The four finalists for the Naismith Trophy were announced on Thursday morning, and the list couldn’t have been more accurate:
- Willie Cauley-Stein, Kentucky
- Jerian Grant, Notre Dame
- Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin
- Jahlil Okafor, Duke
There really aren’t any snubs on this list. The only one that is close is D’Angelo Russell of Ohio State, but even that is somewhat borderline. Russell struggled a bit down the stretch of the season and has been inconsistent against elite competition this year.
The other part of it?
There really are only two candidates for the award this year: Kaminsky and Okafor. And for my money, it’s Kaminsky, and it’s not really all that close.