College Hoops Video

The Kentucky Wildcats have exceeded most experts (outside of the state of Kentucky) predictions for performance during the 2009-10 NCAA basketball season, as Coach Cal has relied upon starting 3 freshmen most of the season. Kentucky’s three star freshmen, John Wall, Eric Bledsoe, and DeMarcus Cousins have started most of the season along with Patrick Patterson, and Darius Miller. Darnell Dodson has started at times in place of Miller and once for Eric Bledsoe. The following are the starters averages through the Sweet 16 of the 2010 NCAA Tournament for the 2009-10 Kentucky Wildcats basketball team.

2010 Kentucky Wildcats Basketball Starting Lineup

2010 Kentucky Wildcats Starter – Point Guard – John Wall

John Wall was named the NCAA freshman of the year, SEC player of the year, SEC Freshman of the year, and to the first team all-SEC Team this season. Wall is averaging 16.6 ppg and 6.6 apg on the season. During the NCAA Tournament his scoring has been down a tad averaging 13 points a game but his assists per game have increased to just under 9 apg. He may lose the 2010 Naismith Award to Ohio State’s Evan Turner (just due to the number of future NBA players on Kentucky’s squad that results in a depression of his per game numbers), but Wall has been a consensus #1 pick in the 2010 NBA draft for the majority of the 2009-10 NCAA basketball season.

2010 Kentucky Wildcats Projected – Power Forward – Patrick Patterson

Patterson bypassed the 2009 NBA draft although he was projected to be a first round pick. He came back to improve his outside game, finish his degree, and to finally participate in a NCAA Tournament. Patterson has accomplished all of the above. He has been the team leader of the Wildcats this season with being the only junior starter. Patterson’s scoring and rebounds are down a tad this season at 14.5 ppg and 7.3 rpg, but he has demonstrated an ability to hit from 3 this year as well as to guard players on the wing. Patterson is currently projected to be a first round/low lottery pick in the 2010 NBA draft. Patterson was named to the first team All SEC Team and to the SEC all-defensive team this season.

2010 Kentucky Wildcats Projected Starter – Center – DeMarcus Cousins

DeMarcus Cousins has not disappointed this season. He was named to the first team All SEC team and the All Frshmen team. For the season to date, he has averaged just under a double-double at 15.1 ppg and 9.9 rpg. He also gets just under 2 blocks a game, and he does all this with only playing 23.4 minutes per game. Cousins play his freshman year has been likened to former SEC big man, Shaq. With his improvement in play this season, Cousins has improved his draft odds on most 2010 NBA mock drafts to a high lottery pick.

2010 Kentucky Wildcats Starter – Small Forward/Wing Guard – Darius Miller

Darius Miller has had ups and downs this season. When he has been hot, the Wildcats have been almost unbeatable. As Miller continues to improve, look for him to be one of the leaders on the 2010-11 Wildcats roster. For the 2009-10 season, he has averaged 6.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg, and 1.6 apg while shooting 35% from 3. He had a career high of 20 points against Wake Forest in the 2^nd round of the 2010 NCAA tournament and has scored in double figures 7 times this season.

2010 Kentucky Wildcats Starter – Shooting Guard – Eric Bledsoe

Bledsoe gets lost in the press a bit due to playing with Cousins and Wall, but when he’s been hot, he has been almost unstoppable. He averages 11.4 ppg this season with shooting just under 40% from 3, and gets just under 3 assists per game and 1.4 steals a game. Bledsoe was named to the 2010 All SEC Freshman team. Bledsoe has started showing up in some 2010 NBA mock drafts, but its unknown whether he will declare in 2010 or return for his sophomore season to improve his draft status as the primary point guard for the Wildcats.

2010 Kentucky Wildcats Starting Line-Up:

PG: John Wall

SG: Eric Bledsoe

SF: Darius Miller

PF: Patrick Patterson

C: DeMarcus Cousins

Haven’t seen the John Wall Dance? We’ve collected some of the John Wall dance videos on the web for you to check out.

