Early look at the player of the year race
1. Michael Beasley, F, Fr., Kansas State — I don't care who he's played against. Anyone averaging 30 points and 20 boards has to be the front-runner for the award. 2a. Kevin Love, C, Fr., UCLA — Let's not forget that the Bruins' big man has been playing without a point guard. He's still averaging 20.2 points and 11.6 boards per game and had 21 and 11 last night against a rugged Michigan State club. 2b. Tyler Hansbrough, C, Jr., North Carolina — You know exactly what you're going to get with Tyler Hansbrough. He's not flashy but has been ultra-productive for the last two-plus years. He's averaging 22.3 points and 10.3 rebounds thus far. Michael Beasley's early competition may not be that tough, but you can't argue with 30 points and 20 boards. (Charlie Riedel / Associated Press) 3. Chris Douglas-Roberts, SG, Jr., Memphis — Averaging 23 points and seven boards in four games — all wins — for the Tigers. 4. Eric Gordon, SG, Fr., Indiana — The Hoosiers scoring guard put up 30 points and six assists in a win over UNC Wilmington last night. He's averaging 28 points, but is far from one-dimensional. 5. Richard Hendrix, PF/C, Jr., Alabama — The hard-nosed Crimson Tide big man is putting up monster numbers through three games — 25 points, 15.7 boards and 2.3 blocks. Just may be the most underrated player in the country. 6. Sean Singletary, G, Sr., Virginia — He's had the best start of every point guard and is averaging 22 points, 7.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds — and has a win at Arizona to show for it. 7. Roy Hibbert, C, Sr., Georgetown — The Hoyas' big man has only played two games, but he's averaging 17.5 points, 7.0 boards and 3.0 blocks. 8. Derrick Rose, G, Fr., Memphis — His assist numbers aren't all that impressive, but he's averaging 16.6 points and 5.6 rebounds — and he'll only get better. 9. Jon Brockman, PF, Jr., Washington — Not many guys get after it like Brockman. The Huskies aren't a Top 25 team, which will hurt, but Brockman is putting up 23 points and 11.7 boards per game. 10. O.J. Mayo, G, Fr., USC — He'll need to cut down on his turnovers (five per game), but he's averaging 25.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists per contest. Clawing back Baylor coach Scott Drew isn't hiding it. He feels as good as he had at any point during his four-year tenure in Waco. Remember, this was a guy who came in to clean up the mess left behind by Dave Bliss. Drew was basically left half of a team when he took over. The third year the Bears weren't allowed to play non-conference games. In essence, last season was the first full year for Drew and his staff. The Bears finished just one game under the .500 mark. But now Baylor is a year older and it showed already as the Bears just returned from winning the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands, where they knocked off Wichita State, Notre Dame and Winthrop. The key was defense as the Bears held all three opponents to less than 40 percent shooting from the field. "We finally have experience and we're able to come from behind and win," Drew said. "In the past, we'd get behind and come up short." Drew also said that depth — the Bears go nine deep right now even with starting center Mamadou Diene (ankle) on the shelf — is also critical for a team that hasn't had much of it in the last four years. "This is the first time we're able to take our starters out and it doesn't hurt us," Drew said. "That's what you need to compete at this level — unless you have stars like Kevin Durant." Olson's return still uncertain Arizona interim coach Kevin O'Neill will coach his fourth game tonight in place of Lute Olson. "There's absolutely no timetable for his return," O'Neill said on Tuesday night. O'Neill said that the Wildcats played well in the second half, but the former NBA head coach was disappointed with the way that Arizona came out to start the game. One bright spot in Arizona's victory over UMKC on Monday night was the play of Laval Lucas-Perry, a freshman combo guard who had played a total of two minutes in the first two games. "He really stepped up," O'Neill said of Lucas-Perry, who had nine points, five rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes. "We need him and he looks like he'll be able to contribute." O'Neill should have enough in the backcourt and on the wing with the likes of Jerryd Bayless, Chase Budinger, Jawann McClellan and reserves Daniel Dillon (a quality defender) and Nic Wise. The problem will be depth up front behind Jordan Hill. "We're definitely going to improve," O'Neill said. "We've got young guys that are going to mature every day. We're going to get better defensively. I have a good feeling about this team."
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