7) Juwan Morgan enters the Player of the Year conversation
The National Player of the Year race is still wide open thanks to Gonzaga’s struggles and the hype around Rui Hachimura dying a little bit, and Indiana’s Juwan Morgan threw his name into the ring on Saturday with his 35-point performance against Butler.
You may not hear a lot about it thanks to this shot…
THIS IS M̶A̶R̶C̶H̶ DECEMBER! pic.twitter.com/4GQjLePG2r
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) December 15, 2018
…but there was no denying how good Morgan was in that game. He showcased his range with four three-pointers, was excellent around the basket, showed an ability to take defenders off the dribble and, most importantly, was incredibly efficient with his 35 points coming on just 14 shots.
Five-star freshman Romeo Langford was slated to be IU’s best player and go-to guy this year, but it has been Morgan instead. His reliability and production have been the biggest key for the Hoosiers.
Obviously, Morgan will need to continue to have games like this if he’s going to become a legitimate POY contender, but he has put himself right in the mix.