John Wall was named the NCAA College Basketball Player of the Year by the Sporting News. Many fans had debated if he or teammate DeMarcus Cousins would win the award, but Wall ultimately won out. The other members of the first team announced by The Sporting News were Derrick Favors of Georgia Tech, Derrick Williams of Arizona, Xavier Henry of Kansas, and DeMarcus Cousins. Second team players were Elias Harris of Gonzaga, alec Burks of Colorado, C.J. McCollum of LeHigh, Kawhi Leonard of SDSU, and Hassan Whiteside of Marshall.

Of the frosh on the Sporting News first team, all but Derrick Williams are projected to be first round picks if they choose to go pro in the 2010 NBA draft.

This is the second straight year that one of Coach John Calipari’s players have won the award, with NBA sensation Tyreke Evans willing the award last year and being a first round lottery pick in the 2009 NBA draft.

The 30 finalists for the 2010 Naismith trophy were announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club today. The mid-season candidates are chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s Board of Selectors that are made up of basketball journalists from around the United States. Included in the listing were Kentucky’s John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins, Jay Hawk Cole Aldrich along with Sherron Collins, and Georgetown’s Greg Monroe. The Naismith Trophy is awarded by AT&T to the college basketball player of the year. The 2010 Naismith Award will be presented at the 2010 NCAA Final Four.

Fans Get a Say in the 2010 Naismith Trophy Winner This Year

On March 22nd, wireless phone customers will be able to text their votes for the 2010 Naismith Trophy winner until 11:59 PM EST on Saturday, 3 April 2010. You do not have to have AT&T to vote, but your wireless carrier must agree to allow voting for the award through your wireless network if you use a different company.

Is It John Wall’s Award to Lose?

It depends on who you talk to. You can’t dispute Evan Turner’s impact on Ohio State this season, Scottie Reynolds play at Villanova, James Anderson leading the way in the Big 12 in scoring, or Grevis Vasquez’s numbers at Maryland this season. Wall compares in all around numbers and has shown the speed and talent that make him the consensus prediction for the #1 pick in the 2010 NBA. If the voters take into account an individuals impact on overall team performance, Wall may get the nod for leading Kentucky to a 26-1 start at the time of this writing after being an NIT team last season. Sure there are 2-3 other players on the team who will be in the NBA within the next year+, but he is the floor general and has not disappointed this season. There’s a lot of basketball to be played before the voting starts, so a lot may be determined on how the front-runners for the award perform over the remainder of the regular season and in their respective conference tournaments. Performance in the NCAA tournament has not played a huge difference in the past, but with the fan vote this year, how a player performs in the 2010 NCAA tournament very well could prove to be the difference.

The mid-season 30 Naismith Award Finalists announced were:

Cole Aldrich, Kansas
Al-Farouq Aminu, Wake Forest
James Anderson, Oklahoma State
Luke Babbitt, Nevada
Trevor Booker, Clemson
Matt Bouldin, Gonzaga
Da’Sean Butler, West Virginia
Sherron Collins, Kansas
DeMarcus Cousins, Kentucky
Devan Downey, South Carolina
Jerome Dyson, UConn
Jimmer Fredette, BYU
Luke Harangody, Notre Dame
Gordon Hayward, Butler
Robbie Hummel, Purdue
Damion James, Texas
Wesley Johnson, Syracuse
Dominique Jones, South Florida
Sylven Landesberg, Virginia
Gani Lawal, Georgia Tech
Kalin Lucas, Michigan State
Greg Monroe, Georgetown
Jacob Pullen, Kansas State
Scottie Reynolds, Villanova
Omar Samhan, Saint Mary’s
Jon Scheyer, Duke
Evan Turner, Ohio State
Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State
Greivis Vasquez, Maryland
John Wall, Kentucky