a torrid start to the season. They got beaten pretty handily by Wisconsin at home before Christmas and they wound up losing to Cal-St. Bakersfield on Sunday night. Individual brilliance is only going to get Cal so far this season.

10. Ron Baker, Wichita State: Playing with fire finally caught up with Wichita State, as they lost to George Washington after struggling to wins over Alabama and Hawaii. Baker had his worst game of the season against the Colonials and was not good in Hawaii. He finished with 9-for-31 in his last two games on the islands, averaging just 13 points and shooting 2-for-17 from three.

OTHERS THAT WERE CONSIDERED: Ryan Boatright (UConn), Tyler Haws (BYU), D’angelo Harrison (St. John’s), LaDontae Henton (Providence), Buddy Hield (Oklahoma), Jonathan Holmes (Texas), Stanley Johnson (Arizona), Jordan Mickey (LSU), Bobby Portis (Arkansas), D’Angelo Russell (Ohio State), Wesley Saunders (Harvard), Nigel Williams-Goss (Washington), Joseph Young (Oregon)

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